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Colloquium: An anatomy of climate deception and denial

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Today's date is Thursday, March 28, 2024
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Although more than 95% of relevant domain experts agree that human CO2 emissions are altering the world’s climate, a notable segment of the public rejects the scientific evidence. What factors contribute to this rejection? To provide a broader context for this psychological issue, I first analyze some of the techniques by which climate “skeptics” promote their views in the public. I then present structural-equation models based on a large survey (N = 1400) which replicates previous findings that a ’fundamentalist’ notion of the free market is strongly associated with rejection of climate science. The survey additionally shows that rejection of climate science is associated with endorsement of a cluster of long-standing conspiracy theories (e.g., that the CIA killed Martin-Luther King). Together, those two factors—laissez-faire fundamentalism and conspiratorial thinking—explain 67% of the true-score variance in rejection of climate science (and to a lesser extent, also other scientific findings, such as the link between tobacco and lung cancer). I also show that acceptance of science is associated with the perception of the consensus among scientists, irrespective of the issue under consideration.
Speaker(s) W/Professor Stephan Lewandowsky
Location Myers Lecture Theatre, Myers Street Building (wheelchair access off Myers St)
Contact W/Professor Stephan Lewandowsky <[email protected]>
Start Fri, 11 Mar 2011 15:00
End Fri, 11 Mar 2011 16:30
Submitted by Dianne Bettis <[email protected]>
Last Updated Tue, 01 Mar 2011 15:03
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