Great, if slightly dated L.A. Times piece by a Harvard psychologist who explains: "Why we're more scared of gay marriage and terrorism than a much deadlier threat." [1]
Links:
[1] http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/opinion/la-op-gilbert2jul02,1,7788831.story?ctrack=1&cset=true
[2] http://www.desmogblog.com/tags/la-times
[3] http://www.desmogblog.com/tags/harvard
[4] http://www.desmogblog.com/four-reasons-we-dont-care-about-climate-change