What can we do to alter behaviour of other people?

[benjamin]

I agree that monkey wrenches are not likely to work: but conversations are difficult to strike up in a positive way  for me at least they tend not to be effective in changing peoples attitudes ...so what could work? I know Neven your blog was referring to large placards...but what else.

A good suggestion made to me was the placing of parking fine notices (on SUVs or Chelsea Tractors for example) seemingly identical to the real thing but say with a questions about why do you drive this?
For you and your familly's safety? - But for example a BMW Mini Cooper has a defensive steel cage (and most decent small cars also) ....how many people do you know who have been injured let alone killed in a such a good small car? And a vehicle the weight of yours is a bigger hazard to others
To fit everything/everyone in. But a small car estate such as a VW Golf can fit 5 in and a lot of carrying space
To impress my Friends and Family. But don't you think they would be more impressed if they didn't have to pay for your choices by suffering from the emissions? If they saw that you were making an effort which would help them?

And
Do you know how much emissions your car creates?
A table showing different SUVs and also efficient cars here, appropriate for the territory

Have you thought about the impact of your other life choices? A good website to show you is.... but as a rule of thumb flying creates a ton for every four hours

Do you know how quickly we are melting the Artic Ice Cap which has been with us since before we even got into the trees....PIOMAS chart to follow.



What are the views on the efficacy of the above? Who would do it best?

Do the "believers" (for want of a better word) have access to any marketeers who would be professional at creating mind changing "bullets" such as this? (after all the tobacco companies were very effective and the oil companies still are.
Benjamin

[Neven]

Convince them 1) that there really are problems and 2) that these problems are caused by the way our economic system is set up.

I started the ASIB to convince people of 1), and I'm preparing myself to convince people of 2).

But it's difficult as 2) has caused everyone to want to do as they please and not let anyone tell them anything about what they should do. I encounter this child-like mentality everywhere, even in leftist people.

[benjamin]

Thanks Neven
I think that your blog and the forum are really excellent for giving information to those who look at them. But unfortunately it is largely preaching to the (already) converted.  However the  data they give does equip us better to deal with the unconverted, as many others on the forum have written.

On your blog you drew attention to the excellent essay from  Gareth Wyn Jones which pointed out the problems of the unholy troika of Business, Politics and Consumers, from Galbraith's earlier work. It seems to me that we need some weapons to influence them too, as well as the converted. Hence my own post.

[Shared Humanity]

Thank you Benjamin for posting this topic. It speaks directly to my need to "do something".

Unfortunately, I do not believe that appeals to individuals to alter their choices is an effective approach, certainly not in the U.S. where, as Neven mentioned, our sense of personal freedom "has caused everyone to want to do as they please and not let anyone tell them anything about what they should do." I also believe that individuals approaching others, even if effective, will not cause the rapid changes in behavior needed.

I actually feel that causing the public to enter into conversations about the very real and deleterious impacts of AGW, occurring right now, as well as the causes and potential solutions would be far more effective. We should use existing channels (ie. traditional media) to accomplish this. How can we help the media to play this role and create an environment that creates and sustains these conversations?

One of the obstacles is we are simply struggling to establish solid "cause/effect" links between global warming and changing weather. A second obstacle is directing local media to research that is establishing these links.

The scientific community is working on the first of these. Three climate scientists, Charles H. Greene, Jennifer Francis and Bruce C. Monger wrote an article in the scientific journal "Oceanography" that stated a "warming global climate that melts sea ice in the Arctic is driving changes to the jet stream — upper atmospheric winds that shape weather across North America — and helped create the conditions that mutated Hurricane Sandy into a hybrid storm".

Truly encouraging is the fact that mainstream media picked this up and is reporting it. It is not by accident that a New Jersey newspaper picked this one up.

http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2013/03/hurricane_sandy_arctic_ice.html

I am sure that any media whose audience is directly affected by weather changes would do the same if they had the research in front of them. Would it make sense for there to be an active effort here to steer local media to relevant research? Any research speaking about drought impacts in the plains would likely get reported in newspapers in this region. We could build political and policy momentum by doing this.

I do not believe ASI Forum should be involved in anything that resembles advocacy. It would open up this site to criticism and undermine its current role and impact. Besides, efforts to link media to research would be far more effective if the person doing this resided in the impacted region.

What do you think? I want to get this started and yet I do not have the skills to identify the relevant research.

Neven.....could this site start a new category where summary topics address "cause/effect" links between AGW and changing weather in a region. These summary topics could then be used to capture relevant research which establishes these links and serve to support targeted media campaigns in specific regions.

Fact....

If midwest farmers understood the direct link between AGW and failing crops....WOW!

If Arizona residents understood the direct link between global warming and the worsening water crisis....WOW!

If New England residents understood the direct link between global warming and the propagation of Nor'easters.....WOW!

You would have a dramatic shift in political and policy pressure and trigger changes in consumer behavior.

[OldLeatherneck]

There are many ways that each of us can spread the word about the urgency of actions to combat AGW/CC.  Since not all of us have the same skills, knowledge, available time and financial resources, we should each do as much as we can given our individual circumstances.  Among the things we might consider.

1.  Letters to the editor of local newspapers.
2.  Letters to local government officials.
3.  Letters and/or articles to trade journals (Particularly Agricultural).
4.  Attend and participate in local forums on sustainability.
5.  Give lectures/presentations to local groups (schools, garden clubs, civic and church groups).
6.  Support political candidates that publicly place AGW/CC high on their agenda.
7.  If you must drive, place a bumper sticker on your vehicle.

If you've written letters or articles, please post them here so that others may use them with your permission.

[Neven]

Neven.....could this site start a new category where summary topics address "cause/effect" links between AGW and changing weather in a region. These summary topics could then be used to capture relevant research which establishes these links and serve to support targeted media campaigns in specific regions.

SH, I think that would fit well under the Consequences Board. I, of course, want to try and keep the forum as lean and efficient as possible.

[Jim Hunt]

The most interesting presentation at The Arctic Summit, in my opinion at least, addressed this very issue. George Atkinson talked about "bridging the gap" between the scientists and Joe Public. More on this when I've caught up on some sleep, but here are George's three favourite quotes from "Famous dead people", which apparently "go down well in Washington."

"What man desires is not knowledge, but certainty" - Winston Churchill

"The aim of science is not to open the door to infinite wisdom, but to set a limit to infinite error." - Bertolt Brecht

"Most of us are more responsible for what we decide not to do than for what we do." - Voltaire

[jonthed]

I feel that while every little helps, and a grass roots, word of mouth spread in sustainable living and awareness will be beneficial, true change and progress will only be achieved by making large corporations change their ways. For me, the best way to do that is for government policies which encourage a shift to efficiency and green tech.

Like Obama has done with fuel efficiency regulations, and like the solar subsidies in various countries encouraging people to be early adopters. And like a carbon tax would be. Such regulations and taxes will force businesses to adapt, and consumers will happily follow the better deals. It's really simple, we just need to overcome the political opposition, but even then, Obama has found steps he can take to impose efficiency regs and so on using his executive powers. So I remain optimistic that politics is moving in the right direction in many countries. (We'll see how australia handles it later this year).

It seems the majority of people are concerned and would choose greener living if the extra expense wasn't too great, so it's up to politicians and economists to propose solutions, like a revenue neutral carbon tax, and like stricter emissions regs, that allow things to change without hurting the public.

One thing I know people will go for is this: "Half price petrol!" (or gas) - "By switching to a more efficient car you could halve your fuel bills."

I did just that, and I'm sure many people would take the time to consider it! But then it's good to have the companies researching and improving all their vehicle efficiencies in the background anyway.

[Atomant]

A lot of what I do gets wiped out with articles likes this which creates more confusion.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2294560/The-great-green-1-The-hard-proof-finally-shows-global-warming-forecasts-costing-billions-WRONG-along.html

Needles to say that I'm seething...
I've done some reading on the article's journo, David Rose, and has a track of controversy. The question should be... What can we do to alter the behaviour of people like him?

[Jim Hunt]

Hi Atomant,

George Atkinson (op. cit.) is planning a TV series in conjunction with National Geographic.  The idea is to fill The Explorer with a mix of scientists and non-scientists (like David Rose for example) then sail her into the Arctic where amongst other things the aforementioned mix of people will be put in Zodiacs in small groups to go take a close look at what is actually going on up there, whilst events are recorded for posterity.

Do you think such an experience would change Mr. Rose's views on "Global Warming"?

My own views on such matters seem to have fallen foul of The Daily Mail's censors, perhaps because I dared to include the following link:

http://portal.inter-map.com/#mapID=49&groupID=297&z=1.0&up=-310610.7&left=2001105.4

They exhort you "to contribute to the thread, please explain why you hold your opinion", then when you do as they ask they delete your comment!

N.B. They also appear to delete other comments, if they attract a large number of green thumbs up.

[Jim Hunt]

P.S. The Mail Online have neglected to publish a couple of my own comments on David Rose's story, containing much wisdom from the East. Hence here's my very own re-interpretation of "The Great Green Con no. 1":

http://econnexus.org/the-strange-tale-of-the-mail-and-the-snow-dragon/

[Atomant]

Hi Jim,

I've learnt that David Rose is a shill for the oil business which would explain the article's nonsense. The problem I see is that this type of garbage reinforces the idea of a AGW scam and re-assures those who firmly believe that AGW is all about taxes.

For the message to reach many it has to be delivered in a simple manner, a difficult task considering the complexity of the earth's systems at play.

[frankendoodle]

This article gives me a glimpse of hope:

http://news.yahoo.com/quick-change-planet-global-climate-tipping-points-exist-120100996.html

It is not very informative but well written. Most importantly, it's an article about climate change that focuses on ASI and I found it on the Yahoo! main page in March. If anything is to be done to mitigate climate change, we will need more high visibility pieces like this to keep the issue in the mainstream.

Or maybe I'm grasping at straws

[Buddy]

Here is something on my website that I have started, and that is to IDENTIFY who the policy makers are.  The following is a link that identifies who the members of the House Subcommittee On The Environment are (a subset of the Committee On Science, Space, and Technology) in the US House of Representatives.

I am in Georgia (United Sates) and so I will be going to "town halls"........emailing Congressman Paul Broun (R) of Georgia.  He believes that mankind is only 6,000 years old....so I may have my work cut out for me:)

Social media is, I believe, an effective tool for the beginning of MANY MANY changes to come over the coming years and decades.  If someone WANTS to be REALLY REALLY STUPID.....it shows up in the social media.

Currently, you can now see a "rush" of politicians to get on the pro-gay marriage issue now before the Supreme Court (now in the US).  Over the next couple of years.....you will see a rush of politicians to get on the "right side" of the climate issue, as the melting of the Arctic and Greenland gives them an UNAMBIGUOUS sign that "things are hitting the fan."

Please look to see if you have any member that you can (a) contact in order to question or "educate",  or (b) close enough to go to town hall meetings so you can question and/or educate.

Let's not wait ANOTHER 20 years.  Here is the link:

http://climatechangegraphs.blogspot.com/2013/03/subcommittee-on-environment-part-of.html

[frankendoodle]

http://www.livescience.com/28345-doubters-prepare-climate-change.html

Looks like people's behavior is changing even if their beliefs are not.