Increased Knowledge About Global Warming = Apathy?
by Jasmin Malik Chua, Jersey City, USA on 03.31.08
Knowledge may be power, but when it comes to global warming, it seems that the more you know, the less you care, at least according to one recent study published in the journal Risk Analysis.
After polling 1,093 Americans over the phone, researchers found that high levels of confidence in scientists resulted in a decreased sense of responsibility for global warming.
The findings were somewhat unexpected, says Paul M. Kellstedt, a political science associate professor at Texas A&M. He noted that the focus of the study was not to measure how informed or uninformed Americans are about global warming, but to understand why some people who are more or less informed about it showed more or less concern.
“In that sense, we didn't really have expectations about how aware or unaware people were of global warming,” he says. "“The findings that the more informed respondents were less concerned about global warming, and that they felt less personally responsible for it, did surprise us. We expected just the opposite."
Kellstedt noted, however, that although their findings held fast no matter how they modeled the data, other variables played a much larger effect on concern for global warming. Plus, measuring knowledge about global warming is a tricky proposition to begin with, he adds.
“That’s true of many other things we would like to measure in surveys, of course, especially things that might embarrass people (like ignorance) or that they might feel social pressure to avoid revealing (like prejudice),” Kellstedt says. “There are no industry standards, so to speak, for measuring knowledge about global warming. We opted for this straightforward measure and realize that other measures might produce different results.”
Still, it can't be comforting for climate-change researchers to know that the more trust people have in them as scientists, the less concerned they are about their findings. ::Texas A&M University
Well I for one am very aware of GW and feel responsible nearly every time I start my car, turn on a light, or buy something slightly non-life sustaining (like a CD). I do my best to curb emissions and usage, but some days I do feel like the only one. If I KNEW my other neighbors or coworkers were as diligent as I, I would feel like we ARE making more of a difference.
This is really not so hard to grasp - as a corollary to the Grand Parent paradox.
American families are often spread apart. Each grand parent wants his or her grandchild to have the best school ever, yet struggling to get by on fixed or low income, complains bitterly about the tax burden posed by the local school district. (where their grand child does NOT live).
Each and every grandparent has the same attitude with the result all school districts having to cut programs, etc.
Smug in their Prius dreams, survey respondents imagine far away New York City and Miami flooding ,and fantasize their own survival through superior skill and luck of geography.
I think the more a person knows, he understands that there is nothing he can do about it, particularly in light of all the environment abusers seen everywhere. This is called being jaded.
Even worse, when you understand the Earth's 4-billion year history, evolution, and natural cycles, you realize that the human era is just a blip in time, and the earth has recovered from mass extinctions and cataclysms before. So you get kind of a "meh" attitude to climate change.
I believe profit and security will be the main motivators.
After that, there will be the 'well there's nothing left' idea.
When you can cheaply build and run an electric car or reduce your heating bills drastically, people (even Joe Sixpack) will wake up, take notice, and take action. Look at how the Prius caught on. The technology will come.
Corporate greed will lead to clever ad campaigns from alternative energy suppliers and e-car makers about supporting terrorists and police states we give money to around the world because they have oil.
Eventually when the Peak Oil point has been reached, or maybe we are already there, people will have no choice. I am sure $5.oo a gallon gas will spur further R&D on alternative tech.
The big idea is to some day think of oil as some arcane form of alternative energy.
I don't go for the self-inflicted guilt because we all have a limited sphere of influence. People still have to go to work and support themselves and families, etc. That is not to say give up. It is to say do what you can and be alert to new technology and spread the word when possible. Be educated and informed. One of the reasons this site is so key.
Hey look, even George Bush says- Yeah, we all have to do sumthin about clamat chaynge huh, huh, ... You can bet your assets that Haliburton has some new electric car all ready to go when the profit point is peak!!
vsk
The reason this is IMO is because the more you read about it the more you realize that even if all of the CO2 produced by humans stopped tomorrow we aren't even sure that it will stop the amount increasing in the atmosphere. Also, almost nothing has warmed in the past few years, since the solar cycle 23 stopped. Once 24 rounds it's bend and ramps up we will probably see more warming again and great crop yields. Especially since the warmer atmosphere will cause better rain fall in a pile of areas that aren't already really arid.
The more you read, the less you care because it's only urgent if you're running for office.