Analysis of skepticism

A recent study of the environmental skepticism movement found that the overwhelming majority of environmentally skeptical books published since the 1970s were either written or published by authors or institutions affiliated with conservative think tanks. The authors identified four defining themes in the movement:

1. The "denial of the seriousness of environmental problems and dismissal of scientific evidence documenting these problems"
2. The "question[ing of] the importance of environmentally protective policies"
3. The "endorse[ment of] an anti-regulatory/anti-corporate liability position"
4. And the promotion of the idea that "environmentalism [is] a growing threat to social and economic progress and the ‘American way of life’"

They "conclude that scepticism is a tactic of an elite-driven counter-movement designed to combat environmentalism, and that the successful use of this tactic has contributed to the weakening of US commitment to environmental protection."^[3]