[Vision2020] System Justification, the Denial of Global Warming, and the Possibility of “System-Sanctioned Change”

[Dave]

I would like to deny the law of gravity, but something keeps weighing me 
down.

But seriously, 95% of climate scientists say we have a serious problem.  
5% say we don't, but they are mostly employed by the oil companies!

I mean come on WTF?

"Because we don't think about future generations, they will never forget 
us."
--Henrik Tikkanen (1924-1984)

Dave


On 12/12/2010 04:25 PM, Paul Rumelhart wrote:
> The whole underlying assumption that global warming or whatever they are
> calling it these days is some sort of universal truth and that anyone
> who disagrees must be denying that truth is indicative of just how
> politicized this topic has become.
>
> There are a set of hypotheses having to do with changes in climate, CO2,
> and future consequences that have been proposed.  The onus is on them to
> convince us that they are correct.  By not being convinced, I'm not
> denying some universal truth, I'm just not convinced.  I have real
> problems with how they have modeled feedbacks, for example.  It's up to
> them to convince me that they have indeed handled them correctly,
> preferably by showing how well their models have fit observations.
>
> The fact that the authors put the phrase "denial of global warming" in
> the title of their paper makes me shake my head at how the science has
> been flushed down the toilet.  Analyzing why people don't believe your
> hypothesis is not the way to convince other scientists that it is
> correct.  Neither is gaming the peer review system or making it
> career-damaging to support other hypotheses, but that's an argument for
> another day.
>
> Paul
>
> Ted Moffett wrote:
>> http://psp.sagepub.com/content/36/3/326.abstract
>>
>> System Justification, the Denial of Global Warming, and the
>> Possibility of “System-Sanctioned Change”
>>
>> Irina Feygina
>> New York University, New York, NY, irina.feygina at nyu.edu
>>
>> John T. Jost
>> New York University, New York, NY
>>
>> Rachel E. Goldsmith
>> Reed College, Portland, Oregon
>>
>> Abstract
>>
>> Despite extensive evidence of climate change and environmental
>> destruction, polls continue to reveal widespread denial and resistance
>> to helping the environment. It is posited here that these responses
>> are linked to the motivational tendency to defend and justify the
>> societal status quo in the face of the threat posed by environmental
>> problems. The present research finds that system justification
>> tendencies are associated with greater denial of environmental
>> realities and less commitment to pro-environmental action. Moreover,
>> the effects of political conservatism, national identification, and
>> gender on denial of environmental problems are explained by
>> variability in system justification tendencies. However, this research
>> finds that it is possible to eliminate the negative effect of system
>> justification on environmentalism by encouraging people to regard
>> pro-environmental change as patriotic and consistent with protecting
>> the status quo (i.e., as a case of “system-sanctioned change”).
>> Theoretical and practical implications of these findings are
>> discussed.
>>
>> ------------------------------------------
>> Vision2020 Post: Ted Moffett
>>
>> =======================================================
>>   List services made available by First Step Internet,
>>   serving the communities of the Palouse since 1994.
>>                 http://www.fsr.net
>>            mailto:Vision2020 at moscow.com
>> =======================================================
>>
>>
> =======================================================
>   List services made available by First Step Internet,
>   serving the communities of the Palouse since 1994.
>                 http://www.fsr.net
>            mailto:Vision2020 at moscow.com
> =======================================================
>
>

-- 
Windows, OSX, or Linux is the same choice as:
McDonald's, Burger King, or a (real) Co-Op.