Why deny global warming?
Kevin at the Washington Monthly's Political Animal is wondering why conservatives are deniers of global warming. Indeed, he notes, it seems as if denial is making a comeback.
What is interesting is WHY this has become a signature issue for the tinfoil brigade. They could easily take the view that global warming means more jobs because there will be different lands to plow and new houses to build on top of wildlife, and so on. Lots of business opportunities in global warming for people who already have money.
My best guess is that it is the same dynamic that leads conservatives to oppose energy efficiency. First, their view of manhood requires that you destroy and plow under and generally "conquer" nature, and both energy efficiency and changes to mitigate warming are imply that you will be listening and responding to the needs of the environment rather than bulldozing it.
Secondly, I think they suspect that concern about global warming is a stalking horse for an anti-capitalist view of the world. Global warming is a concern of people who have, in the past, also been concerned about animal rights, poor people, Palestinians, and the like; people who suggest that you can live happily on less rather than more, more, more and people who are unlikely to become day-traders. These are not people who like capitalism, or at the minimum, not people who worship capitalism. Thus, if THIS crowd supports concern about global warming, the wing nuts have to be against it.