The psychology, vanity and deceit of climate denial

(With the overwhelming amount of accumulated evidence at hand, I find it increasingly frustrating when I have to defend the science - the very plausibility off anthropogenic climate change. I do understand that some people, faced with something that is global, unavoidable, and deeply disturbing, might choose to ignore a topic, belittle it or create excuses, instead of facing reality and dealing with it. But this article does a good job showing how climate denial comes in many other forms, ranging from fear to vanity - even outright deceit).

There are three kinds of climate change denier. There are those who simply don't want to accept the evidence, because it is too much to bear, or because it threatens aspects of their lives that they don't want to change. These are by far the most numerous, and account for most of those whose comments will follow this post.

I have some sympathy for their position. Denial is most people's first response to something they don't want to hear, whether it is a diagnosis of terminal illness or the threat presented by the rise of the Axis Powers. The moral, intellectual and practical challenge of climate change is unprecedented. The urge to duck it almost irresistible.

The complete article is here.