Ignorance Is Bliss - Titanic Syndrome

Ever wonder what the impact of decades of climate change denialism and Republican's routine attacks on science have on people when they are introduced to the potential impact of climate change on their very homes?   Those people most likely to suffer directly, deny the science.  

The study was intended to assess how residents might perceive the vulnerability of their property and their communities to severe storms. We asked residents about their political affiliation and their support for policies such as zoning laws, gasoline taxes and other measures to address climate change.

Surprisingly, we found that those who had viewed the maps were, on average, less likely to say they believed that climate change was taking place than those who had not seen the maps.

Further, those who saw the maps were less likely than those survey respondents who had not seen the maps to believe that climate change was responsible for the increased intensity of storms. Respondents who classified themselves as Republicans had the strongest negative responses to the maps.

Those who saw the maps were no more likely to believe that climate change exists, that climate change increases the severity of storms or that sea level is rising and related to climate change. Even more dramatically, exposure to the scientific map did not influence beliefs that their own homes were susceptible to flooding or that sea level rise would reduce local property values.

Facts are easier to ignore when that ignorance is reinforced by politicians, corporations and media outlets like Fox News.