If it helps the planet, they are against it!

This is incredible, but not really surprising, I guess.

It seems that if a conservative is given a choice of buying one of two light bulbs at the same price and is told that one of the bulbs is "greener" and more environmentally friendly, he will inevitably purchase the other one!

A study out Monday in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences examined attitudes about energy efficiency in liberals and conservatives, and found that promoting energy-efficient products and services on the basis of their environmental benefits actually turned conservatives off from picking them. The researchers first quizzed participants on how much they value various benefits of energy efficiency, including reducing carbon emissions, reducing foreign oil dependence, and reducing how much consumers pay for energy; cutting emissions appealed to conservatives the least.

The study then presented participants with a real-world choice: With a fixed amount of money in their wallet, respondents had to “buy” either an old-school lightbulb or an efficient compact florescent bulb (CFL), the same kind Bachmann railed against. Both bulbs were labeled with basic hard data on their energy use, but without a translation of that into climate pros and cons. When the bulbs cost the same, and even when the CFL cost more, conservatives and liberals were equally likely to buy the efficient bulb. But slap a message on the CFL’s packaging that says “Protect the Environment,” and “we saw a significant drop-off in more politically moderates and conservatives choosing that option,” said study author Dena Gromet, a researcher at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business.

And that, I guess, tells you just about everything you need to know about conservative attitudes towards despoiling the planet through drilling for oil or digging for coal, or through allowing rampant heating up of the climate without raising a finger to stop it.  "If those damned liberals are for it, we're agin' it!" Even if that act is something as simple and innocuous as choosing which light bulb to buy.