More informed feel less personally responsible for global warming

Interesting results from a recent study.

Despite the growing scientific consensus about the risks of global
warming and climate change, the mass media frequently portray the
subject as one of great scientific controversy and debate. And yet
previous studies of the mass public's subjective assessments of the
risks of global warming and climate change have not sufficiently
examined public informedness, public confidence in climate scientists,
and the role of personal efficacy in affecting global warming
outcomes. By examining the results of a survey on an original and
representative sample of Americans, we find that these three forces—
informedness, confidence in scientists, and personal efficacy—are
related in interesting and unexpected ways, and exert significant
influence on risk assessments of global warming and climate change. In
particular, more informed respondents both feel less personally
responsible for global warming, and also show less concern for global
warming. We also find that confidence in scientists has unexpected
effects: respondents with high confidence in scientists feel less
responsible for global warming, and also show less concern for global
warming. These results have substantial implications for the
interaction between scientists and the public in general, and for the
public discussion of global warming and climate change in particular.

Personal Efficacy, the Information Environment, and Attitudes Toward
Global Warming and Climate Change in the United States
Kellstedt, P.M., Zahran, S., and Vedlitz, A. (2008). Personal
Efficacy, the Information Environment, and Attitudes Toward Global
Warming and Climate Change in the United States. Risk Analysis, 28(1),
113