University of Virginia Net-Zero Residence Initiative 2022 Project Energy Generation Group; WHY DO A LARGE NUMBER OF AMERICANS DISTRUST CLIMATE SCIENTISTS AND DO NOT BELIEVE IN GLOBAL WARMING?

This report looks into different groups of people and how likely an individual is to be skeptical about the existence and severity of climate change. It examines many different groups of people to see if they are more or less likely to distrust the word of climate scientists. The report looks at how long scientists have known about climate change and what they have done to inform the public about it. It also looks into why people believe in different conspiracy theories. It looks for reasons why certain groups are less likely to trust experts in this field. It examines how a person’s political party membership and religious beliefs are strong indicators to determine if a person will believe in climate change. It also looks into what types of media climate change deniers consume. The paper researches where people receive their news and how that impacts their beliefs. It compares climate change deniers to COVID-19 skeptics to see if similar groups are more likely to downplay the severity of both.