I have a confession. I read eclectically, and a portion of what I read is absurd. I am fascinated by Bigfoot, aliens, and Elvis. It’s not that I believe in Bigfoot or aliens, but I am curious this may be a reality for others. I guess it makes me [...]
Choose Your Climate Label Carefully... The new House Speaker, Mike Johnson, has been described in headlines by the Guardian, US Energy News, the Hill, and many other media outlets as a “Climate Skeptic.” Most of the articles identify his connection with the fossil fuel industry, and his 100% rating [...]
According to Anthony Leiserowitz, Director of the of the Yale Project of Climate Communication, “We are in a propaganda war with the fossil fuel industry, but we aren’t even on the battlefield.” To which I will add, that we don’t even know we’re in a war, or if we [...]
David Fenton’s new book is a must read for any climate justice activist or climate communications professional under the age of 40. For anyone over that age, it is also a delightfully raucous walk through the history of liberal movements when activism was fun. For all, it illustrates the [...]
The Strategy and Language of the Gas Stove Culture Wars So you want to “ban” gas stoves? A firestorm erupted in January over the pollution of gas stoves. As climate activists, we reacted without a solid strategy and without testing the language we are using. Consequently, we may lose [...]
“We can no longer tolerate Republican’s bankrupt delay on climate.” Do you get an image or feeling on the quality of their delay from this sentence? If we want our ideas to spread, we must use words that create images and feelings and connect them to stories and narratives [...]
Let’s say we wake up and find out that Jackalope are going extinct because they are being eaten by Bigfoot. After all, they are a favorite delicacy of Bigfoot. What do we do? We probably start a Save the Jackalope campaign... of course. We have to make people aware [...]
It’s possible. If your campaign isn’t boring, then don’t read this. But boring can be deadly. We live in an attention-based economy. 1000 messages a day compete for our attention and we respond to buzzes, rings, and the crisis of the minute, to say nothing of commercials of fat [...]
Utah Phillips was a musician, a labor organizer, a story teller and a poet. Born in 1935, he spent part of his early life riding the rails. This quote of his is a favorite of mine. I believe it's a commencement address. It still rings true and is even [...]
Natural Gas, Fossil Gas, or Methane… Which Should We Use? Reality and truth should be bedrocks in climate communications, but what we believe often informs reality. Words influence these beliefs and thus our collective reality. Choose words that unconsciously activate the wrong neurons in the brains of our audience [...]
