Study: Climate Change Skeptics More Eco-Friendly Than Believers
It’s usually assumed that climate change skeptics simply don’t care about the environment. If they did, as the reasoning goes, they would accept the science that climate change is primarily man-made and support government measures designed to curb it.
But a recent study has found that climate change skeptics are actually more likely to engage in eco-friendly behaviors in their individual lives than those who claim to be “highly concerned” about climate change.
As reported by Pacific Standard, a publication of The Social Justice Foundation:
“Participants in a year-long study who doubted the scientific consensus on the issue ‘opposed policy solutions,’ but at the same time, they ‘were most likely to report engaging in individual-level, pro-environmental behaviors,’ writes a research team led by University of Michigan psychologist Michael Hall.
Conversely, those who expressed the greatest belief in, and concern about, the warming environment ‘were most supportive of government climate policies, but least likely to report individual-level actions.’”
The study is yet one more reminder that there are two very different attitudes toward free will currently operative in America.
One attitude, represented by many climate change believers, holds that the primary job of the individual will is to give assent to the will of the collective, and that the collective will often trumps that of the individual will. This attitude assumes that the macro-level is where real change happens, and thus, where one’s energies should be directed. In the case of climate change, the majority (supposedly, 97% of scientists) has deemed that man-made climate change is a fact, and that the best way to curb it is through government policy interventions. The most important job of the individual is to simply support this conclusion through their votes and their rhetoric.
The other attitude, represented by many climate change skeptics, gives priority to the individual will, and is wary of attempts to provoke its hasty submission to the collective will. It tends to assume that lasting macro-level change ideally comes about as a result of changes at the micro-level of individuals and small communities. It believes that the individual will should first “be the change” it wants rather than waiting for a change to be imposed upon it from without. In regard to climate change, this attitude toward will often manifests itself in a suspicion toward expensive and burdensome government interventions, but in a welcoming of self-imposed, environmentally-friendly disciplines at the individual level.
That’s a long way of saying that the study’s results are not in the least bit surprising to me.
….
The above article is from Intellectual Takeout. Visit Intellectual Takeout for more great articles.
….
Study: Climate Change Skeptics More Eco-Friendly Than Believers
It’s usually assumed that climate change skeptics simply don’t care about the environment. If they did, as the reasoning goes, they would accept the science that climate change is primarily man-made and support government measures designed to curb it.
But a recent study has found that climate change skeptics are actually more likely to engage in eco-friendly behaviors in their individual lives than those who claim to be “highly concerned” about climate change.
As reported by Pacific Standard, a publication of The Social Justice Foundation:
“Participants in a year-long study who doubted the scientific consensus on the issue ‘opposed policy solutions,’ but at the same time, they ‘were most likely to report engaging in individual-level, pro-environmental behaviors,’ writes a research team led by University of Michigan psychologist Michael Hall.
Conversely, those who expressed the greatest belief in, and concern about, the warming environment ‘were most supportive of government climate policies, but least likely to report individual-level actions.’”
The study is yet one more reminder that there are two very different attitudes toward free will currently operative in America.
One attitude, represented by many climate change believers, holds that the primary job of the individual will is to give assent to the will of the collective, and that the collective will often trumps that of the individual will. This attitude assumes that the macro-level is where real change happens, and thus, where one’s energies should be directed. In the case of climate change, the majority (supposedly, 97% of scientists) has deemed that man-made climate change is a fact, and that the best way to curb it is through government policy interventions. The most important job of the individual is to simply support this conclusion through their votes and their rhetoric.
The other attitude, represented by many climate change skeptics, gives priority to the individual will, and is wary of attempts to provoke its hasty submission to the collective will. It tends to assume that lasting macro-level change ideally comes about as a result of changes at the micro-level of individuals and small communities. It believes that the individual will should first “be the change” it wants rather than waiting for a change to be imposed upon it from without. In regard to climate change, this attitude toward will often manifests itself in a suspicion toward expensive and burdensome government interventions, but in a welcoming of self-imposed, environmentally-friendly disciplines at the individual level.
That’s a long way of saying that the study’s results are not in the least bit surprising to me.
….
The above article is from Intellectual Takeout. Visit Intellectual Takeout for more great articles.
….
UK Reloaded (home based in England, UK) where the article above originated is a TLB project website.
••••
The Liberty Beacon Project is now expanding at a near exponential rate, and for this we are grateful and excited! But we must also be practical. For 7 years we have not asked for any donations, and have built this project with our own funds as we grew. We are now experiencing ever increasing growing pains due to the large number of websites and projects we represent. So we have just installed donation buttons on our websites and ask that you consider this when you visit them. Nothing is too small. We thank you for all your support and your considerations … (TLB)
••••
Comment Policy: As a privately owned web site, we reserve the right to remove comments that contain spam, advertising, vulgarity, threats of violence, racism, or personal/abusive attacks on other users. This also applies to trolling, the use of more than one alias, or just intentional mischief. Enforcement of this policy is at the discretion of this websites administrators. Repeat offenders may be blocked or permanently banned without prior warning.
••••
Disclaimer: TLB websites contain copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available to our readers under the provisions of “fair use” in an effort to advance a better understanding of political, health, economic and social issues. The material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving it for research and educational purposes. If you wish to use copyrighted material for purposes other than “fair use” you must request permission from the copyright owner.
••••
Disclaimer: The information and opinions shared are for informational purposes only including, but not limited to, text, graphics, images and other material are not intended as medical advice or instruction. Nothing mentioned is intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment.
Leave a Reply