From CORNELL UNIVERSITY and the “we have compassion and fairness and you don’t” department comes this eye-roller. One wonders how they might rate the compassion and fairness of this statement:
“We are not morally bad people for taking carbon and turning it into the energy that offers life to humanity…” Carbon-based energy, which is “the most affordable and reliable source of energy in demand today, liberates people from poverty,” “Without energy, life is brutal and short.” – Dr. John Christy Source
Moral values influence level of climate change action
The findings also suggest that a moral value rated more highly by conservatives – purity – also appears to have a positive effect, though not as pronounced as compassion and fairness.
Those insights from a group of four researchers at Cornell – Janis Dickinson, professor of natural resources; Poppy McLeod, professor of communication; Robert Bloomfield, professor of management and professor of accounting; and Shorna Allred, professor of natural resources – were published in PLOS ONE. While prior research has investigated the relationship between moral values and environmental attitudes, this work extends this investigation to intentionality with respect to changes in environmental behavior.
The authors’ work is based on Jonathan Haidt’s moral foundations theory. A professor at New York University, Haidt identifies five “moral axes” around which humans develop individual moral reasoning: compassion/harming, fairness/cheating, in-group loyalty/betrayal, authority/subversion and purity/degradation.
Previous research using Haidt’s moral foundations has found that those who identify as liberal prize the values of compassion and fairness most highly. Those who consider themselves conservative place nearly as high a value on compassion and fairness, but place a substantially higher value on in-group loyalty, authority and purity.
The Cornell researchers also found that belief in climate change was significantly associated with increased willingness to act, while those who identified as politically conservative, and who were older and male, were less inclined to act.
Given that liberal attitudes tend to favor action on climate change, Dickinson was not surprised that compassion and fairness correlated strongly with individual willingness to make lifestyle changes.
“Compassion and fairness make perfect sense, because climate change is an environmental justice issue, and being willing to do something about climate change also requires that we care about future generations. Both of those things require compassion and a sense of fairness,” said Dickinson, the study’s lead author. “But it’s not as clear why purity would be important. It may be because within the religious community, leaders have been focusing on the ideas that we are stewards of the earth and that there’s something impure about destroying natural systems.”
The association between the valuation of purity and a willingness to make personal lifestyle changes, while not as strong as for compassion and fairness, indicates the potential for alternative pathways to climate change action for liberals and conservatives.
“Our finding that willingness to take action on climate change was related to moral values embraced by both liberals and conservatives suggests that it is too simplistic to use political ideology alone to predict support for climate change action,” said McLeod.
“As we learn what’s important to different kinds of people with respect to climate change, that information can help us communicate in ways where the problem can be heard,” said Dickinson. “And I think we may be missing arguments that are important to people if we ignore moral diversity.”
###
You have to remember – what’s important here is the ‘warm fuzzy’. It’s sort of like a narcotic buzz these types get from their moral exhibitionism – and there is absolutely no necessity for value to their actions – or even that the cause is just. But the ‘fix’ requires ever more intense actions – just like the same dose of crack doesn’t get you as high this week as last, THIS week, you need MORE than last week.
And really, this is the same ‘Holier than Thou’ crowd that were the judgmental, puritan ‘church lady’ types that felt so superior to the rest of us before they were painted over with day-glow green.
It’s not really altruism at all – it’s self-indulgence. And elitism.
Well said, may I quote you?
Feel free. Any contribution helps.
A historical note: In 1935, two years after the Nazionalsozialists rose to power, the German government passed a Reich law for the protection of the natural environment, a law whose scope was unprecedented at the time and whose goal was to protect and care for the homeland’s natural environment. The law included regulations for the protection of flora and fauna, as well as for the conservation of unique natural phenomena of scientific importance and of aesthetic and cultural value. These natural phenomena included Germany’s celebrated forests, which were considered a central component of the German national identity.
read more: http://www.haaretz.com/jewish/features/brown-and-green-were-the-nazis-forerunners-of-environmental-movements-1.513354
Yep. Ol’ Adolf was a big Greenie. Environmentalism is historically one of the most exploitable ways to get the population to forsake their rights and prosperity, ‘for the greater good’, because ‘what harm can it do?’ – ‘it’s for the environment’.
There’s no other cause I’ve seen that is so effective in getting people flocking to put the noose around their own necks.
I would use a different term. What these people are really doing is indulging in spiritual masturbation. On the one hand they feel guilty (never mind what they feel guilty about, they just get a thrill from feeling guilty). This leads up to the climactic moment at which they decide to do something about it, which usually involves spending a lot of their money and even more of other peoples’ money. Having done this, they then have a warm post-coital glow of achievement.
“I would use a different term. What these people are really doing is indulging in spiritual masturbation. On the one hand they feel guilty (never mind what they feel guilty about, …”
—————————————-
“I would use a different term. What these people are really doing is indulging in spiritual masturbation. On the one hand they feel guilty (never mind what they do with their other hand …”
I don’t completely agree……self-indulgence and elitism I do 100% agree…but for a different reason
compassion and fairness is a judgement call…someone has to choose who is the winner of that compassion and fairness..and who is the loser…they get to choose who’s right and wrong…right out of the liberal play book…and perfect example of self-indulgence and elitism
purity..is the polar opposite of that….inward looking…and a judgement on self…not a projection
That is perfect! As most liberals/greens are sure of their purity and feel the need to inflict in upon others!
I think they left out what to me is the biggest moral issue – TRUTH!
The way I started out considering the pros and cons of CAGW, I said to myself, “If their case is so strong, then why do they have to lie?” Once you lie to me, then every other of your moral issues fall by the wayside. If you lie to me, then I even may work against you.
Mann, Briffa, Steig, East Anglia, Hansen & Schmidt at GISS, and others – why would I support the opinions of a bunch of liars?
Joel, I agree with your analysis. I was thinking similarly as I read the piece…that none of the research addressed the correctness or completeness of the science and the economics.
John, exactly!! It’s convenient, in fact essential, for the ‘students’ to take industrial man’s influence over climate as a given. This is not unlike studying how conservatives and liberals might feel about the damage caused by gravity.
compassion and fairness
====================
what about truth and honesty? are these not moral values?
are compassion and fairness moral? for example, someone does poorly on an exam because they didn’t pay attention in class and didn’t bother to do their homework.
should we take compassion on that person and in the interest of fairness artificially increase their exam marks to match the rest of the class?
after all they must have a good reason why they didn’t pay attention or do their homework, maybe they were breast fed too long/short as a child, or potty training was to authoritarian/lax, so it wouldn’t be fair to give them a poor mark.
Ferd,
They didn’t include us po’ ol’ engineers where your ‘truth and honesty’ is the top requirement of the job. ‘Compassion and fairness’ don’t keep the bridge afloat.
+1000
I also noticed that and wondered about it. It’s often what is left out that is most important. And I notice that you learn more about the predetermined biases of the report authors, than about the people they studied.
Joe, correct me if I’m wrong, unless the bridge is a pontoon bridge, it ain’t supposed to float. It’s supposed to span the water.
Lunacy cubed = sanity. It’s proved in common core curriculum.
Too bad they are not so concerned about moral values like honesty and integrity.
Add responsibility and self reliance.
The problem with the “warm and fuzzy” is that they are not willing to make a change in THEIR lifestyles, only in others. If they did want to make a difference, they wouldn’t jet off to the next COPxx, they would teleconference it. They would give up their million dollar yachts, private planes, and mansions, and lower their standard of living to that of the abysmally poor in Africa. If they were to do that, I would have a far greater respect for them and their position.
Of course, I would also, like them, view the facts and data and realize that it is still an elaborate con, thus not make changes in my own lifestyle which is far closer to the abysmally poor in Africa then to the one enjoyed by those having the “warm and fuzzy.”
It is mostly a willingness for others to have “lifestyle changes”. The most rabid greens are not that ascetic 🙂
Whether they are or are not isn’t the point. If you are a militant vegan, do you have the right to demand minimum vegan standards of everyone else?
This is just human behavior 101: religious dogma must be forced on the rest of us by the dogmatists. “You WILL care about what I care about! You will be MADE to care!”
Bill,
Can I help
“You WILL care about what I care about! You will be MADE to care!”
“You WILL care about what I care about! You will be MADE to care! Or you will die – possibly painfully. . . . .”
I hope this helps.
Auto
What pile of BS. I have had it up to here with the Liberal/Progressives lie that only THEY are caring and compassionate. I would say we all are but that conservatives go about trying to do something about it in a pragmatic and more realistic way. On the other hand liberals believe that you just have to tap the magic money trees and faery dust to provide for the poor.
The leftist feels his obligation to the poor is satisfied when they vote for a politician who promises to raise someone else’s taxes so that the money can be given to the poor.
That and add one more jobs program to the 40 something we have now.
‘Caring compassion’ from the left is just the bait in the bait and switch progressive use to coerce a belief in their agenda. It’s the same with climate science, where the the bait they use to make the sacrifice seem necessary is the illusion of saving the planet from destruction by man coupled with a false sense of urgency. The switch is a one world government where freedom has been displaced with conformance to narratives beneficial to an even further detached and elite ruling class.
That same technique is used across many cultures world wide as a tool of oppression. I’m not sure what a good term for it but ‘fascism’ comes close. The technique makes use of the in-group-out-group human tendency towards tribalism. It is notorious in American middle schools, especially by girls (at least in our popular culture it’s seen this way)
I’ve had this same discussion with Pakistani professor about the Islamists inserting themselves into universities in the 70s and 80s, from eastern European college students during and after the post WW2 occupation by the Soviet Union, read similar stories about Nazi Germany, fascist Italy, and the Soviet Union, culminating in the modern Western University.
The psychological trick is slimy and abusive and needs to be fought no matter what culture it appears in and which side is using it.
Peter
I seem to remember that someone did a study of conservative and liberal charity donations several years ago that reinforced you statement. The liberals as you say would vote for spending other peoples (tax) money while the conservatives gave more to charity. Here is an article that mentions several similar studies (with conflicting results): http://www.thefiscaltimes.com/2014/10/17/Who-s-More-Generous-Liberals-or-Conservatives.
What is kind and fair about shackling our future generations as debt slaves to this liberal generation’s largess at chasing after the renewable energy unicorn.
Or any of the other left wing unicorns.
An example of the now very common fallacy – begging the question. I don’t think climate change is a big deal for future generations, so I don’t support taking action now. Its not that I don’t care, its that you haven’t convinced me about your basic assumption.
Trump, Brexit, climate change, inequality- lots of claims being made that just beg the question.
How many angels can fit on that pin??
Fewer than can fit on the tip of a unicorn’s horn
Asian or European unicorn?
African unicorn, what else?
“You can’t legislate morality.” – many Leftsrds online over the years (they really meant “your morality”)
morality is the science of choice in the face of alternatives based on a standard of value.
obedience is the self immolation of a conscious entity
force and mind are opposites
commandments demand submission.
this was celebrated at jonestown and produced the meme ‘koolaid’.
Off topic, because I can’t get the “tip” page to open:
Hathaway: “Cycle 25 will be similar in strength to the current cycle. ”
Predicting the Amplitude and Hemispheric Asymmetry of Solar Cycle 25 with Surface Flux Transport†
David H. Hathaway , Lisa A. Upton
†This article has been accepted for publication and undergone full peer review but has not been through the copyediting, typesetting, pagination and proofreading process, which may lead to differences between this version and the Version of Record. Please cite this article as doi: 10.1002/2016JA023190
Abstract
Evidence strongly indicates that the strength of the Sun’s polar fields near the time of a sunspot cycle minimum determines the strength of the following solar activity cycle. We use our Advective Flux Transport (AFT) code, with flows well constrained by observations, to simulate the evolution of the Sun’s polar magnetic fields from early 2016 to the end of 2019 — near the expected time of Cycle 24/25 minimum. We run a series of simulations in which the uncertain conditions (convective motion details, active region tilt, and meridional flow profile) are varied within expected ranges. We find that the average strength of the polar fields near the end of Cycle 24 will be similar to that measured near the end of Cycle 23, indicating that Cycle 25 will be similar in strength to the current cycle. In all cases the polar fields are asymmetric with fields in the south stronger than those in the north. This asymmetry would be more pronounced if not for the predicted weakening of the southern polar fields in late 2016 and through 2017. After just four years of simulation the variability across our ensemble indicates an accumulated uncertainty of about 15%. This accumulated uncertainty arises from stochastic variations in the convective motion details, the active region tilt, and changes in the meridional flow profile. These variations limit the ultimate predictability of the solar cycle.
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/2016JA023190/full
Sent from my iPhone
Yesterday on the radio I heard an extended interview with someone extolling the virtues of a vegan diet as a way to reduce carbon emissions. Towards the end the guest said that if the whole family embraces a vegan diet that is equivalent to taking a car off the road.
It was clear the guest’s real agenda was to discourage people from eating meat. Otherwise he could have pointed out how easy it is to telecommute now. Seven or eight years ago I was driving to the airport sometime three days a week and flying to see clients. This year—with more clients—I’ve not flown once and I’ve put barely 2,000 miles on my car.
Steak. Bring it.
“This year—with more clients—I’ve not flown once and I’ve put barely 2,000 miles on my car.”
Must be nice.
I flew to Houston almost every week for 3.5 years, and then switched to telecommuting. I can telecommute to Saudi A, NYC and Shreveport in the same day.
Mo betta, this!
Sigh… I wish I could. Regulatory requirements require a licensed, competent, qualified person to do the job I do. It pays the bills but, one of these days I’m going to stop traveling. And, when I do stop traveling, it’s probably going to be darn difficult, nigh on impossible, to get me on another commercial airline.
How can you believe anything they say? They make up their numbers all the time on renewable energy, especially costs. They think their sense of moral superiority gives them the right to lie to everyone. It seems very improbable that a family, giving up meat, will save that much energy. I have no axe to grind here. I’m practically a vegetarian myself. If this is based on projections from herbivore methane emissions, then we can give herbivores inexpensive feed supplements to reduce methane emissions by almost 99%. I bet the vegan did not mention that.
“sense of moral superiority”
I think “social license” is the new preferred term for forcing others to do what you want them to.
Do you use Skype or some other video media ? What communications tools do you find useful ?
Kin’a off topic , but I’m really interested in what community support tools are effective .
I use GOTO meetings for almost daily meetings with my clients. They have a video feature but no one really wants to use it so we just talk, I keep notes on the screen which they can comment on as we go, and everyone gets minutes immediately after the meeting. Also works great for editing documents together.
Roger , Thanks for the info . You’ll see on my http://CoSy.com that my product is a computer linguistic environment which deals with the mundane but imperative tasks of a day-timer but built from the chip up in open language in which you command and customize the environment which at the same time is capable of the APL level succinct expression of computation which got me involved in this battle to return this climate nonscience to a quantitative classical physical foundation . It can use a lot of instructional interaction even the building of a user/programmer community . So screen sharing is more important that faces . Certainly for demoing and teaching language , it’s an incredible new tool .
Thanks
Leftists have so much compassion that they are willing to spend unlimited amounts of other people’s money on problems that don’t even exist.
exactly…..this is a university using the word “justice”
Climate Justice = reparations = get paid = IPCC = Paris = this whole s c a m is about justice and someone getting paid
To a leftist fairness is defined as nobody having more than the leftist. No matter how hard they may have worked for it. Since the leftist has, in his opinion, worked, the leftist is therefore entitled to just as much as everyone else has.
Conservatives place a higher value on group loyalty?
Is that why leftists define any black who isn’t a liberal as an “Uncle Tom” or race traitor?
Love Trumps Hate….
http://ww3.hdnux.com/photos/13/00/22/2884794/6/1024×1024.jpg
Ah. The Paragons of American Leftist Virtue. True Heroes to The Cause.
I notice that the store they are destroying has absolutely nothing to do with Trump.
Like most leftists they hate those that have more than they do, and thus they strike at any signs of wealth.
To me, they appear to be professional and well prepared looters. They all have bags and sticks.
Mark I googled “liberal compassion fairness” and that’s what came up…….. 🙂
Jer0me,
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2016/11/15/is-planned-parenthood-affiliate-fueling-anti-trump-protests.html
Just the tip of the iceberg.
Jer0me: Add to the fact that they seem to be wearing identical “uniforms”, none of which appear to be either worn or faded.
Looks like a uniform….
MarkW November 16, 2016 at 1:56 pm
Jer0me November 16, 2016 at 2:17 pm makes a very good point. Progressives tend to protest more, and thrie protest same to attract opportunistic criminals. There is also some evidence that many of the “activists” are only active if they are well payed.
Note there is some joking in my house hold about answering the ad and getting paid for a night on the town.
Do note this is happening in places like Portand OR. Who won Portland? Most of those arrested in Portland it turns out were not registered to vote anywhere in Oregon. Go figure.
http://truthfeed.com/breaking-most-of-the-arrested-portland-rioters-didnt-vote/35853/
there are many other sources for this.
michael ….
Arrg need new keyboard
and their protests seem to…
sorry
michael
Mike, new keyboards are cheap. They have also been improving over time.
Gunga Din November 16, 2016 at 2:37 pm
sorry did not see your link
But L agree this is orchestrated. I think once you dig a bit you will find different groups with different agendas.
I think there are some real protesters who are afraid of Mr Trump, the other side did so much demonizing it should be expected.
Then there are the for hire crowd that may be under instruction to provoke the police so real protesters get hurt.
Nothing like a actual real non-law breaking protester getting clubbed by the police in the the confusion.
Then of course the thugs and thieves who know at a Liberal Progressive protest no one will stand up to them out of fear.
michael
MarkW November 16, 2016 at 3:22 pm
I know And in my last post to Gunga Din I hit the L instead of the I
The key board came with two nice gaming computers I got for #1 son and me
other than the keyboard letters disappearing as I type, they are great computers. I have extra keyboards in the garage need to dig one out.
michael
“Mike, new keyboards are cheap. They have also been improving over time.”
Don’t you believe it. I have a couple of old IBM keyboards and you could drive a truck over them. The sort that still plug into the little round “keyboard” socket on the back of the desktop PC. Good, clean feel and designed to last a life time. Paid a dollar or two at the flea market.
Greg November 16, 2016 at 4:51 pm
Yes that is what I have in the garage and the keys still have the letters on them. But my “new” computer does not have the round plug in.
michael
They make adapters for the round plug (straight serial) to USB. May cost as much as a new keyboard though.
As to the improving over time comment, I was trying to make a small joke based on our conversation on another thread.
“Loons Hate Trump”
There I fixed it for ya.
Right on the money. Hate is all they have ever had. Apologies to our European friends for having to listen to the moralizing drivel of our repudiated soon to be ex president.
What am I looking at here?
They all have black hooded sweatshirts or black hooded raincoats. They all have black pants and black sneakers. They all have the same sticks, looks like 1 inch X 3 ft. dowels. They all have black lightweight backpacks.
A coordinated assault?
An organized criminal activity?
I wonder if anybody would be interested in finding out who would be behind such a thing.
Soros….who’s having meetings in New York right now….planning on ways to undermine our president.
Your local planned parenthood?
Perhaps they are trying to send a message. I will drop it there.
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2016/11/15/is-planned-parenthood-affiliate-fueling-anti-trump-protests.html
michael
For planned parenthood, it’s considered an investment.
If Trump cuts back on the subsidies they receive it will hurt their business model.
Five looters lined up at the American Apparel store.
At the upper right of the photo, there is a large “A” in a circle drawn on the window.
Perhaps a mark by an “activity coordinator” to hit this store and not another?
I wonder why American Apparel would be singled out? I wonder what the answer to this question would reveal?
This photo has nothing to do with Trump or the election. It’s from the May Day riots in Seattle.
You see the “A” spray painted on the door? That’s obviously the Anarchy symbol. I thought they were just paid goons hired by the Dems. It should be a “L” in that circle.
It saddens me to see this kind of insanity coming from my alma mater. At least its coming from the liberal arts side of campus and not the science side …
Quid est veritas?
In today’s society I would think that it would be difficult to establish a common moral framework that works for both liberals and conservatives. So attempts at science without commonly accepted definition of the key terms is nonsense.
Amoral progressives are very quick to claim that they are morally superior… to everyone. And in service to nobody other than themselves. Well, I have a bone to pick with the elite progressives on that.
The LEFTS “compassion and fairness” is a false compassion and is only fair when compared to themselves. For example if 1 person has $1 Million and a lefty loser has $1 then it is fair to redistribute otherwise they don’t care. False compassion is a seeming type of compassion which is used to push an agenda. Then there’s the kind of false compassion that leads you to give ‘help’ that doesn’t help but only makes you feel better. When you indulge your compassionate feelings at the expense of someone else, that’s false compassion, too.
Vegans consume vegetables
vegetables consume CO2
And vegans find virtue in reducing carbon emissions? Sounds more like biting the hand that feeds you.
Quote from the article: “. . . climate change is an environmental justice issue.” No. It is a scientific issue, in the original sense (i.e., verifiable, repeatable where experiments are possible, dependent upon reliable and stable data). Trying to cast this as a justice issue (=fairness, likely compassion) takes it out of the verifiable realm and into the touchy-feely realm; a totally false viewpoint. If the alarmists want to be credible, they must return to verifiable science, from which they departed a generation or more ago.
John…..justice = reparations = money = right out of the liberal play book
Intrinsically there is nothing wrong with compassion and fairness. The issue is that in regards climate change, the compassionate crowd has allowed themselves and their passions to become misappropriated.
Who judges fairness? Who decides what is compassionate?
Do we embrace Progressive’s ultimate compassion, that is compassionate euthanasia, because it is compassionate even if it is it forced on the elderly, say after age 80, as typified by the movie Soylent Green?
Do we embrace equal opportunity as fair, or should we embrace liberal equality of outcomes, and forced seizure of private wealth to benefit all those without? We know that system as socialism come communism.
In Soylent Green it was still voluntary, though promoted. I believe you’re thinking of Logan’s Run, where they had a mandatory ‘End Day’. And just 30 years old to.
Must be a lot easier to run a green utopia when no one lives long enough to see all your predictions fail. ○¿●
Wailing?
BBC journalists have been going nuts over the fact that those in the Global Warming Industry, mostly overpaid bureaucrats with little real purpose in life, could be about to be thrown out onto the street.
They are quite rightly scared, as they may well be next. The Trump presidential victory scares far more pointless bureaucrats than it does illegal immigrants.
As for Obama’s much publicised legacy, it now looks like it is about to be on par with that of Jimmy Carter.
I don’t agree with Jimmy Carter’s politics, but he is one of my heroes for what he has done since leaving office “…A major accomplishment of The Carter Center has been the elimination of more than 99 percent of cases of Guinea worm disease, from an estimated 3.5 million cases in 1986 to 148 reported cases in 2013 to 23 in 2015…” [Wikipedia]
… and of course his work with Habitat For Humanity.
Let’s not forget his becoming a mouth piece for any Palestinian cause and his willingness to visit any left wing dictator in order to bad mouth the US and any Republican.
John Quincy Adams was a distinguished diplomat but a lackluster executive. The Presidency is not always the high point of an American citizen’s political career, or lifetime achievements.
@ur momisugly Mona
I won’t have anything to do with Habitat for Humanity until that wanker is in the ground.
MarkW, I didn’t know about that. I do admire his work for HFH though.
Thanks to the professors for telling us what we already know. People generally try to make decisions that square with their sense of morality. It takes years of intense immersion in academia to spin such cotton candy into a meal. You hit McDonald’s on the way home.
That climate BS offends our morals is not news to us. It’s why we continue to fight when the most powerful people in the world tell us the debate is over. It’s why we defend science from the pollution of politics. We are idealists. And we just got our hands on the controls of the green gravy train. Clear the track.
The (im)morality of rent seeking academics would be interesting to study.
All these guys and gals or people who claim and believe that humanity is a “plague”, do not in principle “deserve” to be part of it at all, but never the less there where we are, with the most strangeness of nature, and reality, we all are part of it, for better or worse……..is the way it always being, and the way it always going a be…:) The only way to weight and measure up our worth, I think.:)
Haidt’s list does not include the Greatest Moral Value of them all – a Passionate Regard for the Sanctity of Human Life beginning at Conception. Why is that? Without a Passionate Regard for the Sanctity of Human Life beginning at Conception, a person has no Morality.
A Passionate Regard for the Sanctity of Human Life beginning at Conception is the Core Belief of a truly Moral Human Being. Just as the Love of Money is the Root of all Evil, Love for the Right to Life is the Foundation of all Righteousness. No one can say that they are Moral or Righteous without first possessing a Passionate Regard for the Sanctity of Human Life beginning at Conception; it is impossible.
What utter nonsense. If you want to see naked authoritarianism in action, look at all the calls by liberals to punish or execute climate “deniers”, repudiate Brexit or the election of Trump, praise the Communist Chinese, and even lots of calls to assassinate Trump, to deny people the president they elected.
“Two moral values highly rated by liberals — compassion and fairness — influence willingness to make personal choices to mitigate climate change’s impact in the future”
Correction: it influences their willingness to say they will make those personal choices. Following through is another thing. Reference Al Gore, John Kerry, and really almost every liberal who thinks driving a prius means they get to fly 100k miles a year with a clear conscience. But saying you are willing to do something is all that is needed to acquire the desired level of smugness anyway.