Can Social Scientists Help Ease the Nation's Rift Over Climate Change? - NYTimes.com

His research partner put that emphasis on collecting evidence to work by attending a conservative conference on climate change last May. She came away with themes that will sketch an outline of the skeptical movement for future research: Adherents tend to be middle-aged, white males who resent government, are suspicious of scientists and their peer-reviewed protocols, and believe global warming is made up to hit them in the wallet.
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"Palpable anger among speakers and participants" is one of the cataloged observations.
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"Some may argue that the climate skeptic movement is small and thus irrelevant to the debate on what to do about climate change, but as social scientists, we cannot endorse such flippant dismissal," says a paper by the researchers that will be published in the journal Strategic Organization next summer.

Similarities to abortion politics

"If, as we suspect, skeptics invoke climate frames that resemble abortion politics, this has serious policy implications. As long as members of the skeptic movement are included in the policy debate and sway the opinions of some lawmakers, their discourse is critically relevant."