Weekly Communications Round-Up: Morally Suspect

Photo by Phil Cothran

Photo by Phil Cothran

This week we take a look at a new poll showing strong American support for clean energy, how climate discussions play out online, and whether the way we talk about climate is morally suspect. The Ocean Project posts these round-ups of key strategic ocean and climate communication resources we’ve been tweeting every week – we hope they’ll help keep you updated and inform your storytelling and communications!

News & Storytelling tid-bits

Current events and interesting angles on ocean and climate change communication.

  • Climate contradiction? Less snow, more blizzards
    If global warming is real what’s with all these blizzards?! It may seem counter intuitive but, as always, atmospheric physics has the answer. Two upcoming studies have found that a warmer atmosphere holds and dumps moisture differently, which can lead to more extreme blizzards but less snowfall overall.
  • Forecasting Climate With A Chance Of Backlash
    TV and radio meteorologists are the closest most people get to a climate scientist in their everyday lives – but polls show most weathercasters don’t know very much about climate. Now, some weathercasters are speaking up.
  • Rethinking Our Moral Vocabulary on Climate Change
    Matthew Nisbet talks about recent research on how to inspire American action on climate change. Americans too often view climate change as a partisan issue rather than a moral one, and when morals are involved it’s usually a very narrow moral spectrum. In order to mobilize a significant number of Americans, we need to “appeal to a greater diversity of moral intuitions and values.” Basically, there are very general “liberal values” and “conservative values,” and communicators must incorporate both to activate as many people as possible. Good read and should sound familiar to anyone who’s read Don’t Think of an Elephant by George Lakoff.

Resources

The latest in polling, market research, guides and toolkits to enhance your outreach.