New Study Says Climate Obsessives Swayed By Media

A new published study has highlighted how the media influences opinion on emotive issues. The study undertaken by the University of Sydney was carried out to investigate whether climate change had any impact on the nature of the obsessions or compulsions experienced by sufferers of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder – OCD – The study takes reference from a 1994 study which found that some children developed obsessive thoughts about Human Immunodeficiency Virus/Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome – HIV/Aids – once media reports on the virus became common place.

“We suggest that mental health professionals need to be aware of, and assess for the presence of such concerns” the study recommended.

This latest study has found that many patients suffering with OCD are worrying about the effects of climate change and global warming. Dr Mairwen Jones and her co-authors looked at 50 patients attending an anxiety disorders clinic. They found one-third of the patients had anxiety about the effects of climate change. The most common concerns were wasting water, gas and electricity, often leading to an obsessive checking to make sure utilities and appliances were switched off. Read the full article »»»»

Global Warming: Atmospheric CO2 Link Questioned

High levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere may have less of an impact on the rate of global warming than previously feared, a new study suggests. Associate Professor Schmittner notes that many previous studies only looked at periods spanning from 1850 to today, thus not taking into account a fully integrated palaeoclimate data on a global scale. The authors of the study stress that global warming is real and that increases in atmospheric CO2, which has doubled from pre-industrial standards, will have multiple serious impacts. But more severe estimates that predict temperatures could rise up to an average of 10 degrees Celsius are unlikely, the researchers report in the journal Science.  The new study suggests temperatures will rise on average 2.3 degrees under the same conditions. Scientists have long struggled to quantify climate sensitivity, or how the Earth will respond to projected increases in carbon dioxide, the main greenhouse gas. READ MORE