Global warming skeptics know more about science than climate change believers

Washington, May 29 (ANI): People who are not that worried about the effects of global warming tend to have a slightly higher level of scientific knowledge than those who are worried, according to a new study.

The results published in the journal Nature Climate Change was determined by asking questions about both science and statistics to 1,540 representative Americans.

The quiz contains 22 questions like: "Electrons are smaller than atoms-true or false?"

"How long does it take the Earth to go around the Sun? One day, one month, or one year?"

"Lasers work by focusing sound waves-true or false?"

Respondents who were relatively less worried about global warming got 57 percent of them right, on average, just barely outscoring those whose who saw global warming as a bigger threat. They got 56 percent of the questions correct.

"As respondents' science literacy scores increased, their concern with climate change decreased," the paper noted.

Yale Law Professor Dan Kahan, the lead author of the study, cautioned that the survey results are not evidence for or against climate change.

"This study is agnostic on what people ought to believe. It just doesn't follow to say this finding implies anything about what people should believe on this issue," he told Fox News.

Kahan said that he thought another finding of the study was more important: That people's cultural views - how much they value things like individualism and equality-affect their views on global warming much more than actual knowledge about science.

Regardless of how much they know about science, individualists were relatively unconcerned about global warming, whereas those who value equality were very concerned.

Both sides of the global warming debate say the study's findings support their views. Those who worry about global warming say it shows that cultural biases blind even smart people to the "scientific consensus." (ANI)