1. The Six Americas of Climate Change The Climate Project Meet Up October 16, 2010 Justin Rolfe-Redding, M.A.

2. What We Do Social Marketing

3. Road Map Research Six Americas Segmentation Application Issue Immediacy Solution Human Health Framing

4. We often talk about reaching the “general public”

5. Regarding climate change, however, Americans are NOT of one mind.

6. A basic illustration Source: Yale & George Mason, 2010

7. Regional variations Northwest Midwest And Northeast Northeast The Great Plains Southwest Southwest Atlantic and Gulf Coast Alaska

9. Degraded air quality

10. Urban Heat Island

11. Heat Waves

12. Drought

13. Extreme rainfall/ Flooding

15. Degraded air quality

16. Urban Heat Island

17. Heat Waves

18. Drought

19. Extreme rainfall/ Flooding

21. Who are your most important audiences?

22. Global Warming’s Six Americas Source: Yale & George Mason, June 2010

23. Faces of Global Warming’s Six Americas

24. Alarmed Alice Alice is completely sure global warming is happening, she believes it is human caused, and she feels personally threatened by it. She also believes that people around the world are already being harmed by it, or will soon be. Alice is only modestly more likely than average to be taking steps to reduce her energy use, but she is far more likely than average to use her purchasing power - and her voice as a citizen - to advocate for change. Alice supports a wide range of policy responses to address global warming.

25. Concerned Claudia Claudia is very sure global warming is happening, and she believes it is human causes, but she feels less personally threatened by it than Alice. She believes that global warming will begin to harm people around the world 10+ years from now. Claudia is average in terms of taking measures to reduce her energy consumption, but well above average in terms of using her purchasing power to advocate for change. Claudia supports aggressive government policies, but is unlikely to contact her elected officials to say so.

26. Cautious Carl Carl is only somewhat sure that global warming is happening, and he is equally likely to see it as human caused or not. He sees global warming as a more distant threat – primarily a threat to other people – that won’t begin to hurt people around the world for another 25 - 50 years. Carl is taking average steps to reduce his energy consumption, but isn’t involved in addressing global warming in other ways. He is, however, modestly supportive of a range of proposed policies.

27. Disengaged Diane Diane thinks global warming may be happening, but she’s not at all sure. She’s given it very little thought, doesn’t consider it personally important, and doesn’t feel she knows anything about it. Diane has done relatively little to reduce her use of energy at home, but because she has lower than average income she is more likely than average not to rely on her own car. Despite her low level of personal concern, Diane is more supportive than Carl of mounting a national response to global warming.

28. Doubtful David David says he doesn’t know if real or not, but if it is, he’s pretty sure it isn’t human-caused. David certainly isn’t worried about it; he sees global warming as a very distant threat that won’t harm people for at least another 100 years. David isn’t in favor of a national response to global warming per se, but he is modestly in favor of a range of energy-saving policy measures, and is active in improving energy-efficiency in his home.

29. Dismissive Dan Dan simply does not believe that global warming is happening – or that it’s in God’s hands - and he believes that many scientists share his views. Needless to say, Dan doesn’t support any form of government action against global warming. Although vigorously opposed to government action on global warming, he himself is quite active in making energy-efficient improvements to his home.

30. “If you could ask an expert on global warming one question, which question would you ask?” What can the US do to reduce global warming? How do you know that global warming is occurring? What harm will global warming cause? Source: Yale & George Mason, June 2010

31. Source: Yale & George Mason, 2008

32. Motivate the Alarmed and Concerned

33. Convince the Cautions and Disengaged

34. Ignore the Doubtful and Dismissive

35. Changes Over Time Source: Yale & George Mason, 2008, 2010

36. Immediacy

37. Did you see the text? … “Immediacy”

38. percents% words <= logic Analytic system Experiential system requires logic and evidence “experiencing is believing” Processing of risk Source: Slovic, Finucane, Peters, & McGregor, 2004

39. percents% words Analytic system <= logic requires logic and evidence Experiential system “experiencing is believing” Processing of risk Source: Slovic, Finucane, Peters, & McGregor, 2004

40. “I have personally experienced the effects of global warming.” Source: Leiserowitz, A., Maibach, E., & Roser-Renouf, C. (2010) Global Warming’s Six Americas, January 2010. Yale University and George Mason University. New Haven, CT: Yale Project on Climate Change.

41. American Images of Global Warming Ozone Melting Ice Heat Nature Alarmed Flood/ Sea Levels Climate Chg Naysayer Anthony.Leiserowitz@yale.edu Source: Leiserowitz, 2003, 2010

42. Source: Leiserowitz, Maibach & Roser-Renouf (2009): Climate Change in the American Mind

43. How important is the issue of global warming to you personally? “I have personally experienced the effects of global warming.” 2008 data

44. Do you think that global warming is happening? How sure are you that global warming is happening? “I have personally experienced the effects of global warming.” Leiserowitz, Maibach & Roser-Renouf. (2009). [Data] Akerlof, Maibach & Leiserowitz .(In progress). [Secondary analysis] 2008 data

46. How can we leverage experiential learning? The experiential information processing system is activated (i.e., “personal experience” is gained) in many ways: When the audience personally experiences an event. When an abstract issue is framed in terms of personal life. When the audience witnesses an event (live or in the media).

47. Framing Climate Change as a Health Issue

48. “In the next 20 years, it is likely that my jurisdiction will experience one or more series public health problems as a result of climate change” Results from a national sample of local health department directors Source: Maibach et al. (2008) PLoS ONE 3(7): e2838. doi:10.1371

49. Key Health Messages Increases in the risk of illness & death related to extreme heat & heat waves are very likely. Some reduction in the risk of death related to extreme cold is expected. Warming is likely to make it more challenging to meet air quality standards necessary to protect public health. Some diseases transmitted by food, water& insects are likely to increase. Certain groups, including children, the elderly, and the poor are most vulnerable to a wide range of climate-related health effects. Source: Global Climate Change Impacts in the United States (2009)

50. Framing climate change as a human health & wellbeing issue – rather than a plants, penguins & polar bears issue – can help publics more effectively engage with the issue.

51. What harm will global warming cause?

52. Instead of this We get this

53. Instead of this We get this

54. Instead of this We get this

55. In Sum… Mindset Begin and end with your audiences Plan Consider their unique strengths and deficits ActionConnect through immediate experience

56. Thank You! Justin Rolfe-Redding, M.A. jrolfere@gmu.edu

57. All 4C reports can be downloaded at: Climatechangecommunication.org