Why does climate change denial seem to be so prevalent in the United States?
By John Welford
@indexer (4852)
Leicester, England
September 16, 2015 6:19pm CST
I am perfectly prepared to accept the evidence produced by the world's climate scientists to the effect that the world is warming, the climate is changing, and that it is largely because of human activity that this is so. However, there are apparently many thousands of people who vehemently deny this and firmly believe that it is all a hoax designed to squeeze more taxes out of them.
Although there are deniers in many different places, the vast majority seem to hail from the United States, which appears to be a hotbed of scepticism. There must surely be a reason why so many Americans refuse to accept the evidence that is presented to them, but people in other countries (generally) take a very different view. I would be interested to hear opinions about why this should be.
Please note - I am not asking for your own views on climate change, merely on why you think denial is so rife in the US.
3 people like this
2 responses
@OneOfMany (12150)
• United States
17 Sep 15
Largely because it was made political and had a political agenda under the title 'Global Warming'. If it was merely climate change from the beginning then it would be accepted more readily. The other thing that forces denial is the 'we're not worthy' mentality that the largely religious take. They claim that people aren't capable of changing something only their god can change. You can tell them that a volcano changes things and they agree. But the second you mention carbon emissions are greater yearly than all the volcanic carbon emissions, they will tell you that it's lies.
For me, I'm part of a different faction that very few if any others are part of. The 'changing climate' faction. If it changes, we can just change it to something that suits us better, and I already have numerous systems worked out that would change this world into a better place. The problem is getting people on board to actually fix things. The ocean is rising, so what? If we use the natural system right we can reduce ocean levels, so that's not a problem to me. The fact is that people don't believe they can, so they won't.
1 person likes this
@indexer (4852)
• Leicester, England
17 Sep 15
Morgan, Many thanks for this. I have come across the religious dimension before - it just seems to add another layer of irrationality to the argument.
Americans seem to love the idea that someone, somewhere, is trying to get one over on them, and it is probably those awful people at the United Nations. But we're too clever for that, aren't we? We know what a hoax looks like - all that Apollo 11 landing was filmed in Hollywood stuff - so we won't believe a word of what you foreigners say!
And then their President goes and says the same things! But course, he's not really American anyway - not with a name like that and a father who came from Kenya!
Of course I'm being satirical here, but I think you get my drift!
1 person likes this
@OneOfMany (12150)
• United States
17 Sep 15
@indexer Don't get me started on Obozo (Obama). I've never seen someone try to destroy a country so much from the inside get away with it so easily. He hasn't done anything positive in office. The military doesn't like him, he's made his position internationally so weak no one takes us seriously anymore. Negotiates with terrorists, disregards the constitution, and the list goes on and on.
@porwest (112877)
• United States
17 Jan 25
Because it is hooey. Climate may be changing. But it's been doing that since the beginning of time. Did dinosaurs drive cars to have climate wipe them out? What caused the ice ages? We have deserts where we once had rivers and lakes, and rivers and lakes where we once had deserts.
The bottom line is this: Climate change is not man made and man cannot stop it. And thus, to suggest that we can is ridiculous, so creating taxes and initiatives is stupid.
Look, we can all agree we NEED to and SHOULD want to be good stewards of the planet in any way we possibly can. Reduce waste. Encourage recycling. Reduce emissions. Capture carbon emissions. Protect the water and the air and all of our natural resources.
At the same time, we need to remain sensible about it.
At the same time, I should also point out that while most Americans agree climate change is NOT man made, the United States has long been at the forefront of environmental protections. At the same time, the countries who are doing the most polluting like India and China are nearly COMPLETELY absent from the conversation.
So, WHO is denying it? Maybe we're calling hooey. But we are still taking more action than the biggest culprits causing environmental pollution concerns.
