“Psychological Barriers” Keep Us From Caring Enough About Climate Change

Oh burr-u-ther! A “study” is out blaming “psychological barriers” for preventing us from getting all hot and bothered about global warming, er, climate change.  From the story:

Psychological barriers like uncertainty, mistrust and denial keep most Americans from acting to fight climate change, a task force of the American Psychological Association said on Wednesday. Policymakers, scientists and marketers should look at these factors to figure out what might prod people take action, the task force reported at the association’s annual convention in Toronto…Numerous psychological barriers are to blame, the task force found, including: uncertainty over climate change, mistrust of the messages about risk from scientists or government officials, denial that climate change is occurring or that it is related to human activity.

Or it could be because there hasn’t been any warming in this decade, the hubristic refusal of advocates like Al Gore to subject themselves to public scrutiny, the zealous attempt by the true believers to stifle debate, and the real uncertainty about the accuracy of computer predictions.  Still, I would agree that we doubters have a psychological barrier alright: It’s called common sense.