Why the right goes nuclear over global warming (LA Times)

[jpak]

http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/commentary/la-op-chait25mar25,0,3748551.column?coll=la-util-opinion-commentary

LAST YEAR, the National Journal asked a group of Republican senators and House members: "Do you think it's been proven beyond a reasonable doubt that the Earth is warming because of man-made problems?" Of the respondents, 23% said yes, 77% said no. In the year since that poll, of course, global warming has seized a massive amount of public attention. The U.N.'s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change released a study, with input from 2,000 scientists worldwide, finding that the certainty on man-made global warming had risen to 90%.

So, the magazine asked the question again last month. The results? Only 13% of Republicans agreed that global warming has been proved. As the evidence for global warming gets stronger, Republicans are actually getting more skeptical. Al Gore's recent congressional testimony on the subject, and the chilly reception he received from GOP members, suggest the discouraging conclusion that skepticism on global warming is hardening into party dogma. Like the notion that tax cuts are always good or that President Bush is a brave war leader, it's something you almost have to believe if you're an elected Republican.

How did it get this way? The easy answer is that Republicans are just tools of the energy industry. It's certainly true that many of them are. Leading global warming skeptic Rep. Joe L. Barton (R-Texas), for instance, was the subject of a fascinating story in the Wall Street Journal a couple of years ago. The bottom line is that his relationship to the energy industry is as puppet relates to hand.

But the financial relationship doesn't quite explain the entirety of GOP skepticism on global warming. For one thing, the energy industry has dramatically softened its opposition to global warming over the last year, even as Republicans have stiffened theirs.

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[theoldman]

1. Blows your mind doesn't it.

I believe that most of the opposition is due to support of industry. Some is just blind following the leader. The rest is sticking your head in the sand mentality. Guess who will win in the long run. It will not be the Republicans.

[jpak]

3. Yup, it's just a lot of good old fashioned republic anti-science anti-intellectualism

mixed with a healthy dose of dumbass lemming behavior.

But unfortunately, there are a still lot of them out there...

[kestrel91316]

2. This pretty much sums it up for me:

"....Republicans are just tools of the energy industry...."

[seasat]

4. I think the "softening" by the fossil fuel industry is just show.

IMHO, their supporters got burned when it was pointed out how they were directly funding them while reaping record profits. I think they've moved on to indirect funding through Repug supported think tanks and candidates. It allows them to launder their support while appearing to be more sympathetic to the public.

[HappyWeasel]

5. Well....conservatism is a religion..actually more of a cult.

Those who take credit of being the founders set the dogma. There is no real practical interest in the dogma but it gives the congregation hope...and something to united themselves and to distinguish themselves from others.

[BeFree]

6. Their slogan

Just ignore it and it will go away.

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Thing is, you can ignore pollution for only so long. And that is what we are doing to the atmosphere: polluting it beyond a reasonable doubt.