Race, class, and gender are not the only places where individuals fail to see the big picture. It turns out that attitudes about climate change have a lot to do with the present weather conditions. As the author of the study states:
Global warming is so complex, it appears some people are ready to be persuaded by whether their own day is warmer or cooler than usual, rather than think about whether the entire world is becoming warmer or cooler. It is striking that society has spent so much money, time and effort educating people about this issue, yet people are still so easily influenced.
Humans, it seems, are not particularly good at systematically collecting data with which to explore their world views. I also wonder if the apparent decline of media authority also plays a role, since reports based on data that has been systematically collected can be written off as evidence of bias.
As an aside, every time I hear a variation of the maxim expressed in the first sentence of the article above – “Don’t like the weather? Wait an hour.” – it is attached to a particular region of the country. The more time I spend in different areas of the country, however, the more convinced I am that this saying is common in every area of the country.
