It increasingly seems like the major difference between liberals/Democrats and conservatives/Republians is over acceptance of reality. I might disagree with liberals on things which are primarily a matter of opinion, but at least the facts can be agreed upon based upon authoritative works in a field. Republicans frequently have their own facts. If dealing with current events they shun the mainstream media in favor of Fox News and other propaganda sources which will reassure tham that WMD really was found and that Saddam had Osama bin Laden on speed dial so that they could plot the 9/11 attack together. As evolution doesn’t fit into their religious beliefs they have established the Discover Institute to fabricate an argument for creationism. National Journal shows that we can add belief in climate change to the list of where conservatives ignore reality for ideological reasons (or possibly for the benefit of oil corporations and other donors who prefer this stand). (Hat tip to Think Progress).
A poll of members of Congress shows that only 13% of Repubicans believe that the earth is warming because of man-made problems. This is down from 23% in April 2006. In contrast, 95% of Democrats believe this. Apparently Repubicans in Congress don’t bother to read the studies they commission. Last June the National Academy of Sciences published a review on climate change which was requested by Congress. They found that “recent warmth is unprecedented for at least the last 400 years and potentially the last several millennia.” and that “human activities are responsible for much of the recent warming.” Of course just this month we have seen the report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change finding that global warming is “unequivocal” and that human activity is the main driver, “very likely” causing most of the rise in temperatures since 1950.
