Survey shows Alberta engineers want more action on climate change

The majority of engineers responding to a survey in Alberta said that climate change is real, and only a third said that the Alberta Government’s climate change action plan is adequate. In a poll conducted by the Association of Professional Engineers, Geologists and Geophysicists of Alberta (APEGGA), a total of 1,077 of its members responded to a survey on climate changes.
Only a third (32%) of the respondents said that the Alberta Government’s climate action plan is adequate, while the majority (69%) said government should take the lead in developing renewable and sustainable energy.
Highlights of the results of the survey, which were released March 6, were:
99% of respondents agree that the climate is changing;
83% agree that climate change may result in both warming and cooling;
27% believe climate change is caused by primarily natural factors such as volcanoes, natural variations, sunspots;
26% believe it is caused primarily by human factors, such as burning fossil fuels, changing land use, and enhanced water evaporation due to irrigation;
45% believe that climate change is caused by both human and natural factors;
68% disagree that the debate on the causes of recent climate change is settled;
Only 31% of the respondents felt that they were considered to be a valuable technical resource regarding climate change within their organizations, and only 26% believe they are able to influence corporate decision making.
The report recommends that APEGGA should support scientifically informed debate, and should help provide technical and policy advice to government.
It was also recommended that APEGGA should host an environmental summit in 2008 focusing on technologies and mitigation strategies.
With 1,077 surveys received from a total of 51,000 sent out to members, the sample is considered accurate to within +/- 3.1 percentage points (19 times out of 20).