I might also recommend my post on why I accept the consensus, and the many links I have included in my comment policy, for a more layperson view of the science.

As for conservative think tanks, they serve a valuable purpose. Their analysis and proposal of policy from a conservative point of view is incredibly valuable (mainly to conservatives of course). Where they have gone astray (and where much of the conservative movement also gone astray) is in finding facts that support a particular ideology or policy, instead of gathering as many facts as possible and generating the best policy (from a conservative view point) based on those facts. Or in other words make the policy fit the facts, don’t make the facts fit the policy. And as this study shows many conservatives have fit the facts into their policies, instead of the other way around. If conservatives were to revers this trend they would go along way into shedding their anti-science stereotype, and we would all be better off. Even progressives.