I think that for many conservatives, you are dealing with belief systems more like a religion than anything that would yield ground to rational analysis.
Take the following for example:
Forbes Magazine just published an article in which they named the 20 Dirtiest Cities in the US. A leader in many areas, California was also a leader in this, with 6 of the top 10 being in CA: Fresno #1, Bakersfield #2, Modesto #5, Riverside #6, San Jose #8, Stockton #9.
We know that this is bad, but what does it cost? In 2006, California State University Economists Jane V. Hall and Victory Brajer published a study that bad air quality cost the San Joaquin Valley (Fresno, Bakersfield, Modesto, Stockton) over $3 Billion / Yr.
In 2008, they published a similar study of Southern California in which they put the cost at $28 Billion. Conservative action? Attack the studies and rail against the EPA.
If we want to lower health care costs, clean up the air; if we want our industries to be more profitable, clean up the air; if we want better education results, clean up the air so that children don’t miss school due to asthma. The San Joaquin Valley is the center of Conservative Politics and almost all of their Congress Critters are Republican with a couple of Blue Dog Democrats. I really don’t see that any of this is truly Conservative in any traditional sense. I can’t imagine how far they will go to block any rational action to prevent climate change or even adapt to it after things get worse than they already are.