Climate Change Deniers Not True Conservatives

That's the argument made by Rod Dreher in this editorial in the Sacramento Bee.

Conservatives are supposed to be cautious by nature and in principle. But on global warming, conservatives are the loudest voices advocating recklessness. What, exactly, is conservative about sneering at overwhelming scientific evidence? ...

Traditionally, conservatives strive to deal with the world as it is, not as they wish it were. They believe in personal responsibility. They believe in stewardship, in provision for future generations, and in the moral responsibility to live within one's means. They recognize limits, consider humility a virtue, and hold a respect for the natural world that amounts to what the Romans called pietas, or duty, toward it.
More on the right are now waking up to traditionalist conservatism's embrace of environmental responsibility. But too many still believe that global warming isn't real or, if it is, hope that something will turn up. Hope is a theological virtue, but as the basis for environmental policy, it's indefensible.

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