Election 2005 Quiz.htm

Summary results of 2005 Pre-Election Survey of New Zealand Members of Parliament, "energy' and climate experts and journalists/presentators of the meaning they believe key energy and climate symbols communicate. More extensive commentary is provided on an accompanying blog My own answers to the questions can be found there.

Please note: All responses are helpful in this survey, including a 'no response' response. A special thank you to all those who were able to respond and helped illustrate the variety of meanings we give to the "energy" and "climate" symbols that we pin our civilisation on.

Hypotheses

1) There is little science underpinning our use of symbols to portray the nature of energy and no science underpinning the communication of climate issues.

In general:
Primal processes that use subconscious information and reflect our emotional states dominate personal decision-making. These primal processes largely determine our use of a symbol.
These processes are simultaneously shaped and revealed by the use of a symbol.
Measuring what the participants of a communication do, not what they say, best assesses the power or capacity of a symbol in communication. In general, formal education systems tend to assess the impact of the use of a symbol by focusing on what a person says. By contrast, the PR industry focuses on what a person does. As a result the latter group has the largest influence on learning curriculum. This idea of the greater importance of measuring "the walk compared to the talk" signals caution is needed in interpretting these results. For instance there is more value in analysing policy and media statements than these answers. Best insight into what politicians really mean when they use symbols is gained by examining national statistics for the impact of Government policies in practice. This said, the survey is helpful in identifying the scale of confusion in communication of issues.

In particular:
Our sense of the nature of energy determines our activities and underpins our use of symbols, including our theological, economic, social and scientific uses. In this context, “energy” and “climate” symbols are key to our survival as a species. Confusion of energy forms with energy puts us at high risk.

(1) Lack of Science.
Humans appear to be using finite resources such as oil, Gas, soil and forests at rates that are unsustainable for our species. Our institutional and personal use of symbols of the nature of energy is at odds with scientific uses of the same symbols. I have been unable to access one item of serious research into our use of “climate” symbols and their impact on behaviour.

(2) The dominance of political considerations.
Business sectors groups and their political manifestations determine institutional use of the “energy”. This is seen (a) in the confusion of energy forms with energy and (b) in the narrow range of energy forms associated with the symbol “energy” in our legislation, our commerce and our media. The dominance is directly measurable in symbol use and is also manifest in inability of “energy” and “climate” experts to apply science to the communication of associated issues. This will result in a reluctance to answer the questionnaire. This hypothesis is supported by the results of the survey.

(3) Journalist/presenter paralysis.
This group operates at the interface of business, science and communities. As communicators they are restricted by the contradictory use of energy symbols by business and science. In many cases their lifestyles are in conflict with essential scientific insights.
Also journalist/presenters are uncomfortable being questioned. There are a range of reasons why this could be so. One reason is that they are accustomed to controlling the questions and often politicians use counter questioning as a weapon to discredit the interviewer and obscure flaws in their policy.
Anecdotal evidence suggests that some journalist/presenters may have difficulty reflecting on and acknowledging the power of the symbols they favour. They engage in extensive discussion with people with expertise in the fields of psychology, symbol manipulation (PR) and the impact of human activities on the environment. Subsequent interviews reveal that have failed to learn from the discussion in that they continue with flawed uses of key symbols unchanged. In other words, the use of the symbol expresses something greater in them than its intellectual meaning.
My experience is that journalists will acknowledge receipt and respond to communications they believe are important. (Also see the NZ Listener article The Spin Slayers Aug 27 2005 . This features members of the select media group used in survey. The hypothesis that journalist/presenters would have difficulty responding to the questions is supported.

A climate questionnaire to spokespeople on environmental issues in political parties and climate experts.

A combined "energy"/climate questionnaire to a sample of prominent journalists/presenters.

Follow up email and phone messages were sent out after a week to those who had not replied.

Climate change is an issue that will be topical this election. I am doing a survey to establish what select politicians and climate experts mean when they use key symbols.

Thank you for your prompt response. The results of the survey will be published in the third week of August at www.bonusjoules.co.nz and in other media in an attempt to clarify the issues.

“Energy” is an issue that will be topical this election. I am doing a survey to establish what select politicians and energy experts mean when they use key symbols.

3. If your answer is False, which manifestations of energy can humans save/conserve?

Thank you for your prompt response. The results of the survey will be published in the third week of August at www.bonusjoules.co.nz and in other media in an attempt to clarify the issues.

“Energy” and “climate change” are issues that will be topical this election. I am doing a survey to establish what select politicians, “climate” and “energy” experts and journalists mean when they use key symbols.

Thank you for your prompt response. The results of the survey will be published in the third week of August at www.bonusjoules.co.nz and in other media in an attempt to clarify the issues.

I am writing to check you received a short questionnaire on the 12th of August. I am mindful of how busy you are and how easy it is for email letters to “slip below the radar”.

I would be most grateful if you could spare a moment to respond to the questions. The response pattern suggests the “energy” questions are difficult. Though our images of energy and climate processes are profoundly linked I am most interested in getting your response to the “climate” questions. Please feel free, if it helps, to reply only to questions 4, 5 and 6.

Since my first letter I have been offered the opportunity to present a paper at the next NZ Association for Environmental Education conference and will be including the results of these brief surveys.

I look forward to your early response. Please trust our children will benefit from it.

Summary of Responses
Note: Replies came in a range of font size and types and this is reflected here Telephone phone calls are not transcribed.

ACT No response
Alliance No response
Green Response
Labour Response
Maori Response
National Response
New Zealand First Response
United Future Response

ACT Response
Alliance No Response
Green Response
Labour Response
Maori Response
National Response
New Zealand First Response
United Future No Response

John Blakeley Unitech, Convenor Sustainable Energy Forum (SEF)No response
Roy Hemmingway Chair of the Electricity Commission No response
George Hooper Director Center for Advanced Engineering Canterbury UniversityNo response
Ralph Sims Director Institute of Technology and Engineering Massey UniversityNo response
Heather Staley Chief Executive Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority (EECA) SEE Labour's Response -"identical".
Morgan Williams Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environmen No time to respond.

Peter Barrett Victoria University No response
Paul Bruce Meterologist and Green Party Candidate Full Response below
Helen Plume Climate Change Office No response
Jim Renwick NIWA No response
Jim Salinger NIWANo response
Murray Ward Principal Global Climate Change Consultancy (GtripleC) Full Response below
David Wratt NIWA No response

John Campbell Campbell Live TV3 No response
Linda Clark Nine to Noon Nat Radio No response
Simon Dallow - Agenda TV1 No response
Kim Hill - Saturday Nat RadioNo response
Cate Honore Brett Editor Sunday Star TimesNo response
Chris Laidlaw - Sunday Nat Radio No time to respond
Wayne Mowatt In Touch with New Zealand Nat RadioNo response
Pamela Stirling Editor The New Zealand ListenerNo response
Susan Woods -Close Up TV1 No time to respond

Green Energy, like matter, cannot be created or destroyed but is degraded into forms less capable of doing work. The only reverse process is through living things and photosynthesis.

Labour The law states that the total inflow of energy into a system must equal the
total outflow of energy from the system, plus the change in the energy
contained within the system. In other words, energy can be converted from
one form to another, but it cannot be created or destroyed.

Maori It states that energy can neither be created nor destroyed, but can be readily converted from one form to another.

National Energy is conserved in a closed system. That means that though it may be converted to noise, heat, latent, or whatever type energy, in a closed system total energy ultimately remains.

United Future The principle of conservation of energy states that energy can neither be created nor destroyed; it merely changes from one form to another.

Green False in a technical sense but we can conserve its ability to do work which is what matters.

Labour Quite separately from the technical definition referred to in question 1,
the phrase "energy conservation" is also commonly used in New Zealand and
around the world to mean "a reduction in energy use". In this context, the
answer is True, humans can conserve energy.

Maori If the assumption is that humans can accumulate or increase the total amount of energy available, then by the principle above, the assumption is false.

National False because humans are not a closed system and do not operate in one. Therefore they cant conserve or save energy.

United Future Obviously, on an absolute scale, humans cannot really save or conserve energy they can only convert it from one form into another. So whatever we do the amount of energy in the universe remains constant.

However, in a practical economic sense humans can effectively save energy by using their stocks of readily convertible energy at a slower rate. For example if your electricity is generated from gas (a common readily convertible energy source), and you reduce the amount of electricity you use each day, then your gas stocks will be reduced slower than they would otherwise have been if you didn't reduce electricity use.

If your answer is False, which manifestations of energy can humans save/conserve?

Maori Humans can save or conserve energy forms i.e. we can conserve or hold it in one state such as electrical energy, and by doing so, defer its conversion into thermal energy.

Green Electricity is one (high quality) manifestation of energy but is not the same as energy itself.

National False. This is reflected in energy being measured in Joules, while of course electricity isn't.

The planet Earth is subject on a global scale to daily warming by the sun. What term do you use to describe this process?

Maori Answer: The term that I use is the Greenhouse effect, which is the result of heat absorption by certain gases in the atmosphere and the re-radiation downwards of some of that heat.

New Zealand First Answer: The term that I use is the Greenhouse effect, which is the result of heat absorption by certain gases in the atmosphere and the re-radiation downwards of some of that heat.

Murray Ward, Principal Global Climate Change Consultancy (GtripleC) Incoming solar radiation. (Note also that the portions of the earth in night re-emit energy on a daily basis and portions in the sun also reflect incoming solar energy energy...so on a daily basis there are incoming and outgoing energy fluxes)

Paul Bruce Meteorologist and Green Party Candidate Greenhouse effect which traps some of the incoming radiation

“Climate” Question 2

Green Changes in atmospheric composition, and in particular increases in the concentration of gases such as carbon dioxide and methane, reduce the re-radiation of heat from the surface of the earth to space, and so warm the earth. This warning changes global circulation patterns and rainfall. Other effects may be sea level rise from thermal expansion of the oceans (and eventually from melting ice caps) and the reversal of the Gulf Stream . All these primary and secondary effects make up human induced climate change.

Labour Using the definition of the UNFCCC, climate change "means a change of
climate which is attributed directly or indirectly to human activity that
alters the composition of the global atmosphere and which is in addition to
natural climate variability observed over comparable time periods".

Maori Climate change can be described as exponentially increasing carbon dioxide emissions above the natural CO2 emissions, (an average of 270 ppm's) that have occurred for thousands of years before the industrial age and commenced around the turn of the 20th century.

National The climate by nature is always changing. 'Climate Change' has come to mean change outside of the normal range.

New Zealand First. The gradual warming of the planet which has resulted in the need to limit greenhouse gas emissions from human activities such as electricity generation, industrial processes, the burning of transport fuels and agriculture.
It should be noted that changes in our global climate have varied through the years.

Murray Ward, Principal Global Climate Change Consultancy (GtripleC) The effects of overall global warming on earth, caused by the enhanced greenhouse effect which, in turn, is caused by the increase in concentrations of greenhouse gases in the earth's atmosphere caused by humans since pre-industrial times.

Paul Bruce Meteorologist and Green Party CandidateThere is human induced climate change which is occurring now due to a large increase in use of fossil fuels and resultant increase in greenhouse gases unprecedented over the last million years.
This can be contrasted with naturally occurring climate change which has been caused by a number of different natural causes, such as changes in the orbit and inclination of the earth in its orbit around the sun, volcanic activity, continent drift and meteorite impacts.

“Climate” Question 3

Green Water vapour but it is not the one that matters as its concentration in the atmosphere is not being changed in a linear fashion. the one that matters, because it is increasing in concentration is carbon dioxide.

Labour Water vapour is the dominant greenhouse gas. However, according to
current scientific evidence, the largest driver of the climate change
observed over the past 50 years has been an increase in atmospheric carbon
dioxide.
[ for more information refer to IPCC report 2001:
http://www.grida.no/climate/ipcc_tar/wg1/figspm-3.htm]

National The dominant 'greenhouse gas' in the context of human induced climate change studies is carbon dioxide but for New Zealand methane is equally as significant

Murray Ward, Principal Global Climate Change Consultancy (GtripleC) In terms of the greenhouse effect I think this may be water vapour. In terms of the human caused "enhanced greenhouse effect" causing global warming it is carbon dioxide. In terms of NZ emissions of greenhouse gases it is methane from ruminant animals. As you see the answer depends on the context of the question, which is not given.

Paul Bruce Meteorologist and Green Party CandidateThe dominant greenhouse gas is water vapour.Carbon dioxide is the greenhouse gas that has seen the greatest increase since the beginning of industralisation, and this trend is accelerating.Other trace gases such as methane, though in much smaller concentrationshave much greater proportinate greenhouse impacts.
However, global warming of just a few degrees C can lead to conditions which will favour massive release of methane stored in the biosphere and in the oceans, and research has indicated that this would lead to rapid climate change with average temperature rises of up to 10 deg C.

Full Correspondence
Note: Does not include correspondence subsequent to response.

-----Original Message-----
From: Dave McArthur [mailto:davemcarthur@clear.net.nz]
Sent: Tuesday, 2 August 2005 12:24 p.m.
To: Rod Donald
Subject: "energy" questionnaire

"Energy" is an issue that will be topical this election. I am doing a survey to establish what select politicians mean when they use key symbols.

Energy, like matter, cannot be created or destroyed but is degraded into forms less capable of doing work. The only reverse process is through living things and photosynthesis.

False in a technical sense but we can conserve its ability to do work which is what matters.

3. If your answer is False, which manifestations of energy can humans save/conserve?

Electricity is one (high quality) manifestation of energy but is not the same as energy itself.

Thank you for your prompt response. The results of the survey will be published in the third week of August at www.bonusjoules.co.nz and in other media in an attempt to clarify the issues.

Please find attached responses to your questions from Hon Trevor Mallard.
Chris Hipkins
Senior Advisor to Hon Trevor Mallard
Minister of Education, Minister of State Services, Minister of Energy,
Minister of Sport and Recreation, Associate Minister of Finance,
Coordinating Minister, Race Relations.
Parliament Buildings Wellington
DDI: (04) 471 9792 or Mobile : (021) 707 927

============================

1.What does the Principle of the Conservation of Energy state?

The law states that the total inflow of energy into a system must equal the
total outflow of energy from the system, plus the change in the energy
contained within the system. In other words, energy can be converted from
one form to another, but it cannot be created or destroyed.

2. Humans can save/conserve energy. True/False.
Quite separately from the technical definition referred to in question 1,
the phrase "energy conservation" is also commonly used in New Zealand and
around the world to mean "a reduction in energy use". In this context, the
answer is True, humans can conserve energy.

3. If your answer is False, which manifestations of energy can humans
save/conserve? N/A

4. Electricity is energy. True/False
False. Electricity is an energy carrier.

Maori

Thank you for your short pop quiz on energy - responses from the Maori Party are recorded below:

It states that energy can neither be created nor destroyed, but can be readily converted from one form to another.

If the assumption is that humans can accumulate or increase the total amount of energy available, then by the principle above, the assumption is false.

3. If your answer is false, which manifestations of energy can humans save/conserve?

Humans can save or conserve energy forms i.e. we can conserve or hold it in one state such as ele

Happy to answer. These answers are quick fire, I have not used any officials or bureaucrats to do them for me, and have just relied on my high school and uni education.

MP for Whangarei
Spokesperson for Energy
Spokesperson for Fisheries

1.What does the Principle of the Conservation of Energy state? Energy is conserved in a closed system. That means that though it may me converted to noise, heat, latent, or whatever type energy, in a closed system total energy ultimately remains.

2. Humans can save/conserve energy. True/False. False because humans are not a closed system and do not operate in one. Therefore they cant conserve or save energy.

3. If your answer is False, which manifestations of energy can humans save/conserve? Actually none if you really get pedantic and technical.

4. Electricity is energy. True/False False. This is reflected in energy being measured in Joules, while of course electricity isn't.

-----Original Message-----
From: Dave McArthur [mailto:davemcarthur@clear.net.nz]
Sent: Thursday, 18 August 2005 10:48 a.m.
To: Anne Small
Subject: Fw: QUIK "energy" questionaire for

Thank you for attending to this. The questionnaire was addressed to all leaders though some have got other spokespeople to respond to it for them. As mentioned, since my first letter I have been offered the opportunity to present a paper at the next NZ Association for Environmental Education conference and will be including the results of these brief surveys.

I look forward to your early response. Please trust our children will benefit from it.

We understand the science but present an "energy” policy in accordance with traditional portfolio expectations where we consider primary energy supplies, consumer 'energy' distinguished by fuel and where we wrestle with the problems of supply and demand.

From: Dave McArthur [mailto:davemcarthur@clear.net.nz]
Sent: Thursday, 4 August 2005 12:32 p.m.
To: NZ First
Subject: Re: "energy" questionnaire
Dear Carmen

Thank you very much for your prompt response.
I presume from the policy attached that Winston believes electricity is energy and the Principle of the Conservation of Energy is not sustained?
I write to confirm this assumption as I wish to represent NZ First's use of symbols most accurately.

----- Original Message -----

From: NZ First
To: 'Dave McArthur'
Sent: Wednesday, August 03, 2005 9:46 PM

Subject: RE: "energy" questionnaire

Dear Mr McArthur

On behalf of the Rt Hon Winston Peters, thank you for your email.

Attached for your information is a copy of New Zealand First’s Energy Policy.

Yours sincerely

Carmen Hansen
Adviser/Researcher
Rt Hon Winston Peters’ Office

New Zealand First’s energy policy

New Zealand First’s energy policy is based on four basics aims: to guarantee security of supply; to achieve greater investment in the industry in order to produce more electricity; to facilitate energy efficiencies; and, to ensure that energy is supplied at a fair and reasonable price.

· provide incentives for ongoing investment in electricity generation, with a particular focus on local generation where feasible;

· explore the ongoing feasibility of energy options as technology and availability makes them practicable;

· seek to minimise the environmental costs of generating electricity whilst facilitating continuity of supply. There will be no privatisation of Meridian , Genesis, and Mighty River Power, Transpower, or Solid Energy;· ensure that barriers to competition are identified and removed within both the electricity retail and wholesale sectors;

· consider a range of incentives for reducing demand in times of restricted low supply;

· evaluate the fixed line charging regime with a view to ensuring smaller domestic consumers are not disadvantaged;

· ensure that energy efficiency measures are encompassed by the wider energy policies of government; and,

· amend the RMA to provide for a more rapid consents process for infrastructure projects, while ensuring local input is preserved.

Dear Dave,
See below for the answers to your energy questionnaire on behalf of Peter Dunne.
Regards
Andrew Robertson

Andrew Robertson
Director of Research
Office of the Leader of United Future
DDI: 04 470 6983
Fax: 04 472 8340
Mobile : 027 233 4908

1.What does the Principle of the Conservation of Energy state?
The principle of conservation of energy states that energy can neither be created nor destroyed; it merely changes from one form to another.

2. Humans can save/conserve energy. True/False.
Obviously, on an absolute scale, humans cannot really save or conserve energy they can only convert it from one form into another. So whatever we do the amount of energy in the universe remains constant.

3. If your answer is False, which manifestations of energy can humans save/conserve?
See Q.2 above.
4. Electricity is energy. True/False
True.

Thanks for your email of 2nd August asking three questions on climate change. My replies are:

Hon. Ken Shirley, MP
Whip, ACT New Zealand
Parliament Buildings , Wellington .

-----Original Message-----
From: Dave McArthur [mailto:davemcarthur@clear.net.nz]
Sent: Tuesday, 2 August 2005 12:26 p.m.
To: Jeanette Fitzsimons
Subject: "Climate change" questionnaire

Climate change is an issue that will be topical this election. I am doing a survey to establish what select politicians and climate experts mean when they use key symbols.

Changes in atmospheric composition, and in particular increases in the concentration of gases such as carbon dioxide and methane, reduce the re-radiation of heat from the surface of the earth to space, and so warm the earth. This warning changes global circulation patterns and rainfall. Other effects may be sea level rise from thermal expansion of the oceans (and eventually from melting ice caps) and the reversal of the Gulf Stream . All these primary and secondary effects make up human induced climate change.

Water vapour but it is not the one that matters as its concentration in the atmosphere is not being changed in a linear fashion. the one that matters, because it is increasing in concentration is carbon dioxide.

Thank you for your prompt response. The results of the survey will be published in the third week of August at www.bonusjoules.co.nz and in other media in an attempt to clarify the issues.

Responses from Hon Pete Hodgson below. Apologies for the delay in getting
back to you.
Regards
Christina

1. Heating caused by incident solar radiation

2. Using the definition of the UNFCCC, climate change "means a change of
climate which is attributed directly or indirectly to human activity that
alters the composition of the global atmosphere and which is in addition to
natural climate variability observed over comparable time periods".

3. Water vapour is the dominant greenhouse gas. However, according to
current scientific evidence, the largest driver of the climate change
observed over the past 50 years has been an increase in atmospheric carbon
dioxide.
[ for more information refer to IPCC report 2001:
http://www.grida.no/climate/ipcc_tar/wg1/figspm-3.htm]

----- Forwarded by Ministerial Office of Hon Pete Hodgson/minserv on
02/08/2005 14:24 -----

Thank you for the opportunity to respond to these very important questions that humanity faces right now. The Maori Party is concerned with climate change and is committed to the principles of the Kyoto Protocol.

1. The planet Earth is subject on a global scale to daily warming by the sun. What term do you use to describe this process?

Climate change can be described as exponentially increasing carbon dioxide emissions above the natural CO2 emissions, (an average of 270 ppm's) that have occurred for thousands of years before the industrial age and commenced around the turn of the 20th century.

-----Original Message-----
From: Dave McArthur [mailto:davemcarthur@clear.net.nz]
Sent: Tuesday, 2 August 2005 11:45 a.m.
To: nick.smith@national.org.nz
Subject: "Climate change " questionaire

Climate change is an issue that will be topical this election. I am doing a survey to establish what politicians and climate experts mean when they use key symbols.

Thank you for your prompt response. The results of the survey will be published in the third week of August at www.bonusjoules.co.nz and in other media in an attempt to clarify the issues.

Your email to Edwin Perry was referred to Jim Peters as environment spokesperson. The answers to your three questions are as follows:

Question 1: The planet Earth is subject on a global scale to daily warming by the sun. What term do you use to describe this process?

Answer: The term that I use is the Greenhouse effect, which is the result of heat absorption by certain gases in the atmosphere and the re-radiation downwards of some of that heat.

Question 2: Please describe in a brief sentence what you mean by 'climate change'.
Answer: The gradual warming of the planet which has resulted in the need to limit greenhouse gas emissions from human activities such as electricity generation, industrial processes, the burning of transport fuels and agriculture.

It should be noted that changes in our global climate have varied through the years.

Question 3: Which gas is the dominant greenhouse gas?
Answer: Carbon dioxide.
Please contact me if you require any further information.
Regards
Suzie Luddon
Executive Secretary to
Jim Peters MP
New Zealand First
Tel: (04) 470 6960
Fax (04) 472 8410

Hi Dave,

I have inserted my responses.
regards
Paul Bruce
Green Party Candidate Hutt South
PARTY VOTE GREEN
Tel 64 4 9728699 025 645 0336
Paul.Bruce@greens.org.nz
http://www.greens.org.nz/people/PaulBruce.htm

1. The planet Earth is subject on a global scale to daily warming by the sun. What term do you use to describe this process?

Greenhouse effect which traps some of the incoming radiation

2. Please describe in one brief sentence what you mean by ‘climate change’.

There is human induced climate change which is occurring now due to a large increase
in use of fossil fuels and resultant increase in greenhouse gases unprecedented over the last
milliion years.

This can be contrasted with naturally occurring climate change which has been caused by a number of different natural causes, such as changes in the orbit and inclination of the earth in its orbit around the sun, volcanic activity, continent drift and meteorite impacts.

3. Which gas is the dominant “greenhouse gas”?

The dominant greenhouse gas is water vapour.
Carbon dioxide is the greenhouse gas that has seen the greatest increase
since the beginning of industralisation, and this trend is accelerating.
Other trace gases such as methane, though in much smaller concentrations
have much greater proportinate greenhouse impacts.

However, global warming of just a few degrees C can lead to conditions
which will favour massive release of methane stored in the biosphere
and in the oceans, and research has indicated that this would lead to
rapid climate change with average temperature rises of up to 10 deg C.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Thank you for your prompt response. The results of the survey will be published in the third week of August at www.bonusjoules.co.nz and in other media in an attempt to clarify the issues.

Yours sincerely

Dave McArthur

Murray Ward, Principal
Global Climate Change Consultancy (GtripleC)
14 B Glenmore St, Thorndon,   Wellington ,   New Zealand
e-mail: murray.ward@paradise.net.nz
Ph: +64 4 4722652    Fax: +64 4 4722655   Mobile : +64 21 708664

I am writing to check you received a short questionnaire on the 11th of August. I am mindful of how busy you are and how easy it is for email letters to “slip below the radar”.
I would be most grateful if you could spare a moment to respond to the questions.
Since my first letter I have been offered the opportunity to present a paper at the next NZ Association for Environmental Education conference and will be including the results of these brief surveys
I look forward to your early response. Please trust our children will benefit from it.

Yours sincerely
Dave McArthur.

----- Original Message -----

From: Dave McArthur
To: murray.ward@paradise.net.nz
Sent: Thursday, August 11, 2005 10:10 AM
Subject: Quik Questionnaire

Dear Murray

Climate change is an issue that will be topical this election. I am doing a survey to establish what select politicians and climate experts mean when they use key symbols.

I would be grateful if you could respond to these very brief questions:

Incoming solar radiation. (Note also that the portions of the earth in night re-emit energy on a daily basis and portions in the sun also reflect incoming solar energy energy...so on a daily basis there are incoming and outgoing energy fluxes)

The effects of overall global warming on earth, caused by the enhanced greenhouse effect which, in turn, is caused by the increase in concentrations of greenhouse gases in the earth's atmosphere caused by humans since pre-industrial times.

In terms of the greenhouse effect I think this may be water vapour. In terms of the human caused "enhanced greenhouse effect" causing global warming it is carbon dioxide. In terms of NZ emissions of greenhouse gases it is methane from ruminant animals. As you see the answer depends on the context of the question, which is not given.

Thank you for your prompt response. The results of the survey will be published in the third week of August at www.bonusjoules.co.nz and in other media in an attempt to clarify the issues.

Yours sincerely

Dave McArthur