Excellent letter to the editor in todays Times Transcript underlining the importance of asking the right question in public polls: Letter of the day Let’s just try a different poll To The Editor: In the article, N.B. set to ‘turn the tide’: economist (April 9), Carol O’Reilly, chief executive officer of the Greater Moncton Chamber of Commerce (GMCC) indicated that,“a recent survey of their members showed that the majority of them were in favour of developing shale gas.”If the mentioned survey was conducted last month, in March, 2014, here is how the questions were presented: Question No. 2: Do you support gas exploration? Question No. 3: Do you support natural resource development? And that’s it; no mention of shale gas and hydraulic fracking in the questionnaire. I’m sure most everyone agrees that we should develop our natural resources in a responsible manner and many agree on the exploration component by the gas industry. But what about all the other aspects related to this industry? What about a survey of GMCC members with these questions: 1) Do you believe that hydraulic fracking for shale gas can be done in full security with no danger to the health of individuals and without permanently damaging the environment? 2) Do you believe that the exploitation of shale gas should be allowed anywhere the resources happen to be located, even if it’s as close as 250 metres from your own home? 3) Do you believe that local fresh water supplies should be used for hydraulic fracking and that afterwards those polluted fluids can be recycled safely? 4) Do you believe that shale gas exploitation can have positive economic benefits for our province and it’s not a zero sum game? So, let’s see how the GMCC members answer these questions. Marc Chouinard, Memramcook
Posted on: Tue, 15 Apr 2014 10:43:50 +0000
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