The Center for Climate Change Communications at the George Mason University and Yale Project on Climate Change Communication have published their second of four reports (from May 2011). This report is: Americans' Actions to Conserve Energy, Reduce Waste, and Limit Global Warming in May 2011.
As a consumer, I understand the ennui around actions to help reduce global warming. It's all about not seeing tangible results and real change. When change takes years and decades to show significance, the urgency is lost in the daily challenges of life. Thus it is no surprise that conservation behaviors and other activities that would help mitigate impacts of climate change are poorly practiced or not practiced at all. Further, the immensity of the effort to change the world will cause many of us to 'give up.' The results show that there is intentionality to act 'right,' but insufficient incentive to change behaviors. According to this report, positive energy conservation behaviors have declined since the last report in 2010.
Here are some desired behaviors that did not change positively and, indeed, have become more negative: 1) 11% fewer Americans (45%) than in 2010 reduced their thermostats to 68 degrees or cooler in the winter; 2) More Americans than in 2010 are driving than walking or biking; 3) More Americans now than in 2010 are pessimistic about success of industrialized countries to save energy to reduce global warming.
On the bright side, there are some who are determined to make positive changes: 1) Since 2010, 12% more of us say that we buy products from companies taking steps to reduce global warming; 2) 55% of us intend to either buy or boycott companies due to their global warming related behaviors; 3) 18% of us have volunteered or donated money to organizations working to reduce global warming; and 4) 10% of us have communicated to a government official about global warming.
In my opinion, our citizens' actions are static, not going to make a serious difference. Maybe that's a pervasive feeling. What we see is a start, but what will help move positive behaviors on a steady upward trend? What will it take to push behaviors to increasingly higher plateaus that go beyond the random 80/20 rule where some 20% of people will always be counted in the positive. Here is my thought on this. We need to regularly demonstrate the tangible effects of rising waters, shifts in weather patterns, etc. in human ways. Show the loss of food, waters, etc. that directly impact people. Melting ice caps and the threat of rising oceans are not as compelling as sea water rise destroying fish in rivers that have become too salty for the fish. What about sea water rise destroying beaches or beach front property in your neighborhood? The impact needs to be personalized. In future surveys, I would like to see the results from 2011 serve as the 'new' plateau of positive behavior change and that future surveys will move the plateau upward for citizens active in climate change. At the end of the day, I see the following sequence of actions -- American overwhelmingly and actively show concern about climate change, politicians will take action, then our collective government bodies will do something about it, industry will act more aggressively because we, their customers, demand it. So simple to say, but definitely not easy to execute!
© Baldwin H. Tom CMC
www.tbgroupconsultants.com
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