The media appear content to repeat the description by Friends of the Earth
of UK air quality as "the worst ever" or "the worst since records began."
Since official air-quality monitoring dates from only the last decade,
these are clearly preposterous statements, even if factually correct.
More seriously, I have so far heard absolutely no reference to attaching
statistical significance, or more properly a confidence interval, to the
reported figures which are based on sampling. Newspapers would not
publish a legal or medical opinion provided by someone with no training or
experience in the field; why are they apparently content to accept
statistics or interpretation on that basis, from individuals or
organisations whose intention is clearly propaganda?
This is not to say that FoE's claims are untrue or unimportant. I merely
object to the way so-called public debates are currently conducted.
R. Allan Reese Email: [log in to unmask]
(writing in a personal capacity as a Chartered Statistician)
Associate Manager Direct voice: +44 1482 466845
Graduate Research Institute Voice messages: +44 1482 466844
Hull University, Hull HU6 7RX, UK. Fax: +44 1482 466846
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