Stephanie Siemek, Wenfei Ni, Sabrina Klick

The words climate change are not dirty words, nevertheless, in some cases it is controversial to even mention it. Climate change has an immense amount of support from scientific data, models, research, as well as current day observation. Yet, many people refuse to believe it. Websites have even been developed to combat skepticism such as SkepticalScience.com and realclimate.org. According to a study released by Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies, there are still many Americans who are uncertain if it is a real problem. [i]

The researchers of Yale classified the American public into six different categories based on their beliefs, attitudes, policy preference, and behaviors in relation to climate change (Figure 1). Those who are in the Alarmed group are already taking action against climate change and are totally engaged while the Dismissive group denies that climate change is due to anthropogenic activity or believes it is not real. Those in the middle groups, make up the majority where the Concerned is the largest group. Therefore, in order to obtain better public action against climate change, the best approach is for scientists to speak to the public identified in these middle groups that have fallen close to the Alarmed group. They include those who have not totally dismissed the concept, but are sitting on the fencepost wondering whether to join team “climate” or “deny it.” They can still be persuaded to become knowledgeable on climate change and take actions to lower their carbon footprint. They are the hope and necessary in moving forward towards mitigation and adaptation to climate change.

Yale’s survey also found those with the lowest belief of climate change (Disengaged, Doubtful, and Dismissive) skipped or answered “not sure” when asked about health risks and harm which demonstrates their lack of knowledge on the issue in general. Only 1/3 or less of the groups categorized from Cautious to Dismissive were shown to trust climate scientists in information about health impacts. However, 72% and 59% of the Alarmed and Concerned groups, claimed to trust climate scientists and were more aware of the issues and concerns of climate change. The good news is that the majority of the survey participants are within the Concerned group (31%), who are certain climate change is real, harmful, and caused by human action. The bad news is they do not view it as a personal threat and believe it is something of more concern for future generations. This group also has less likely acted within political activism, but they do support societal action. Unfortunately, the Dismissive group has increased and the Alarmed has decreased from 2012 to 2014 (figure 2). Therefore, scientists need to identify what is driving the public to this dangerous disposition.

Majority of the Dismissive and Doubtful groups think that there is a lot of disagreement amongst scientists about whether or not climate change is actually occurring. While media may be a playing a role in this misconception, scientists must be stronger in communicating their knowledge about climate change. Words in a scientist’s vocabulary, such as “uncertain,” have different meanings to the public and need to be removed when explaining climate change details and future consequences. That little word can have a huge impact in how people feel about scientific evidence. Even if scientists claim there is certainty that the Earth’s climate will warm, seasons will change, and sea level will rise, it is just the extent to which these changes will occur that are uncertain because it depends on anthropogenic GHG emissions. It is the word “uncertain” that automatically sends a message to the listener that climate change is an ambiguous phenomenon that needs more supportive data.

The article “Communicating the science of climate change” by Somerville & Hassol (2011) [pdf], found there are better terms to use when communicating to the public (Figure 3). Therefore, instead of using the word “uncertainty,” scientists can use the word “range” to better explain the projected results of climate change.

The article also states how it is important to talk to the public in an inverted manner from how scientists communicate with each other. Scientists typically start with background information and then lead up to results and supporting details. When speaking to the public, it is important to start with the details and lead straight into why people should care. People lead busy lives and climate change is typically not on their mind. Be concise, simple, and informative and let them know why it should concern them.

Furthermore, it is important to know the common misconceptions and concerns because these are the common barriers keeping us from moving forward. Some people believe that admitting climate change is real will force us to make changes that will hurt the economy. However, climate change is expected to slow down economic growth and cause great losses, according to the IPCC AR5 Synthesis report [iii]. It is implied that creating laws and policies to enforce climate change mitigation will reduce freedom, but being environmentally cautious and aware does not necessarily mean restriction. There will be limitations with climate change as water shortages become more prevalent leading to the monitoring of consumption.

Other barriers for public acceptance of global warming involve respected leaders who do not believe in climate change and easily influence others. The media is also portraying climate change as controversial and not widely accepted because scientific communication is not clear or lacking. Because we can control the last barrier, it is important that we increase communication and do so effectively.

Time is of the essence. Majority of us scientists know the details of climate change and the consequences if we do not start decreasing our GHG emissions now. With so much at risk, climate change cannot be ignored. Therefore, we need to speak up and communicate more effectively! If we do not take more stringent measures to mitigate climate change and start adapting, it will cost us more in the long run.

The scientific community also needs to communicate climate change to those who are not seeking it. Majority of the human population have heard of climate change and have some knowledge on the topic, but it is not something they are overwhelmed with each day. They are not thinking about the amount of carbon dioxide their car emitted on the way to pick up their children from school or the amount of electricity their oven produced that enabled them to cook dinner for their family. A survey, developed by George Mason University with the partnership of Climate Communication Consortium of Maryland, found that the majority of Marylanders support more renewable energy and about half said less coal should be used to generate energy. While the majority of Marylanders have taken steps in reducing energy consumption by reducing heat loss, less people have installed automatic switches with motion sensors or “smart strips” that would further reduce their carbon footprint [iv].

Therefore, scientists have to find ways to communicate to the public that climate change is real, it is an accepted concept, it already has been affecting us, and there is more we can do about it.

References:

[i] Roser-Renouf, C., Maibach, E., Leiserowitz, A., Feinberg, G., Rosenthal, S., & Kreslake, J. (2014) Global Warming's Six Americas, October, 2014: Perception of the Health Consequences of Global Warming and Update on Key Beliefs. Yale University and George Mason University. New Haven, CT: Yale Project on Climate Change Communication. [pdf]

[ii] Somerville, Richard C. J. "Communicating the Science of Climate Change." Physics Today 64.10 (2011): 48. [pdf]

[iii] IPCC, 2014: Climate Change 2014: Synthesis Report. Contribution of Working Groups I, II and III to the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change [Core Writing Team, R.K. Pachauri and L.A. Meyer (eds.)]. IPCC, Geneva, Switzerland, 151 pp.

[iv] Akerlof, K., Maibach, E. W., & Boules, C. (2014). Public beliefs, behaviors and preferences about energy: A Maryland statewide survey, fall 2014. Fairfax, VA: Center for Climate Change Communication, George Mason University. [pdf]

[v] Integration and Application Network (IAN), University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science. 2012. ian.umces.edu/media-library. Accessed 27 March 2015.