As noted earlier, Barack Obama has gone nearly “all in” on his claim that man-made climate change is an indisputable fact, raising his estimate of the number of scientists who share his conviction from 97% climbs to 99.5%.
Of course if Obama knew the first thing about the nature of science, he would also argue that the Earth is the center of the universe because at one time that was the accepted consensus, and anyone who disagreed was persecuted even more than he persecutes naysayers.
But according to a new study, the outlook for Obama and his fellow saviors of the planet is growing more grim. The study suggests that skeptics are winning the battle to sway public opinion on global warming. To add insult to injury, the study, carried out by researchers at Michigan State University (MSU), was funded by the federal government!
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For the experiment, nearly 1,600 participants were given fake news articles about global warming — both skeptical and alarmist — and had them complete surveys about their beliefs on the issue.
Researchers found that none of the alarmist arguments about global warming changed “core beliefs” on the subject, but survey participants presented with skeptical arguments said they are more likely to doubt man-made global warming.
“This is the first experiment of its kind to examine the influence of the denial messages on American adults,” says Aaron McCright, an MSU sociologist and the study’s lead author. “Until now, most people just assumed climate change deniers were having an influence on public opinion. Our experiment confirms this.”
The study comes as Obama meets with world leaders in Paris to negotiate a global agreement to cut carbon dioxide emissions — the greenhouse gas blamed for rising temperatures. Obama warns that “no nation — large or small, wealthy or poor — is immune to what this means.”
World leaders met Monday to kick off the United Nations 21st climate summit, and hopes are high a global agreement on CO2 cuts will be reached. But Obama seems more concerned about global warming than the Americans he represents.
A November Fox News poll finds only 3% of American voters listed global warming as their top concern, down from 5% in August. Only 6% of Democrats listed global warming as their top concern, compared to 1% of Republicans.
American voters are much more concerned with issues like terrorism, immigration, and the economy over global warming. McCright’s research seems to add to evidence that people aren’t being convinced the world is headed for environmental catastrophe.
“That’s the power of the denial message,” says McCright. “It’s extremely difficult to change people’s minds on climate change, in part because they are entrenched in their views.”
Most shockingly, McCright finds that not only conservatives but liberals are more likely to become skeptics when presented with arguments doubting man-made global warming. Even when researchers put up fake news stories arguing the positives of global warming, liberals and conservatives aren’t convinced.
“Medical experts argue that dealing with climate change will improve our public health by reducing the likelihood of extreme weather events, reducing air quality and allergen problems, and limiting the spread of pests that carry infectious diseases,” reads one fake news article on the alleged health impacts of global warming.
On the other hand, negative messaging on global warming — trying to frame it as a conspiracy of the left — was able to get liberals and conservatives to become skeptics, or become further entrenched in their already skeptical views.
“However, most conservative leaders and Republican politicians believe that so-called climate change is vastly exaggerated by environmentalists, liberal scientists seeking government funding for their research and Democratic politicians who want to regulate business,” reads on of the fake articles on global warming skeptics.
This report, by Michael Bastasch, was cross-posted by arrangement with the Daily Caller News Foundation.
