Dr. LaRae M. Donnellan, APR, CPRCProfessor of Public Relations

Florida A&M University

(Photo from www.epa.gov/climatechange)

Climate Crisis InformationPart One

How do we get information about global climate crisis

Who believes the global climate crisis is real & what do they say

Part TwoWho doesn’t believe it is real & what do they

say

Getting Info from the MediaAgenda-Setting Theory: The media tell us

what to think about, not necessarily how to think about it.

Gatekeepers of newsworthiness (TIPCUP)BalanceProfessionals vs. amateurs Echo chamber

How Scientists CommunicateScientific processVerifiable resultsRefereed journalsAdmit mistakes

Who Says the GC Crisis is Real? Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) NASA/Goddard Institute for Space Science, National Oceanic &

Atmospheric Administration, National Center for Atmospheric Research, American Meteorological Society, Environmental Protection Agency, Union of Concerned Scientists, National Weather Service, World Glacier Monitoring Service, etc.

National academies of science from at least 45 countries, including the Vatican

National Institute of Food & Agriculture, USDA Agricultural Research Service, U.S. Forest Service, Sea Grant

Environmental, civic & religious organizations U.S. military People whose lives have already been disrupted

by climate changeDr. James Hansen, NOAA climate scientist, climateprogress.org/2008/06/page/2/

Would You Take This Flight?

Climate change, caused primarily by humans, is “very likely” (more than 90% probability of occurring).

What Are Scientists Saying?CO2 – 390 ppm &

risingRising temperatures

(Source: NOAA; http://climate.nasa.gov/evidence/)

What Are Scientists Saying?Arctic sea ice declining

2007 accelerated thaw Northwest & Northeast

Passages open Replacing reflective ice with

dark ocean

Ice sheets shrinking 2003-2008, Greenland lost

more than trillion tons – 150-250 cubic kilometers – of ice

2002-2006, Antarctic lost about 152 cubic kilometers of ice

Relatively warmer water

(From http://climate.nasa.gov/evidence/)

What Are Scientists Saying?Oceans more acidic

More so than anytime in the last 800,000 years

Shellfish can’t make thick-enough shells (think DDT)

2009: Pacific oyster industry reported 80% mortality for oyster larvae

Coral reefs dying off; barrier against storms

Oceans warmer Can’t absorb as much CO2; have

been a natural “sink” Low oxygen hard for fish Promote stronger hurricanes &

cyclones

(From: http://www.duke.edu/web/nicholas/bio217/jrc25/PA180142.jpg)

(From http://climate.nasa.gov/evidence/ & Scientific American)

What Are Scientists Saying?Ocean levels rising

Rose 17 cm (6.7 inches) in the last century

Rate doubled in last decade Maldives, the lowest-lying

nation on the planet, fears for its survival

Retreating glaciers Himalayas, Alps, Andes &

great American West snowpack Rising temperatures; less

water; more drying of forests, crops

Expanding tropics 2°+ north & south since 1980

(From dailymail.co.uk)

(From domino.lancs.ac.uk)

What Are Scientists Saying?More drought

“New normal” for Australia Powerful brushfires

Forests drying Trees less hardy Longer fire season ½ of U.S. Forest Service budget

= extinguishing fires Western forests responsible for

20-40% of U.S. carbon sequestration; may become source, not sink

Pests thriving Mountain pine beetle Mosquito & dengue fever

(From www.msnbcmsn.com/id/15625626/)

(From http://www.sos-arsenic.net/images/mosquit1.jpg)

(From worldweatherpost.com)

What Are Scientists Saying?Hurricanes & cyclones

Stronger & stranger Last ½ decade: 1st tropical storm

to hit Spain; 1st January tropical cyclone; 2008 – major storm in 5 different months; 2008 Tropical Storm Fay cross Florida 4 times

Heat waves 1995 in Chicago, nearly 500 died 2003 in France, 30,000 died

Rainfall & floods Total rainfall up 7% Comes as downpours

(From msnbc.com)

(TOP RIGHT: From examiner.com)

(TOP LEFT: http://scrapetv.com/News/News%20Pages/usa/Images/hurricane-katrina.jpg)

What Are Scientists Saying?Crop loss

Global per capita production of grain peaked in 1980s

Reductions in wheat, corn & barley yields of about 40 million tons/year

Using corn for ethanol – food riots in 37 countries

Methane & nitrous oxide Agriculture is a major source

Tourism lossPsychological despair

(From http://www.reuters.com/article/ idUSTRE65B1XE20100613?type=domesticNews)

(From http://trendsupdates.com/abundance-no-more-global-food-crisis-as-seen-through-high-food-cost/)

Why Are People Still Flying?

Why is the “1 in 10 chance of survival” message so compelling? Not framed that wayIll-informed vs. vested interest vs. sociopath?

Framing TheoryWe are told not only what to think about but

also how to think about it.Frames are mental (physical) filters that help

us make sense of incoming information. They involve scenarios and metaphors.

98% of what we “know” is rooted in our unconscious. George Lakoff, “Don’t Think of an Elephant”

“Gun control” or “gun safety”“Tax revolt” or “tax relief”

PR, not ScienceDoubt about the climate crisis has been spread by

an organized PR campaign, largely financed by the oil and coal industries James Hoggan & Richard Littlemore,

“Climate Cover-Up: The Crusade to Deny Global Warming”

Arguments based on PR strategies & tactics, not science

But should the GCC be real, then: Humans did not cause it It’s too expensive to fix There’s nothing we can do about it

Have They Been Successful?

(From http://www.gallup.com/poll/126560/Americans-Global-Warming-Concerns-Continue-Drop.aspx?version)

Partisan Divisions: Pew PollsCollege-educated

partisans: Are humans responsible (2008 Pew poll)?

Democrats: 75% yes Republicans: 19% yes

Why a difference? How they consume media &

which media they consume. Democrats: Better informed

about the science. Republicans: Better informed

about the controversy.Pew Research Center for the People & the Press, conducted Sept. 30-Oct. 4, 2009, among 1,500 adults reached on cell phones and landlines.

Remember the “Tobacco Debate”?PR’s role

Edward Bernays hired by American Tobacco Company – promote smoking. Targeted women.

Tactic: Have young women smoke while marching in the

“Torches of Liberty Brigade” Easter Parade in 1929 in Manhattan

Frame: Not about health/science … but about women’s

equality/freedom (to smoke Lucky Strike cigarettes in public)

(From gammablog.com/2003/20/03/torches-of-freedom/)

Remember the “Tobacco Debate”?1950s – Tobacco Industry Research

Committee/ Council for Tobacco Research Funded research that cast doubt on health risks of smoking

Strategies: Reposition debate: Not about health but about free choice. Deny wrongdoing: The link between tobacco and cancer

was never “proved” beyond reasonable doubt. Excuse or minimize the problem:

Lots of things cause cancer. Attack the character of your

opponent: Anyone who tried to educate or legislate against tobacco was simply trying to create a “nanny state.”

Who Helped Big Tobacco?Philip Morris hired PR giant Burson-Marsteller

Strategy: Mobilize smokers to “fight for their rights” Tactic: Created the National Smokers Alliance

“Astroturf,” not “grassroots”

Philip Morris hired PR giant APCO Worldwide in 1993 Strategy: Attack scientific validity

of links between cancer and secondhand smoke

Tactic: Proposed TASSC (The Advancement of Sound Science Coalition) Be a credible source for reporters Encourage public to question science Mobilize support Develop “information”

Using Tobacco Techniques to “Sell” Climate Change ConfusionAmerican Petroleum Institute (API) created

the “Global Climate Science Communication Action Plan”Goal: Not to promote an understanding of science but to

spread uncertaintySpokespersons challenged climate scientistsLinked messages to “sound science”

Victory? When the public accepted “uncertainties” as

“conventional wisdom”

Selling ICEPR firm helped WFA, NCA & EEI create “Information

Council for the Environment” (ICE) in 1991. Purposes: “To reposition global warming as a theory

(not fact)” and to “supply alternative facts to support the suggestion that global warming will be good.”

Strategies Went to small U.S. markets heavily

dependent on coal-fired electricity. Focus group messages:

“Some say the Earth is warming. Some also said the Earth was flat.”

“If the Earth is getting warmer, why is the frost line moving south?”

Techniques to Create DoubtUsing think tanks

Exxon invested more than $20 million in think tanks that questioned whether climate change was sound science

UCF & Oklahoma State researchers found: between 1972-2005, 92.2% of books promoting skepticism were published/written by conservative think tanks

Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI) – CEI commercial

Denial by the pound Oregon Institute of Science and Medicine

Founded by chemist Arthur Robinson, with six listed faculty (2 sons, 2 dead) Produces survivalist/creationist home school curricula; no ongoing climate

research

“Oregon Petition” More than 34,000 signatures (not all scientists) Misled as coming from the National Academy of Sciences

Framing the DiscussionFrank Luntz, Republican pollster and adviser2002 “Straight Talk” memo for Republican

candidates Promote uncertainty: “The scientific debate remains

open” Be committed to “sound science” Say “energy exploration,” not “oil drilling” “Climate change” = less frightening

than “global warming”

Need More Proof?DeSmogBlog.comDr. John Abraham, University of St. Thomas ,

Minnesota (http://www.stthomas.edu/engineering/jpabraham/)

“Climate Cover-Up”