Media Reporting and Public Opinion
A six-month study in 1988 on climate change reporting in the media found that 80% of stories were no worse than slightly inaccurate. However, one story in six contained significant misreporting.
The popular media in New Zealand often give equal weight to the those supporting anthropogenic climate change and those who deny it. This stance is out of step with the findings of the scientific community where the vast majority support the climate change scenarios.
A survey carried out in 2007 on climate change gave the following responses:
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Not really a problem 8% A problem for the future 13% A problem now 42% An urgent and immediate problem 35% Don't know 2%
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In August 2012, a Horizons poll showed that 64.4 per cent of respondents wanted Parliament to do more to respond to global warming. 67.5 per cent of respondents wanted business to do more to address global warming. Horizons commented that the poll "makes a strong case for more political action".
Read more about this topic: Climate Change In New Zealand, Political and Social Aspects
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