Why So Much Reaction To Project 2XXX and So Little About Chorus 2026? I see a lot on social media about Project 2XXX and how bad it is. It is indeed dark. I read a lot about how the president is a Nazi, a fascist, and a dictator. He would [...]
Why are you paying to build pornographic storage data centers powered by dirty fracked gas? Language is the key to winning the political debate. Unfortunately, as climate activists build fact sheets on data centers, we have failed to learn the lessons of language and framing from conservatives. Do you [...]
We know that the way we use language in the public debate often influences which policies or candidates gets supported. Often, the most effective language activates deep-seated circuits or frames in our brains that are about right and wrong. For example, “My country, love it or leave it.” This [...]
If our climate message(s) were succeeding, then why are we still facing a climate crisis future without more action? Why does Exxon Mobile still get to determine the fate of our children? Why is there a backlash against renewables all across our country? Why did Biden just approve 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 [...]
In the late 1950s, Phillip Morris & Co. hired Leo Burnett Advertising to change the image of their feminine filtered cigarettes to make them more masculine. Filtered cigarettes were a technical ruse. They were supposed to be healthier and were mostly smoked by women. Burnett launched one of history’s [...]
“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 [...]
Part V When I became a climate activist, I believed that there must be some phrase or a set of magic words that would get others to see the climate threat and act. Searching for these words was a fool’s errand. I knew words held power. But I was [...]
My next personal act of climate responsibility is to limit my driving to no more than 6,000 miles per year. For those without cars this may still seem like a lot. I'd rather not have to use a car. Maybe this will be hard? We’ll see. In December of [...]
I received an email from the New Yorker on a post by Bill McKibben. The subject line was “Big Oil’s Bad Day.” McKibben is the founder of 350.org of which I am an active member. He probably didn’t write the email subject line, but whoever did, fell into a [...]
