Cognitive dissonance. is a phenomenon of distancing between what one learns (eg climate disturbance) and what one clings to ( a certain way of life): ‘When facts that challenge a deeply held belief are presented, the believer clings even more strongly to his or her beliefs and may begin to proselytize fervently to others despite the mounting evidence that contradicts the belief.’ Many people may be tempted to ignore reports linking bad consequences to their everyday actions, since internalizing the relevant knowledge requires difficult and often costly value reassessments as well as changes in habits and practices, through the process of social learning. They may cling with tenacity to such unjustified beliefs, based not in any rational assessment of the facts in question but rather in the desire to avoid such reassessments or the guilt that accompanies the failure to perform them. Such willful ignorance is psychologically understandable, but this does not make it morally defensible