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 [...]
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 [...]
"Do you want to eat your peas with a fork or a knife?" is a well known false choice that parents use with kids. In either choice, hopefully, they will eat their peas. False choices are a particular type of frame. They are used a lot with both climate [...]
Anytime there is a disruption to society, there is also an opportunity to change the status quo. The disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic is terrible and deadly. Many of my clients in environmental and climate organizations are now changing focus on how to immediately help our fellow citizens. [...]
I’m from Minnesota. I remember when we had snow and cold winters. We don’t much anymore. One year, we got two 18 inch snowfalls a day apart, and then the weather turned really cold. For the first week, people pretty much hunkered down. We knew it would end someday, [...]
I have a friend who grew up in rural Minnesota. His favorite expression is, “You can’t put a duck bill on a beaver and call it a platypus.” This aphorism pretty much sums up urban thinking about rural America. We try to make it something it isn’t, and then [...]
I have a confession. As a strong citizen proponent of renewable energy, I admit that I have been naïve. On my journey of understanding what can be done to promote the use of clean energy, I’ve learned two things. The first is that the messaging is simple and clear. [...]
There is an attack against renewable energy and the environment in this country. It is being conducted by large utilities, coal, and oil companies. The impact will affect our energy policies, manufacturing, economy, and environment for decades. It is abetted by Republican state and federal legislators that are being [...]
The grass is yellow. It is spring and there have been no rains. The endless vista washes up against the bare Sangre de Cristo mountains. Normally this time of year, they would be sprinkled with snow like powdered sugar on a cake. Ahead of me are the great sand [...]
