USA Today Compares Climate Change Skeptics to Birthers

Late last week, the nation's pre-eminent scientific advisory group, the National Research Council arm of the National Academy of Sciences, issued a report called "America's Climate Choices." As scientific reports go, its key findings were straightforward and unequivocal: "Climate change is occurring, is very likely caused primarily by human activities, and poses significant risks to humans and the environment." Among those risks in the USA: more intense and frequent heat waves, threats to coastal communities from rising sea levels, and greater drying of the arid Southwest.

Coincidentally, USA TODAY's Dan Vergano reported Monday, a statistics journal retracted a federally funded study that had become a touchstone among climate-change deniers. The retraction followed complaints of plagiarism and use of unreliable sources, such as Wikipedia.

Taken together, these developments ought to leave the deniers in the same position as the "birthers," who continue to challenge President Obama's American citizenship — a vocal minority that refuses to accept overwhelming evidence.

The Climate Choices report didn't generate big headlines because its conclusions aren't new; they are consistent with the scientific consensus about global warming. That consensus acknowledges some uncertainty in the extent to which climate change is the result of human activity, and how bad global warming will be if nothing is done.

USA Today Op Ed:

http://www.usatoday.com/news/opinion/editorials/2011-05-16-Report-puts-climate-change-deniers-in-hot-seat_n.htm

Further Commentary:

http://www.treehugger.com/files/2011/05/usa-today-compares-climate-change-skeptics-birthers.php

Such denial is inherently dangerous.

Of course this isn't going to do much good, since our politicians are going to dither around until its too late. They're well on the way to doing that now.

Do Climate Skeptics Change Their Minds? Yes. But not often.
By Brian Merchant

http://www.slate.com/id/2293607/

Until a few months ago, you'd be hard-pressed to find a more classic climate skeptic than D.R. Tucker. A conservative author and radio talk show host, he didn't buy the notion that greenhouse-gas emissions were causing temperatures to rise. He was pretty sure global warming was a hoax perpetrated by Al Gore and a cadre of liberal, grant-hungry scientists. Then Tucker did what partisan pundits and climate skeptics rarely do: He changed his mind.

"I was defeated by facts," Tucker announced on FrumForum, the popular conservative blog. In an April 18 post, "Confessions of a Climate Convert," Tucker told readers how he came to question the ideologies of the climate debate, examine the science, and conclude that global warming was, in fact, very real. Tucker's post sent a giddy ripple through green circles and stoked the ire of his libertarian colleagues.

This sort of thing doesn't happen often. Or at least, it doesn't seem to. Only 48 percent of Americans believe that global warming is at least in part "a result of human activities," according to a 2010 Gallup poll, down from 60 percent in 2007 and 2008.

Anthony Leiserowitz, director of the Yale Project on Climate Change Communication, attributes this decline to five factors: The economic collapse, a severe decrease in media coverage, weather events like "Snowmaggedon," the efforts of the "denial industry" (the network of industry-funded think tanks and political advocacy groups that push skeptic views), and the "ClimateGate" debacle.
(more at link)

if only 48% now believe that climate change is real, then the number of deniers has to include more than the tea party.

I was shocked when a very smart person I know said she was a skeptic on it. I still can't reconcile that with her level of intelligence and access to information.

They actively ridicule believers in Climate Change. There's no talking to them. I was shocked! UC Berkeley is supposed to be a bastion of liberalism, even for staff.

What do you think this is about? I'm mystified. This friend of mine isn't a fundy or a tea bagger.

There's just no logic behind it. I understand how people who get their news from Fox don't believe it, but people who are fairly intelligent and well-informed? :shrug:

What's the psychology, or what is driving this denying? It's WORSE than birthers.

they might have to make lifestyle changes they don't want to make, and worst of all it might mean really bad weather events continuing to happen like they already have been happening. And that's pretty scary in anyone's book.

I think it's like the wife of a serial philanderer who insists, "My husband would NEVER cheat on me!" Even when she is presented with evidence of his infidelity time and time again. She doesn't WANT to see it.

This stuff is pretty scary. Even if you don't believe it's caused by man, you can still see that it's getting warmer, and something is going on. You can still see how many tornados there are and hurricanes and drought areas and all kinds of just "weird" weather events.

I'm not responsible. I don't have to deal with it."

It also says a lot about how powerless people feel under a system that does not respond to such issues, in fact stifles them.

If there were leadership, the people would follow, or at least more of them would.

So I'd say there's a lot of teabagger thinking. They're the right generation. 55+ year olds.

I find it very hard to believe myself.

a lot of baggers for sure, but statistically, there's more to the groundswell of denial if 52% of the country currently deny. The Q is why do NON-baggers buy it?

As for "over 55"--not sure about that. The Boomers are pretty sensitized to environmental degradation and have spawned Al Gore & many notable environmental advocates. But I'm interested than you think younger people are MORE concerned. Not sure I'm seeing that. But correct me if you think so. I'm open to the idea if there's any evidence.

:hi:

One works in the College of Chemistry and another is a lab technician in the Dept of Psychology and I don't know where the others work, but they've been working here for decades and are close to retirement age. I just don't see how they could be so obtuse. They believe that since it's been pretty cool here this winter and spring that it shows what a scam global warming is. One even said that everyone knows that when the ice diminishes in the North Pole it builds up in the South Pole and that it's well known by everyone.

It's breathtaking sometimes. I've learned not to assume that being at UC Berkeley makes people more knowledgeable if simply by osmosis.

i mean, it's pretty easy to live in somewhat conservative Danville and commute to Berkeley during the day.

and though the entire Bay Area is solidly blue except for a few pockets that are not even large enough to be called "cities" --that still means 15-30% in even a liberal stronghold are conservative or Republicans.

that's kind of ridiculous isn't it?

yes, it's annoying for the people that must sit in department meetings with them, but people in Berkeley are exposed to conservative idiots, yes, even within the city limits.

I'm simply saying it shocked me to find teabaggerati among co-workers who I thought weren't. I'm not out to prove anything or make some major analysis. I'm just stating my experience.

the odd experience that I have is that racists often tell me racist things assuming (i think) that because I'm white, I naturally agree with them.

But they're not exactly the same. It's undisputable fact that Obama is American. It's HIGHLY PROBABLE that humans are causing the planet to heat up.

believe the scientists that humans are certainly causing the planet to heat up. So just like with the birthers, we're getting there...I wonder what will be the tipping point?

:spank: It's not easy bringing up a subject that half of the country denies has any relevance whatsoever.