'As world leaders meet this week and next at a historic climate change summit in Paris,
a new study by Michigan State University environmental scientists suggests opponents of climate change appear to be winning the war of words.
The research, funded by the National Science Foundation, finds that climate-change advocates are largely failing to influence public opinion. Climate-change foes, on the other hand, are successfully changing people’s minds – Republicans and Democrats alike – with messages denying the existence of global warming.'
'Surprisingly, none of the four major positive messages changed participants’ core beliefs about climate change. Further, when the negative
messages were presented, people were more apt to doubt the existence of climate change – and this was true of both conservatives and liberals.
“That’s the power of the denial message,” said McCright, associate professor in MSU’s Lyman Briggs College and Department of Sociology. [url]“It’s extremely difficult to change the minds of people who oppose climate change, in part because they are so entrenched in their views[/url].” '
http://msutoday.msu.edu/news/2015/climate-change-foes-winning-public-opinion-war...All of the authors are Sociologists, NOT environmental scientists.
Positive messages can change believers minds about climate change but not
vice versa.
Sociologists of the world unite. We need gravy.