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Politics drives opinion on Climate Change

Political Leaders Play Key Role in How Worried Americans Are by Cli...

Jenkins said the results of this study present a clear message to the climate science community.

“The message is that they need to re-think their strategy. Many scientists believe that if we simply educate people about climate change, they will eventually see it as a threat and determine that we need to do something about it,” he said.

“But our findings suggest that’s not what’s happening. There is no linear process where people get educated about the threat and then demand action. People’s views fluctuate quite a bit, and lot has to do with what they hear from their political leaders. It is a political battle.”

Corporatocracy drives politics, now, and politics drives public opinion on Climate Destabilization, so humankind, bend over and kiss your ass goodbye.

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Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Joan Denoo on February 6, 2012 at 5:54pm

I wonder what proportion of voters seek out information or read available information when thinking in terms of the disagreement? Do they read published reports of scientists? Or of politicians who state what they want to hear.
Watching the news reports from scientific sources, and seeing receding glaciers presents compelling evidence of climate change, even as it does not always appear clear whether it is human or cyclic caused events. But does it really matter? If humans contribute to climate change and do nothing to stop their polluting, or if it is a natural phenomenon, we have to prepare for change. For those who do see a linkage between human pollution and climate change, will their changes be able to make differences that matter?

Permalink Reply by Chris G on March 29, 2012 at 7:14pm

Climate Denial Crock of the Week is an excellent web site that dissects false claims denying climate change. When I looked this page up there was a couple of good articles about politics. Mind Games Conservatives Play, by D.R. Tucker , and Why Conservatives Don't believe in Science, by Chris Mooney are must reads.

They have a lot of video's on YouTube. I can't point to a particular video to watch because they are all good.

Permalink Reply by Joan Denoo on March 31, 2012 at 2:10am

The wind map is great, I wonder how they could create it? I suppose it is like a weather map but just looks so pretty. I wish they listed the high and low wind places.

Permalink Reply by Jonathan Simeone on March 29, 2012 at 8:22pm

Isn't much of the problem that a real majority of American voters are uninformed about most subjects? I'm not sure they're less uninformed about taxes, spending, health care and the like than they are climate change.

Permalink Reply by Ruth Anthony-Gardner on March 29, 2012 at 9:27pm

From what I've read, it's not lack of information but a combination of willful denial, deliberate media and political misinformation, and white male Christian hierarchial individualists. When accurate information is given to such people, it makes them more intransigent in their denial of science and reason.

For example in the article Chris G mentions, Chris Mooney says,

...factual counterarguments sometimes even trigger what has been termed a backfire effect: Those with strongly held but clearly incorrect beliefs not only fail to change their minds, but hold their wrong beliefs more tenaciously after being shown contradictory evidence or a refutation.

D. R. Tucker: Mind Games Conservatives Play

Permalink Reply by Joan Denoo on March 31, 2012 at 3:11am

Excellent article

Mooney notes that the phenomenon of “motivated reasoning” — the belief in concepts that are manifestly false — plays a significant role in the right’s rejection of reason.

~D. R. Tucker: Mind Games Conservatives Play