Communicating Climate Change: Why Frames Matter for Public Engagement Matthew C

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Environment: Science and Policy for Sustainable Development Publication details, including instructions for authors and subscription information: http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/venv20 Communicating Climate Change: Why Frames Matter for Public Engagement Matthew C. Nisbet a a AU's Center for Social Media, American University's School of Communication Version of record first published: 07 Aug 2010

To cite this article: Matthew C. Nisbet (2009): Communicating Climate Change: Why Frames Matter for Public Engagement, Environment: Science and Policy for Sustainable Development, 51:2, 12-23 To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.3200/ENVT.51.2.12-23

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12-25 Nisbet ma09.indd 12 2/11/09 12:30:34 PM Communicating Climate Change Why Frames Matter for Public Engagement Downloaded by [74.215.70.80] at 10:43 09 July 2012 ISTOCKPHOTO.COM/XAVIARNAU; INSETS: THREE MILE ISLAND: A. L. SPANGLER/SHUTTERSTOCK; ICEBERG: TERENCE MENDOZA/SHUTTERSTOCK ©

12-25 Nisbet ma09.indd 13 2/11/09 12:30:38 PM ptimists hope that the time trade bill, carbon tax, or new international tion efforts have focused on increasing the has finally arrived in the climate treaty. amount of quality news coverage about United States for major More importantly, democratic prin- climate science. Many scientists and advo- Opolicy action on climate ciples are at stake. Policies to address cates expected this increased news attention change. Fueling expectations, U.S. Presi- climate change will bear directly on the to promote wider public understanding of dent Barack Obama has assembled a future of Americans, impacting their the problem’s technical nature, leading the team of climate experts who are working pocketbooks, lifestyles, and local com- public to view it with the urgency that they with Congress, states, and foreign govern- munities. These decisions are therefore do. Communication is therefore defined ments to propose legislation and broker too significant to leave to just elected as a process of transmission—that is, the international agreements. Although the officials and experts; citizens need to be scientific facts are assumed to speak for Obama administration is committed to actively involved. themselves with their relevance and policy addressing climate change, the necessary Reframing the relevance of climate significance interpreted by all audiences in level of public engagement with the issue change in ways that connect to a broader similar ways.3 still appears to be missing. coalition of Americans—and repeated- Unfortunately, quality news coverage U.S. presidents, especially newly elect- ly communicating these new meanings is only likely to reach a small audience ed ones, are often given discretion to pur- through a variety of trusted media sources of already informed and engaged citizens. sue their preferred legisla- and opinion leaders—can Just as in other debates, such as stem cell tive priorities. Yet research generate the level of pub- research, abortion, or gun control, the rest shows that presidential lic engagement required of the public either ignores the coverage popularity is not enough for policy action. Suc- or reinterprets competing claims based on to pass policy initiatives. cessfully reframing cli- partisanship or self-interest, a tendency confirmed across several decades by public opinion research.4 Although the Obama administration Predictably, on climate change, poll analyses reveal politically polarized opin- is committed to addressing climate ions, resulting in two Americas divided along ideological lines. Over the past change, the necessary level of public decade, an increasing majority of Republi- engagement with the issue still appears cans question the validity of climate science and dismiss the urgency of the problem, to be missing. while an increasing majority of Democrats accept climate science and express concern about the issue.5 This deep partisan division The efforts of recent administrations to mate change means remaining true to remains even after factoring in education pass health care, welfare, or immigration the underlying science of the issue, while and knowledge.6 In fact, the persistent gap reforms have depended on generating applying research from communication in perceptions over the past decade sug-

Downloaded by [74.215.70.80] at 10:43 09 July 2012 widespread public support and mobiliza- and other fields to tailor messages to the gests that climate change has joined a short tion while effectively countering the com- existing attitudes, values, and percep- list of issues such as gun control or taxes munication efforts of opponents of these tions of different audiences, making the that define what it means to be a Republi- reforms.1 When these conditions are not complex policy debate understandable, can or Democrat. met, as in health care and immigration relevant, and personally important.2 This A closer look at polling results shows reforms, presidents have suffered major approach to public outreach, however, a more troubling trend for those trying policy defeats. will require a more careful understanding to convey the urgency of climate change. There is no reason to suspect that of U.S. citizens’ views of climate change Prioritization and opinion intensity on other climate change policy will be any differ- as well as a reexamination of the assump- issues eclipse general concern about cli- ent, especially given the long history of tions that have traditionally informed climate change among the public.7 For exam- partisan gridlock in U.S. politics. In the mate change communication efforts. ple, when asked what should be the top context of two wars and an economic cri- priority in 2009 for President Obama and sis, absent a shift in the polls and a surge Congress in a December 2008 poll, just 1 in input from a diversity of constituents, Two Americas of Climate percent of respondents cited climate change it is unlikely over the next four years that Perceptions or the environment compared with more a strong majority in Congress will accept than 40 percent of respondents who cited the political risks needed to pass mean- Historically, as a way to muster public the economy.8 Surveys over the past three ISTOCKPHOTO.COM/CHARCOA1

ingful policy actions such as a cap-and- resolve, most climate change communica- years also show that when asked to rate the ©

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12-25 Nisbet ma09.indd 14 2/11/09 12:30:39 PM perceived priority of 20 policy problems, cusses the issue with friends or coworkers; Bhopal, India; the Exxon Valdez oil spill in climate change consistently ranked at the attends or speaks up at a public meeting; Alaska; or the iconic images of the ozone bottom of the list, with just 30 percent of joins an advocacy group; or participates in hole, helped trigger collective concern.11 respondents naming it a “top priority” in a public demonstration.10 However, the complex nature of climate a January 2009 Pew Research Center for The tendency to dismiss the urgency change means no single news headline The People & The Press poll9 (see Table 1 of climate change is exacerbated given or visual image will catalyze widespread below). These findings are significant, since the problem’s complexity and its lack of public attention or policy action. research concludes that opinion intensity is immediate, visible impacts. Past envi- Another barrier to public communica- a central driver of participation on policy ronmental events centered on a particular tion is the increasingly fragmented nature issues, predicting whether a citizen calls place or striking visual, such as the toxic of the U.S. media system. With so many or writes to his or her elected official; dis- disasters of Love Canal, New York, and different content choices via cable television and the Internet, an individual unin- terested in science or public affairs news Table 1. Top domestic priorities for Obama and Congress can easily avoid such coverage, paying Percent considering each as a January January January 2008–09 attention to entertainment genres or, per- “top priority” 2007 2008 2009 change haps more problematically, his or her preferred ideological source of commentary. Strengthening nation’s economy 68 75 85 +10 Although attention to climate change at Improving the job situation 57 61 82 +21 news outlets such as the New York Times and Washington Post reached a record Defending U.S. against terrorism 80 74 76 +2 high in the past few years, because of increasing media fragmentation, this cov- Securing Social Security 64 64 63 —1 erage may actually reach a proportionally Improving educational system 69 66 61 —5 smaller audience than a decade ago.12

Dealing with U.S. energy problems 57 59 60 +1 Framing an Issue Securing Medicare 63 60 60 0 To break through the communication Reducing health care costs 68 69 59 —10 barriers of human nature, partisan iden- Reducing budget deficit 53 58 53 —5 tity, and media fragmentation, messages need to be tailored to a specific medium Providing health ins. to uninsured 56 54 52 —2 and audience, using carefully researched Dealing with problems of poor 55 51 50 —1 metaphors, allusions, and examples that trigger a new way of thinking about the Reducing crime 62 54 46 —8 personal relevance of climate change.

Downloaded by [74.215.70.80] at 10:43 09 July 2012 Framing—as a concept and an area Dealing with moral breakdown 47 43 45 +2 of research—spans several social sci- Strengthening the military 46 42 44 +2 ence disciplines. Frames are interpretive storylines that set a specific train Reducing middle class taxes 48 46 43 —3 of thought in motion, communicating Protecting the environment 57 56 41 —15 why an issue might be a problem, who or what might be responsible for it, and Dealing with illegal immigration 55 51 41 —10 what should be done about it.13 Framing Reducing influence of lobbyists 35 39 36 —3 is an unavoidable reality of the communication process, especially as applied to Dealing with global trade 34 37 31 —6 public affairs and policy. There is no such Dealing with global warming 38 35 30 —5 thing as unframed information, and most successful communicators are adept at SOURCE: The Pew Research Center For The People & The Press, “Economy, framing, whether using frames intention- Jobs Trump All Other Policy Priorities in 2009, Environment, Immigration, Health ally or intuitively. Care Slip Down the List” (Washington, DC: The Pew Research Center For The Audiences rely on frames to make People & The Press, 22 January 2009), http://people-press.org/report/485/ sense of and discuss an issue; journalists economy-top-policy-priority (accessed 30 January 2009). use frames to craft interesting and appeal-

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12-25 Nisbet ma09.indd 15 2/11/09 12:30:40 PM ing news reports; policymakers apply gist Erving Goffman, who described depending on the terminology used to frames to define policy options and reach words and nonverbal interactions as describe the problem or the visual con- decisions; and experts employ frames to helping individuals negotiate meaning text provided in the message. For many simplify technical details and make them through the lens of existing cultural members of the public, climate change persuasive.14 Framing, it should be noted, beliefs and worldviews.15 is likely to be the ultimate ambiguous is not synonymous with placing a false In the 1970s, cognitive psychologists situation given its complexity and per- spin on an issue, although some experts, Daniel Kahneman and Amos Tversky ceived uncertainty. advocates, journalists, and policymakers applied framing in experimental designs Over the past two decades, research in certainly spin evidence and facts. Rather, to understand risk judgments and con- political communication and sociology in an attempt to remain true to what is sumer choices, concluding in their Nobel has added to this early work on framing. conventionally known about an issue, as Prize–winning research that “perception The research explains how media por- a communication necessity, framing can is reference dependent.”16 If individuals trayals in interaction with cultural forces be used to pare down information, giving are given an ambiguous or uncertain shape public views of complex policy greater weight to certain considerations situation to consider, the different ways debates such as climate change. and elements over others. in which a message is presented or Framing a policy problem or issue The earliest formal work on framing framed—apart from the content itself— endows certain dimensions of the com- traces back four decades to anthropolo- can result in very different responses, plex issue with greater apparent rel-

THE DEATH AND RESURRECTION OF NUCLEAR ENERGY

Few Americans are likely to associate testors swarmed nuclear power plants The Chernoybl disaster of 1986 only submitted more than 20 applications to Scientists continue to promote uncer- the Nuclear Industry,” Public Understanding of Sci- nuclear energy with slogans like “atoms at home.3 strengthened the frames of public account- build additional nuclear reactors across tainty and public accountability interpre- ence 1 (1992): 305–23; and Gamson and Modigliani, note 2. for peace” or “electricity too cheap to The tipping point for the image of ability, runaway technology, and scientific the country to the U.S. Nuclear Regula- tations, demanding that nuclear plants meter.”1 Yet in its first two decades, nuclear energy was the 1979 Three uncertainty. The event generated world- tory Commission.9 be tightly regulated in light of safety 6. United States Nuclear Regulatory Commis- sion, Our History: The NRC Today, http://www.nrc nuclear energy production was framed Mile Island accident, an event that coin- wide attention, with few news reports con- The effort by the second Bush admin- problems, the “public’s right to know,” .gov/about-nrc/history.html (accessed 15 November almost exclusively in these terms, with cided with China Syndrome, a popular textualizing the comparative safety record istration and the nuclear energy indus- and a “failure of regulators to take 2008). 13 the technology defined as leading to movie released several weeks before the of the American nuclear energy industry, try to reframe the relevance of nuclear effective action” on potential risks. 7. D. Ackman, A Phantom Energy Crisis, social progress, economic competitive- incident. With its focus on the energy effectively leaving the prevailing frames energy has been complemented by an Other environmental groups emphasize 8 May 2001, http://archive.salon.com/politics/ ness, and a better way of life. From industry’s secrecy and incompetence, unchallenged.5 The last nuclear power attempt to similarly sell nuclear energy not only the potential runaway dangers feature/2001/05/08/energy/index.html (accessed 15 U.S. Presidents Dwight Eisenhower to the film reinforced the emerging inter- plants to be built in the United States were as a middle way solution to greenhouse of nuclear energy, but also question its January 2009). Richard Nixon, the technology was pro- pretation of public accountability for constructed in the 1970s, though more gas emissions. Former U.S. Environ- cost-effectiveness. They emphasize that 8. Council on Foreign Relations, Targets for Ter- moted as a major way to grow the domes- energy companies. More importantly, than 100 power plants remain in opera- mental Protection Agency administrator nuclear power is not safe, not cost effec- rorism: Nuclear Facilities, backgrounder, January 6 2006, http://www.cfr.org/publication/10213/targets tic economy and, through export abroad, with the film’s reactor meltdown cli- tion today. Christine Todd Whitman, along with tive (because of the need for government _for_terrorism.html (accessed 15 January 2009). a diplomatic strategy for winning allies max, China Syndrome amplified a new At the start of 2000, however, new Greenpeace co-founder Patrick Moore, subsidies), and not needed.14 2 9. U.S. Department of Energy, Status of Potential against the former Soviet Union. frame focusing on the potential runaway focusing events began to shift the inter- are among the sponsors of this interpre- New Commercial Nuclear Reactors in the United New interpretations began to emerge nature of the technology. In this inter- pretative packages and mental categories tative package, arguing nuclear energy is States, 9 October 2008, http://www.eia.doe.gov/cneaf/ 1. The Eisenhower administration used these Downloaded by [74.215.70.80] at 10:43 09 July 2012 in the mid-1970s, as consumer advo- pretation, nuclear power was portrayed applied to nuclear energy. In 2001, in “cleaner, cheaper, and safer” than coal- nuclear/page/nuc_reactors/reactorcom.html (accessed 10 frame devices in communication campaigns to pro- 15 January 2009). cates reframed nuclear energy in terms as a Frankenstein-like monster beyond reaction to rising energy costs and roll- powered energy. According to their mote nuclear energy. President Eisenhower used the of public accountability, arguing that citizens’ control. ing blackouts in California, the George argument, if U.S. citizens are going phrase “atoms for peace” in his speech by the same 10. C. Whitman and P. Moore, “Nuclear Should be the industry had become a “powerful When news reports of Three Mile Island W. Bush administration launched a com- to satisfy their energy demands while name to the United Nations in 1953, describing a Part of our Future,” Boston Globe, 15 May 2006. achieving the goal of cutting green- new diplomacy program that would supply nuclear- 11. Whitman and Moore, ibid. special interest.” Environmentalists also galvanized national attention, the prevailing munication campaign to promote nuclear related equipment and information to international began to emphasize an oppositional frames of public accountability and run- power as a middle way path to energy house gas emissions, the country needs allies. “Too cheap to meter” was first used in 1954 12. Real Clear Politics, McCain’s Speech on middle way frame, focusing on other away technology became the major modes independence.7 The terrorist attacks of to reinvest in nuclear energy.11 While by chair of the Atomic Energy Commission Lewis Energy Independence, http://www.realclearpolitics running for U.S. president, Senator John Strauss to refer to the economic benefits of electric- .com/articles/2008/06/mccains_speech_on_energy paths to energy independence, such of interpretation. In a classic example of a September 11, 2001, dampened the via- _secur.html (18 June 2008) (accessed 11 December McCain (R-AZ) promoted a similar mid- ity generated by nuclear power plants. See S. R. as solar, hydro, and wind generation. frame device instantly signaling runaway bility of this frame package, as experts Weart, Nuclear Fear: A History of Images (Cam- 2008). dle way interpretation, declaring in a Other groups, such as the Union of Con- technology, a Time magazine cover fea- and media reports focused on nuclear bridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1988). 13. Union of Concerned Scientists, Position cerned Scientists, turned the economic tured an ominous picture of the Three Mile power plants as potential terrorist tar- 2008 campaign speech, “If we’re looking 2. W. A. Gamson and A. Modigliani, “Media on Nuclear Power and Energy, http://www.ucsusa competitiveness frame against nuclear Island reactor and the headline “Nuclear gets.8 But since 2004, as energy prices for a vast supply of reliable and low-cost Discourse and Public Opinion on Nuclear Power: .org/nuclear_power/nuclear_power_and_global power, emphasizing that production was Nightmare.” The accident helped set in have climbed and as U.S. dependence electricity—with zero carbon emissions A Constructionist Approach,” American Journal of _warming/ucs-position-on-nuclear-power.html simply “not cost-effective.” Energy pro- motion a dominant media narrative that on overseas oil has been defined by and long-term price stability—that’s the Sociology 95 (1989): 1–37. (accessed 15 January 2009). 12 3. Gamson and Modigliani, ibid.; and Weart, 14. Nuclear Information and Resource Service, duction was also readily connected to went on to spotlight additional examples political leaders as a major national secu- working definition of nuclear energy.” note 1. However, several oppositional frames Environmental Statement on Nuclear Energy and the “nuclear freeze” movement, as the of construction flaws, incompetence, faulty rity issue, a renewed emphasis on the 4. Gamson and Modigliani, note 2. Global Warming, 2005, http://www.nirs.org/climate/ Carter administration limited the export management, and potential risks at nuclear energy independence interpretation has invoked in the 1970s still resonate. 5. S. M. Friedman, C. M. Gorney, and B. P. Egolf, background/nuclearglobalwarmingstatement6162005 of civilian technology abroad while pro- power plants across the country.4 surfaced. As of 2007, utility companies Groups like the Union of Concerned “Chernobyl Coverage: How the U.S. Media Treated .pdf (accessed 15 January 2009).

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12-25 Nisbet ma09.indd 16 2/11/09 12:30:41 PM evance than they would have under an dimensions of climate change, biologist therefore likely to be rejected, or does not alternative frame. To make sense of poli- and Pulitzer Prize–winning author E. O. hold strong personal significance, ignored cy debates, audiences use frames provid- Wilson, along with other scientists, has as inside-the-beltway bickering. ed by the media as interpretive shortcuts convinced many religious leaders that the Previous studies describe a set of but integrate these media presentations issue is directly applicable to their faith frames that appear to reoccur across with preexisting interpretations forged and their respective communities. science-related policy debates. Origi- through personal experience, partisan- Alternatively, many climate change nally identified by sociologists William ship, ideology, social identity, or conver- advocates have used an unsuccessful Gamson and Andre Modigliani in an sations with others.17 frame that compares distortion of climate examination of nuclear energy (see the A frame links two concepts, so that science to the George W. Bush adminis- box below),19 the typology was further after exposure to this linkage, the intend- tration’s misuse of evidence in making developed in studies of food and medical ed audience now accepts the concepts’ the case to go to war in Iraq or formulat- biotechnology in Europe and the United connection.18 However, in many cases, ing policy on stem cell research. Among States and has been applied to the debate a specific frame only is effective if it is liberals and science enthusiasts, this con- over evolution.20 Table 2 on page 18 relevant—or applicable—to the audience’s nection activates negative emotions, yet outlines this general typology from past preexisting interpretations. For example, for many Americans, the frame either research, describing the latent meanings by emphasizing the religious and moral cuts against their partisan leanings, and is of each interpretation.

THE DEATH AND RESURRECTION OF NUCLEAR ENERGY

Few Americans are likely to associate testors swarmed nuclear power plants The Chernoybl disaster of 1986 only submitted more than 20 applications to Scientists continue to promote uncer- the Nuclear Industry,” Public Understanding of Sci- nuclear energy with slogans like “atoms at home.3 strengthened the frames of public account- build additional nuclear reactors across tainty and public accountability interpre- ence 1 (1992): 305–23; and Gamson and Modigliani, note 2. for peace” or “electricity too cheap to The tipping point for the image of ability, runaway technology, and scientific the country to the U.S. Nuclear Regula- tations, demanding that nuclear plants meter.”1 Yet in its first two decades, nuclear energy was the 1979 Three uncertainty. The event generated world- tory Commission.9 be tightly regulated in light of safety 6. United States Nuclear Regulatory Commis- sion, Our History: The NRC Today, http://www.nrc nuclear energy production was framed Mile Island accident, an event that coin- wide attention, with few news reports con- The effort by the second Bush admin- problems, the “public’s right to know,” .gov/about-nrc/history.html (accessed 15 November almost exclusively in these terms, with cided with China Syndrome, a popular textualizing the comparative safety record istration and the nuclear energy indus- and a “failure of regulators to take 2008). 13 the technology defined as leading to movie released several weeks before the of the American nuclear energy industry, try to reframe the relevance of nuclear effective action” on potential risks. 7. D. Ackman, A Phantom Energy Crisis, social progress, economic competitive- incident. With its focus on the energy effectively leaving the prevailing frames energy has been complemented by an Other environmental groups emphasize 8 May 2001, http://archive.salon.com/politics/ ness, and a better way of life. From industry’s secrecy and incompetence, unchallenged.5 The last nuclear power attempt to similarly sell nuclear energy not only the potential runaway dangers feature/2001/05/08/energy/index.html (accessed 15 U.S. Presidents Dwight Eisenhower to the film reinforced the emerging inter- plants to be built in the United States were as a middle way solution to greenhouse of nuclear energy, but also question its January 2009). Richard Nixon, the technology was pro- pretation of public accountability for constructed in the 1970s, though more gas emissions. Former U.S. Environ- cost-effectiveness. They emphasize that 8. Council on Foreign Relations, Targets for Ter- moted as a major way to grow the domes- energy companies. More importantly, than 100 power plants remain in opera- mental Protection Agency administrator nuclear power is not safe, not cost effec- rorism: Nuclear Facilities, backgrounder, January 6 2006, http://www.cfr.org/publication/10213/targets tic economy and, through export abroad, with the film’s reactor meltdown cli- tion today. Christine Todd Whitman, along with tive (because of the need for government _for_terrorism.html (accessed 15 January 2009). a diplomatic strategy for winning allies max, China Syndrome amplified a new At the start of 2000, however, new Greenpeace co-founder Patrick Moore, subsidies), and not needed.14 2 9. U.S. Department of Energy, Status of Potential against the former Soviet Union. frame focusing on the potential runaway focusing events began to shift the inter- are among the sponsors of this interpre- New Commercial Nuclear Reactors in the United New interpretations began to emerge nature of the technology. In this inter- pretative packages and mental categories tative package, arguing nuclear energy is States, 9 October 2008, http://www.eia.doe.gov/cneaf/ 1. The Eisenhower administration used these in the mid-1970s, as consumer advo- pretation, nuclear power was portrayed applied to nuclear energy. In 2001, in Downloaded by [74.215.70.80] at 10:43 09 July 2012 “cleaner, cheaper, and safer” than coal- nuclear/page/nuc_reactors/reactorcom.html (accessed 10 frame devices in communication campaigns to pro- 15 January 2009). cates reframed nuclear energy in terms as a Frankenstein-like monster beyond reaction to rising energy costs and roll- powered energy. According to their mote nuclear energy. President Eisenhower used the of public accountability, arguing that citizens’ control. ing blackouts in California, the George argument, if U.S. citizens are going phrase “atoms for peace” in his speech by the same 10. C. Whitman and P. Moore, “Nuclear Should be the industry had become a “powerful When news reports of Three Mile Island W. Bush administration launched a com- to satisfy their energy demands while name to the United Nations in 1953, describing a Part of our Future,” Boston Globe, 15 May 2006. achieving the goal of cutting green- new diplomacy program that would supply nuclear- 11. Whitman and Moore, ibid. special interest.” Environmentalists also galvanized national attention, the prevailing munication campaign to promote nuclear related equipment and information to international began to emphasize an oppositional frames of public accountability and run- power as a middle way path to energy house gas emissions, the country needs allies. “Too cheap to meter” was first used in 1954 12. Real Clear Politics, McCain’s Speech on middle way frame, focusing on other away technology became the major modes independence.7 The terrorist attacks of to reinvest in nuclear energy.11 While by chair of the Atomic Energy Commission Lewis Energy Independence, http://www.realclearpolitics running for U.S. president, Senator John Strauss to refer to the economic benefits of electric- .com/articles/2008/06/mccains_speech_on_energy paths to energy independence, such of interpretation. In a classic example of a September 11, 2001, dampened the via- _secur.html (18 June 2008) (accessed 11 December McCain (R-AZ) promoted a similar mid- ity generated by nuclear power plants. See S. R. as solar, hydro, and wind generation. frame device instantly signaling runaway bility of this frame package, as experts Weart, Nuclear Fear: A History of Images (Cam- 2008). dle way interpretation, declaring in a Other groups, such as the Union of Con- technology, a Time magazine cover fea- and media reports focused on nuclear bridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1988). 13. Union of Concerned Scientists, Position cerned Scientists, turned the economic tured an ominous picture of the Three Mile power plants as potential terrorist tar- 2008 campaign speech, “If we’re looking 2. W. A. Gamson and A. Modigliani, “Media on Nuclear Power and Energy, http://www.ucsusa competitiveness frame against nuclear Island reactor and the headline “Nuclear gets.8 But since 2004, as energy prices for a vast supply of reliable and low-cost Discourse and Public Opinion on Nuclear Power: .org/nuclear_power/nuclear_power_and_global power, emphasizing that production was Nightmare.” The accident helped set in have climbed and as U.S. dependence electricity—with zero carbon emissions A Constructionist Approach,” American Journal of _warming/ucs-position-on-nuclear-power.html simply “not cost-effective.” Energy pro- motion a dominant media narrative that on overseas oil has been defined by and long-term price stability—that’s the Sociology 95 (1989): 1–37. (accessed 15 January 2009). 12 3. Gamson and Modigliani, ibid.; and Weart, 14. Nuclear Information and Resource Service, duction was also readily connected to went on to spotlight additional examples political leaders as a major national secu- working definition of nuclear energy.” note 1. However, several oppositional frames Environmental Statement on Nuclear Energy and the “nuclear freeze” movement, as the of construction flaws, incompetence, faulty rity issue, a renewed emphasis on the 4. Gamson and Modigliani, note 2. Global Warming, 2005, http://www.nirs.org/climate/ Carter administration limited the export management, and potential risks at nuclear energy independence interpretation has invoked in the 1970s still resonate. 5. S. M. Friedman, C. M. Gorney, and B. P. Egolf, background/nuclearglobalwarmingstatement6162005 of civilian technology abroad while pro- power plants across the country.4 surfaced. As of 2007, utility companies Groups like the Union of Concerned “Chernobyl Coverage: How the U.S. Media Treated .pdf (accessed 15 January 2009).

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12-25 Nisbet ma09.indd 17 2/11/09 12:30:42 PM Two key details about this typology are worth noting. First, frames as general Table 2. Typology of frames applicable to climate change organizing devices should not be con- Frame Defines science-related issue as . . . fused with specific policy positions; any Social progress A means of improving quality of life frame can include pro, anti, and neutral or solving problems; alternative arguments, though one position might interpretation as a way to be in harmony be more commonly used than others.21 with nature instead of mastering it. For example, though many conservatives Economic development and An economic investment; market benefit have used the economic consequences competitiveness or risk; or a point of local, national, or global frame to oppose action on climate change, competitiveness. many environmental advocates now seek to turn this interpretation in their favor by Morality and ethics A matter of right or wrong; or of respect or emphasizing an opportunity to revitalize disrespect for limits, thresholds, or the economy through investment in clean boundaries. energy technology. Scientific and technical A matter of expert understanding or Second, the latent meaning of any uncertainty consensus; a debate over what is known frame is often translated instantaneously versus unknown; or peer-reviewed, by specific types of frame devices such confirmed knowledge versus hype as catchphrases, metaphors, sound bites, or alarmism. graphics, and allusions to history, culture, Pandora’s box/Frankenstein’s A need for precaution or action in face of or literature.22 “Creating green jobs” is a monster/runaway science possible catastrophe and out-of-control frame device that immediately translates consequences; or alternatively as fatalism, the economic development frame rela- where there is no way to avoid the tive to climate change. (In the rest of this consequences or chosen path. article and in the boxes, references to Public accountability and Research or policy either in the public frames from the typology are italicized governance interest or serving special interests, while frame devices are in quotes.) emphasizing issues of control, transparency, participation, responsiveness, or ownership; or debate over proper use of science and Climate Change Frames that expertise in decisionmaking Reinforce Perceptual Divides (“politicization”). Middle way/alternative path A third way between conflicting or polarized What explains the stark differences views or options. between the objective reality of climate Conflict and strategy A game among elites, such as who is change and the partisan divide in Ameri- winning or losing the debate; or a battle cans’ perceptions? In part, trusted sources of personalities or groups (usually a

Downloaded by [74.215.70.80] at 10:43 09 July 2012 have framed the nature and implications journalist-driven interpretation). of climate change for Republicans and SOURCES: W. A. Gamson and A. Modigliani, “Media Discourse and Public Democrats in very different ways. Opinion on Nuclear Power: A Constructionist Approach,” American Journal of Several conservative think tanks, politi- Sociology 95, no. 1 (1989): 1–37; U. Dahinden, “Biotechnology in Switzerland: cal leaders, and commentators continue Frames in a Heated Debate,” Science Communication 24, no. 2 (2002): 184–97; to hew closely to their decade-old play- J. Durant, M. W. Bauer, and G. Gaskell, Biotechnology in the Public Sphere: book for downplaying the urgency of cli- A European Sourcebook (Lansing, MI: Michigan State University Press, 1998); mate change, which includes questioning M. C. Nisbet and B. V. Lewenstein, “Biotechnology and the American Media: The whether human activities drive climate Policy Process and the Elite Press, 1970 to 1999,” Science Communication 23, change while also arguing that any action no. 4 (2002): 359–91; and M. C. Nisbet, “Framing Science: A New Paradigm in to curb it will lead to dire economic Public Engagement,” in L. Kahlor and P. Stout, eds., Understanding Science: New consequences. Even over the past several Agendas in Science Communication (New York: Taylor & Francis, in press, 2009). years, as Republican leaders such as U.S. Senator John McCain (R-AZ) and Cali- fornia Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger cal discourse, and the memory store of Luntz helped shape the climate skeptic have urged for action on global warming, many audiences.23 playbook, recommending in a strategy the strength of these decade-old frames During the 1990s, based on focus groups memo to lobbyists and Republican mem- linger as salient in popular culture, politi- and polling, Republican consultant Frank bers of Congress that the issue be framed

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12-25 Nisbet ma09.indd 18 2/11/09 12:30:43 PM as scientifically uncertain, using opinions ly citing scientific-sounding evidence. To and economic consequences frames by of contrarian scientists as evidence. He amplify his message, Inhofe takes advan- emphasizing a Pandora’s Box of loom- also wrote that the “emotional home run” tage of the fragmented news media, with ing “climate crisis.” To instantly trans- would be an emphasis on the dire eco- appearances at television outlets, such late their preferred interpretation, these nomic consequences of action, impacts as Fox News, on political talk radio, and advocates have relied on depictions of that would result in an “unfair burden” Web traffic driven to his blog from the specific climate impacts, including hurri- on Americans if other countries such as Drudge Report.27 cane devastation, polar bears perched pre- China and India did not participate in For example, in a February 2007 Fox cariously on shrinking ice floes, scorched, international agreements.24 & Friends segment titled, “Weather drought-stricken earth, blazing wild fires, This framing strategy was effectively Wars,” Inhofe deceptively argued that or famous cities or landmarks under water incorporated into talking points, speech- global warming was in fact due to natu- due to future sea-level rise. es, white papers, and advertisements by ral causes and mainstream science was Publicity for Gore’s documentary on conservative think tanks and members of beginning to accept this conclusion. climate change’s effects, An Inconve- Congress to defeat major policy propos- Inhofe asserted, unchallenged by host nient Truth, dramatized climate change als along with the adoption of the Kyoto Steve Doocy, “those individuals on the as an environmental Frankenstein’s mon- Protocol, a treaty that would have com- far left, such as Hollywood liberals and ster, including a hurricane-shaped plume mitted the United States to cutting green- the United Nations,” want the public to spewing from a smoke stack on its movie house gas emissions.25 The communica- believe that global warming is manmade. poster and a trailer telling audiences to tion campaign also promoted distortions Similar frames of scientific uncertainty expect “the most terrifying film you will in news coverage. As political report- and economic consequences continue to ever see.” With an accent on visual and ers applied their preferred conflict and be pushed by other conservative com- dramatic effects, the catastrophe strategy strategy frame to the policy debate— mentators, including influential syndi- triggered similarly framed news coverage. For example, a 2006 Time magazine cover featured a polar bear on melting ice with Trusted sources have framed the nature the headline, “Global Warming: Be Wor- ried, Be VERY Worried.”31 and implications of climate change for One of the unintended consequences Republicans and Democrats in very of this line of communication is that it plays into the hands of climate skeptics different ways. and further reinforces the partisan divide in climate change perceptions. Andrew Revkin, who has covered climate change focusing on which side cated columnists George for nearly 20 years for the New York Times, was winning, the person- Will, Charles Krauthammer, argues these claims are effectively coun- alities involved, and their and Tony Blankley.28 tered by critics, such as Inhofe, as liberal message strategies—they Danish political sci- “alarmism,” since the error bars of uncer-

Downloaded by [74.215.70.80] at 10:43 09 July 2012 also engaged in the same entist Bjørn Lomborg, tainty for each of the climate impacts are type of false balance that author of The Skeptical much wider than the general link between has been common to cov- Environmentalist and Cool human activities and global warming.32 erage of elections and It, offers an adaptation of These challenges, which are easier when issues.26 In other words, by giving equal these familiar frames.29 While accepting the target of ridicule is a former political weight to contrarian views on climate sci- that human activities have contributed figure such as Gore, quickly reactivate ence, journalists presented the false impres- to climate change, Lomborg questions a focus on scientific uncertainty and the sion that there was limited expert agree- the severity of those impacts and argues heuristic of partisanship. In addition, the ment on the causes of climate change. that the resources spent on dealing with public is likely to translate these appeals U.S. Senator James Inhofe (R-OK), climate change are better spent on prob- to fear into a sense of fatalism, especially former chair of the Senate Committee on lems such as malaria and poverty. These if this information is not accompanied by Environment and Public Works, remains novel contrarian views provide fresh specific recommendations about how they the loudest voice of climate skepticism. fodder for skeptic commentators such as can respond to the threats.33 In speeches, press releases, and on his George Will.30 Revkin and others worry that the news Senate Web log, Inhofe casts doubt on In contrast, former U.S. Vice Presi- media has moved from an earlier era of the conclusions of the Intergovernmen- dent Al Gore, many environmentalists, false balance to a new phase of overdra- tal Panel on Climate Change and other and even some scientists have attempt- matization, one that skeptics can easily major scientific organizations, selective- ed to counter the scientific uncertainty exploit to dismiss climate change as a

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A 2007 segment of the PBS series features an explicit awareness among real action. So they are reaching out relevance to the church. “The way people nature,” were the first people being hit by and religious leaders. As Chivian puts Now, hosted by journalist David the participants that framing is central to to a different voice: the spiritual and talk about this whole scientific arena is so the impacts of climate change. Jackson it: “I think a trust has developed. I think Brancaccio, vividly captures the abil- bringing diverse groups together to face moral voice of evangelical Christians. disconnected from real people that it—I describes his conversion to the problem: there’s nothing like, you know, sleeping ity of the morality and ethics frame to the shared challenge of climate change. Together, they hope to forge a compel- didn’t have any sense of real urgency “Our friends back home need to know on air mattresses and nobody showering promote common ground and articulate A brief exchange during the open- ling message that will wake people up concerning the problem,” Jackson tells that this is not just an isolated situation. to develop trust. It goes a long way, you shared goals between religious leaders ing segment demonstrates the partici- to their cause. the journalists early on the trek. “So I We do have a responsibility. We do need know?”5 and scientists on the reality and urgency pants’ understanding of framing as a way CHIVIAN: The moral example of, and hope to see something that frames this or to help them now. But the greater lesson of climate change.1 The program docu- to stress the relevance and immediacy sense of urgency that these two groups, puts a context around what everyone is is [to] protect against this happening in ments a trip to the Arctic by prominent of climate change to different publics: that may still have differences, are saying talking about.”3 the future. That’s what I’m getting [out] 1. God and Global Warming, PBS (26 October Jackson discovered that moment when of this now.”4 2007), http://www.pbs.org/now/shows/343/ (accessed evangelicals and scientists led by Richard this is so fundamental, so important to all 12 January 2009). the group visited a native Alaskan vil- The Now segment not only reveals the Cizik, former vice president of govern- CHIVIAN: Scientists, I must say, are of us, I think becomes a—a very powerful 2. Now Transcript—Show 343, PBS (27 October 2 ment affairs for the National Association not terribly good at communicating with message to everyone. lage. The group witnessed a house, ability of the morality and ethics frame 2007), http://www.pbs.org/now/transcript/343.html of Evangelicals, and Eric Chivian, found- the general public. I mean, we’re taught built on melting permafrost, fall into to engage nontraditional audiences, but (accessed 12 January 2009). er and director of the Center for Health to speak in technical language. The group includes Harry Jackson, an the ocean. The message for the group, also of social interaction and discussion 3. Ibid. and the Global Environment at Harvard BRANCACCIO: Chivian says sci- evangelical minister who begins the jour- as Jackson later explains, was that the to erode the awkwardness that sometimes 4. Now Transcript—Show 343, note 2. Medical School. Notably, the report also ence alone has failed to stir people to ney skeptical of climate change and its people who lived “most in tune with exists between environmental scientists 5. Now Transcript—Show 343, note 2.

problem.34 Polls suggest that the public transition speech, President Obama simi- contexts hold the promise of resonating has picked up on critiques of the media larly invoked the public accountability with a broader coalition of Americans by conservatives, likely filtering this frame and Gore’s film while announcing and social groups. Over time, these new information through their preferred par- his science policy advisers: meanings for climate change are likely to tisan lens and their belief in liberal media be key drivers of public engagement and, bias. Such filtering results in Republicans Because the truth is that promot- eventually, policy action. who not only discount the climate change ing science isn’t just about providing In Break Through: From the Death of problem but who also agree that the resources—it’s about protecting free and Environmentalism to the Politics of Possi- mainstream news media is exaggerating open inquiry. It’s about ensuring that bility, environmentalists Ted Nordhaus and its severity.35 facts and evidence are never twisted or Michael Schellenberger advocate a move Many environmental advocates and sci- obscured by politics or ideology. It’s away from the “pollution paradigm,” which entists have focused on public account- about listening to what our scientists offers a familiar storyline of dire environ- ability as an additional call-to-arms on have to say, even when it’s inconvenient— mental consequences if greenhouse gas climate change. These advocates accuse especially when it’s inconvenient.38 emissions are not radically reduced.39 They the George W. Bush administration of offer an alternative communication strategy, putting politics ahead of science and The public accountability frame has which involves turning the economic devel-

Downloaded by [74.215.70.80] at 10:43 09 July 2012 expertise on a number of issues, including outraged and intensified the commitment opment frame in favor of action, recasting climate change. For example, in the 2004 of scientists, environmental advocates, climate change as an opportunity to grow election, Democratic presidential candi- and many Democrats, motivating them the economy. The two authors argue that date U.S. Senator John Kerry (D-MA) to label climate skeptics as “deniers” and only by refocusing messages and building made strategic use of the public account- to engage in sharp rhetorical attacks on diverse coalitions in support of “innovative ability frame, comparing distortions on political opponents. Yet for other mem- energy technology” and “sustainable eco- climate change to the administration’s use bers of the public, “war on science” nomic prosperity” can meaningful action of intelligence to invade Iraq.36 claims are likely ignored as just more elite on climate change be achieved. With this In 2005, journalist Chris Mooney’s rancor or only further alienate Republi- framing strategy, they seek not just to best-selling The Republican War on Sci- cans on the issue. engage the wider public, but also catalyze ence helped crystallize the public ac- a more diverse social movement—perhaps countability train of thought, turning the even engaging support for energy policies “war on science” into a partisan rallying Reframing Climate Change among Republicans, who think predomi- cry.37 In 2007, Hillary Clinton, in a speech to Break Perceptual Gridlock nantly in terms of market opportunities, or marking the 50th anniversary of Sputnik, labor advocates, who value the possibility promised to end the “war on science” in Not every citizen cares about the envi- of job growth. American politics, highlighting the prom- ronment or defers to the authority of Both 2008 U.S. presidential candidates inence of this frame device. In a late 2008 science. Yet newly emerging perceptual emphasized this frame, which the Obama

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administration continues to promote, ter to a Baptist minister, he acknowledges unify U.S. citizens by framing climate through the sound bite “creating green that as an atheist, he might hold a different change as a solvable and shared moral jobs and fueling economic recovery.” Yet belief regarding the origin of the Earth, challenge. For example, in television and the techno-optimism of clean energy solu- but he shares a common value and respect print advertisements, the WE campaign tions is also open to the counterframe for nature, what the Bible calls “creation.” aims to break the gridlock of partisan per- of uncertainty. The case of corn-based In this manner, he engages Christian read- ceptions by pairing unlikely spokespeople ethanol is a warning not to oversell any ers and media outlets that might not such as Speaker of the House Nancy path too quickly.40 In this otherwise pay attention Pelosi (D-CA) with Republican and for- instance, the gasoline sub- to popular science books mer Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich stitute initially was her- or appeals related to cli- and self-professed liberal and conserva- alded as a way to benefit mate change. Paralleling tive clergymen, respectively, Reverends the economy and reduce Wilson’s interpretation, Al Sharpton and Pat Robertson.43 greenhouse emissions, but an increasing number of Other WE ads compare action on global warming to the U.S. Civil Rights Move- ment, the United States’ role in aiding A potentially unifying interpretation allies in World War II, and the recovery Downloaded by [74.215.70.80] at 10:43 09 July 2012 from the Great Depression. More recent frames environmental stewardship as not WE TV spots, which feature actors as ranchers, construction workers, and auto- only a scientific matter, but also as one of workers, stress the economic develop- morality and ethics. ment frame, emphasizing job creation and growth. Importantly, these ads are placed during daytime talk shows and subsequent research determined that the Christian leaders, including Pope Bene- entertainment programming and in leisure increased agricultural land use would dict XVI and evangelicals, such as Rich- magazines, which all reach non-news actually boost emissions and increase ard Cizik and Rick Warren, are emphasiz- audiences who might not otherwise pay food costs.41 ing the religious duty to be “stewards” of attention to coverage of climate change. E. O. Wilson offers a second potentially God’s creation. (The box above discusses Similar to the Pandora’s Box metaphor unifying interpretation in his best-selling a recent documentary that employs this widely used in 2006, journalists have also book The Creation: An Appeal to Save framing strategy.) started to echo this morality and ethics Life on Earth.42 Wilson frames environ- The morality and ethics frame is also frame in their coverage of climate change. mental stewardship as not only a scientific featured in Gore’s WE campaign, which For example, Time magazine devoted its matter, but also as one of morality and launched in Spring 2008. The WE cam- 2008 Earth Day cover to that interpre- ethics. In penning the book as an open let- paign to “repower America” attempts to tation. Calling to mind the iconic Iwo

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12-25 Nisbet ma09.indd 21 2/11/09 12:30:47 PM Jima flag-raising photograph, the cover in society want to know about climate sible, and relevant narratives—such as featured an illustration of soldiers strug- change, their political interpretations, the the local public health implications of gling to plant a tree and the headline, perceived implications for their daily lives, climate change—for nontraditional audi- “How to Win the War on Global Warm- the resonance or conflict with their values ences across media formats, expanding ing.”44 Managing editor Richard Stengel and social identities, where they are most their reach and impact. described the cover as “Our call to arms likely to receive information, and who or These institutions and professional to make this challenge—perhaps the most what they are looking to for answers. groups share the uncontroversial goal important one facing the planet—a true It is not enough, however, for research of calling attention to climate change as national priority.”45 in this area to simply track, explain, a pressing problem while empowering Since the beginning of this decade, and draw attention to this paralyzing citizens to become involved in national the public health implications of climate change have also emerged as a potentially powerful interpretive resource for experts The public health implications of and advocates.46 This trend is an example climate change have emerged as a of how a unique issue-specific frame may emerge that is not predicted by the general potentially powerful interpretive resource typology for science debates outlined in for experts and advocates. Table 2. The public health frame stresses climate change’s potential to increase the incidence of infectious diseases, asthma, allergies, heat stroke, and other salient divide. Social science and local decisionmaking. health problems, especially among the expertise and knowl- Yet despite these unified most vulnerable populations: the elderly edge needs to take steps objectives, public engage- and children. In the process, the pub- to solve this communica- ment with climate change lic health frame makes climate change tion problem. is still missing. If major personally relevant to new audiences by The typology of frames policy change is to be connecting the issue to health problems reviewed in this article achieved, new meanings that are already familiar and perceived suggests a deductive set of mental boxes and messengers for climate change are as important. The frame also shifts the and interpretive storylines that can be needed. Communication can no longer geographic location of impacts, replacing used to bring diverse audiences togeth- remain a guessing game. Careful research visuals of remote Arctic regions, animals, er on common ground, shape personal needs to be funded and translated into col- and peoples with more socially proxi- behavior, or mobilize collective action. lective action. mate neighbors and places across local Additional research using in-depth inter- Matthew C. Nisbet is an assistant professor at Ameri- communities and cities. Coverage at local views, focus groups, and sophisticat- can University’s School of Communication, a research television news outlets and specialized ed survey and experimental techniques fellow at AU’s Center for Social Media, and an affil- iated researcher at the Center for Climate Change urban media is also generated. needs to further explore, identify, and Communication at George Mason University. His

Downloaded by [74.215.70.80] at 10:43 09 July 2012 test these frames across audiences.48 With research focuses on strategic communication in pol- icymaking, including controversies surrounding sci- so much focus on media portrayals and ence, the environment, and public health. He blogs Conclusion advertising campaigns, it is also impor- about these topics at http://www.scienceblogs.com/ framing-science. He may be contacted via email at tant not to overlook interpersonal sources [email protected]. Despite two decades of ever-stronger of information. One way to reach audi- scientific consensus and record amounts ences is to recruit their influential peers NOTES

of news coverage, the United States still to pass on selectively framed information 1. L. R. Jacobs and R. Y. Shapiro, Politicians Don’t appears locked in a perceptual divide over about climate change that resonates with Pander: Political Manipulation and the Loss of Demo- cratic Responsiveness (Chicago: University of Chi- climate change, particularly along par- the background of the targeted audience cago Press); S. K. Schneider and W. G. Jacoby, “Elite tisan and ideological lines. The interac- and that addresses their personal infor- Discourse and American Public Opinion: The Case of 49 Welfare Spending,” Political Research Quarterly 58 tion between partisanship and selectively mation needs. (2005): 367–379; and S. F. Schram and J. Soss, “Success framed media portrayals that results in a The Obama administration, govern- Stories: Welfare Reform, Policy Discourse, and Politics of Research,” The Annals of the American Academy of “two Americas” of climate change percep- ment agencies, nongovernmental organi- Political and Social Science 557 (2001): 49–65. tions is well understood, and in fact, as zations, and science institutions can use 2. M. C. Nisbet, “Framing Science: A New Paradigm in Public Engagement,” in L. Kahlor and P. Stout, eds., reviewed, predicted by research in political the results of this audience research to Understanding Science: New Agendas in Science Com- communication and related fields.47 Survey design and target their messages about munication (New York: Taylor & Francis, in press, 2009). and market segmentation techniques have climate change. Journalists can also use 3. E. W. Maibach, C. Roser-Renouf, and A. Lei- begun to examine what specific groups this information to craft novel, acces- serowitz, “Communication and Marketing as Climate

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12-25 Nisbet ma09.indd 22 2/11/09 12:30:48 PM Change Intervention Assets: A Public Health Perspec- Media Effects Models,” Journal of Communication 57, Knowledge, Truth and a Greater Understanding of the tive,” American Journal of Preventive Medicine 35, no. no. 1 (2009): 9–20. World Around Us (20 December 2008), http://change 5 (2008): 488–500; S. Moser and L. Dilling, “Making 19. W. A. Gamson and A. Modigliani, “Media Dis- .gov/newsroom/entry/the_search_for_knowledge Climate Hot: Communicating the Urgency and Chal- course and Public Opinion on Nuclear Power: A Con- _truth_and_a_greater_understanding_of_the_world_aro/ lenge of Global Climate Change,” Environment 46, no. structionist Approach,” American Journal of Sociology (accessed 23 January 2009). 10 (2004): 32–46; and M. C. Nisbet and C. Mooney, 95, no. 1 (1989): 1–37. 39. T. Nordhaus and M. Schellenberger, Break “Policy Forum: Framing Science,” Science 316, no. 20. U. Dahinden, “Biotechnology in Switzerland: Through: From the Death of Environmentalism to the 5821 (2007): 56. Frames in a Heated Debate,” Science Communication Politics of Possibility (New York: Houghton Mifflin, 4. S. L. Popkin, The Reasoning Voter: Communication 24, no. 2 (2002): 184–97; J. Durant, M. W. Bauer, and 2007). and Persuasion in Presidential Campaigns (Chicago: G. Gaskell, Biotechnology in the Public Sphere: A 40. C. Russell, “Climate Change: Now What? A Big University of Chicago Press, 1991); and M. C. Nisbet, European Sourcebook (Lansing, MI: Michigan State Uni- Beat Grows More Challenging and Complex,” Columbia “The Competition for Worldviews: Values, Information, versity Press, 1998); M. C. Nisbet and B. V. Lewenstein, Journalism Review (July/August 2008), http://www.cjr and Public Support for Stem Cell Research,” Internation- “Biotechnology and the American Media: The Policy .org/feature/climate_change_now_what.php (accessed al Journal of Public Opinion Research 17, no. 1 (2005): Process and the Elite Press, 1970 to 1999,” Science Com- 23 January 2009). 90–112; and S. S. Ho, D. Brossard, and D. A. Scheufele, munication 23, no. 4 (2002): 359–91; and Nisbet, note 2. 41. T. Searchinger et al., “Use of U.S. Croplands for “Effects of Value Predispositions, Mass Media Use, and 21. Ferree, Gamson, Gerhards, and Rucht, note 13. Biofuels Increases Greenhouse Gases Through Emis- Knowledge on Public Attitudes Toward Embryonic Stem 22. Gamson and Modigliani, note 19. sions from Land-Use Change,” Science 319, no. 5867 Cell Research,” International Journal of Public Opinion 23. Real Clear Politics, McCain’s Speech on Ener- (2008): 1238–1240; and International Monetary Fund, Research 20, no. 2 (2008): 171–192. gy Independence, 18 June 2008, http://www.realclear Biofuel Demand Pushes Up Food Prices, 17 Octo- 5. R. E. Dunlap and A. M. McCright, “A Widening politics.com/articles/2008/06/mccains_speech_on ber 2007, http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/survey/ Gap: Republican and Democratic Views on Climate _energy_secur.html (accessed 11 December 2008). so/2007/RES1017A.htm (accessed 23 January 2009). Change,” Environment 50, no. 5 (2008): 26–35. 24. Luntz conducted the research and wrote the memo 42. E. O. Wilson, The Creation: An Appeal to Save 6. A. Malka, J. A. Krosnick, and G. Langer, “The as part of a briefing book for industry lobbyists and Life on Earth (New York: W. W. Norton, 2006). Association of Knowledge With Concern about Global congressional Republicans. The memo was uncovered 43. Join Us on the Couch: Nancy Pelosi and Newt Warming: Trusted Information Sources Shape Public by the Environmental Working Group and made avail- Gingrich, WE Campaign, http://www.wecansolveit Thinking,” Risk Analysis (forthcoming). able on the Internet. See Environmental Working Group, .org/content/video/join_us_on_the_couch_nancy 7. M. C. Nisbet and T. Myers, “Twenty Years of Luntz Memo on the Environment, http://www.ewg.org/ _pelosi_and_newt_gingrich_15_second_spot/ (accessed Public Opinion about Global Warming,” Public Opinion node/8684 (2003) (accessed 23 January 2009). 10 January 2009); and Print Ads, WE Campaign, http:// Quarterly 71, no. 3 (2007): 444–70. 25. A. M. McCright and R. E. Dunlap, “Defeating www.wecansolveit.org/content/pages/204/ (accessed 10 8. Washington Post–ABC News Poll, http://www Kyoto: The Conservative Movement’s Impact on U.S. January 2009). .washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/politics/documents/postpoll Climate Change Policy,” Social Problems 50, no. 3 44. “How to Win the War on Global Warming,” _121508.html?sid=ST2008122001562&s_pos=top (15 (2003): 348–73. Time, 17 April 2008, cover, http://www.time.com/time/ December 2008) (accessed 22 January 2009). 26. M. Boykoff and J. Boykoff, “Bias as Balance: covers/0,16641,20080428,00.html (accessed 4 February 9. The Pew Research Center for The People & The Global Warming and the U.S. Prestige Press,” Global 2008). War is a commonly used metaphor and frame Press, “Economy, Jobs Trump All Other Policy Priorities Environmental Change 14, no. 2 (2004): 125–36. device across U.S. politics. When the threat is defined in 2009, Environment, Immigration, Health Care Slip 27. See Inhofe’s Senate office backgrounder on as originating from a social group within American Down the List” (Washington, DC: The Pew Research global warming, email list, and blog, http://epw.senate society, such as liberals’ alleged “war on Christmas” or Center for The People & The Press, 22 January 2009), .gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=Issues.View&Issue conservatives’ alleged “war on science,” the metaphor http://people-press.org/report/485/economy-top-policy _id=88388d58-7e9c-9af9-7d66-62e366f3f189&CFID= polarizes views, communicates the differences between -priority (accessed 22 January 2009). 2685057&CFTOKEN=47826073 (accessed 23 January “us” and “them,” and rallies a particular social move- 10. S. Verba, K. L. Schlozman, and H. Brady, Voice 2009). ment or ideological base. When used to point to an and Equality: Civic Voluntarism in American Politics 28. See, as examples, G. Will, “Carbon’s Power external, existential, or real threat, such as the “war on (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1995); and Brokers,” Washington Post, 1 June 2008, http://www terror,” “Cold War,” “war on cancer,” or “war on global R. Goidel and M. C. Nisbet, “Exploring the Roots of .washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008 warming,” the metaphor results in national and societal Public Participation in the Controversy Over Stem Cell /05/30/AR2008053002521.html (accessed 23 January unity, transcending ideological divisions, as Americans Research and Cloning,” Political Behavior 28 (2006): 2009); C. Krauthammer, “Carbon Chastity,” Washington join to defend common values and self-interests. See 175–192. Post, 30 May 2008, http://www.washingtonpost.com/ E. Nepstad, “The Continuing Relevance of Coser’s 11. These events and issues also lacked the extreme wp-dyn/content/article/2008/05/29/AR2008052903266 Theory of Conflict,” Sociological Forum 20, no. 2 partisan messages that have unfortunately been consis- .html (accessed 23 January 2009); and T. Blankley, Bush (2005): 335–337. tent across the history of climate change. Raises Temp on Global Warming, 16 April 2008, http:// 45. R. Stengel, “Why We’re Going Green,” Time, 12. M. Boykoff, “From Convergence to Contention: townhall.com/columnists/TonyBlankley/2008/04/16/ 17 April 2008, http://www.time.com/time/magazine/ United States Mass Media Representations of Anthropo- bush_raises_temp_on_global_warming (accessed 23 article/0,9171,1731899,00.html (accessed 20 November genic Climate Science,” Transactions of the Institute of January 2009). 2008). British Geographers 32, no. 4 (2007): 477–489. 29. B. Lomborg, The Skeptical Environmentalist: 46. H. Frumkin, J. Hess, G. Luber, J. Malilay, and Downloaded by [74.215.70.80] at 10:43 09 July 2012 13. See these seminal articles on media and framing, Measuring the Real State of the World (New York: Cam- M. McGeehin, “Climate Change: The Public Health which apply the theory to specific issues: M. M. Fer- bridge University Press, 2001); and B. Lomborg, Cool Response,” American Journal of Public Health 98 ree, W. A. Gamson, J. Gerhards, and J. Rucht, Shaping It: The Skeptical Environmentalist’s Guide to Global (2008): 435–45. Abortion Discourse: Democracy and the Public Sphere Warming (New York: Viking, 2008). 47. Popkin, note 4; Nisbet, note 4; and Ho, Brossard, in Germany and the United States (New York: Cam- 30. G. Will, “An Inconvenient Price,” Newsweek, and Scheufele, note 4. bridge University Press, 2002); and V. Price, L. Nir, and 22 October 2007, http://www.newsweek.com/id/43352 J. N. Capella, “Framing Public Discussion of Gay Civil (accessed 23 January 2009). 48. Maibach, Roser-Renouf, and Leiserowitz, note 3. Unions,” Public Opinion Quarterly 69, no. 2 (2005): 31. “Global Warming: Be Worried. Be VERY Wor- 49. M. C. Nisbet and J. Kotcher, “A Two Step Flow 179–212. ried,” Time, 3 April 2006, cover, http://www.time.com/ of Influence? Opinion-Leader Campaigns on Climate 14 D. A. Scheufele, “Framing as a Theory of Media time/covers/0,16641,20060403,00.html (accessed 15 Change,” Science Communication (forthcoming, 2009). Effects,” Journal of Communication 49, no. 1 (1999): November 2008). 103–22; and M. C. Nisbet and M. Huge, “Attention 32. A. Revkin, “Climate Change as News: Challenges Cycles and Frames in the Plant Biotechnology Debate: in Communicating Environmental Science,” in J. C. Managing Power and Participation Through the Press/ DiMento and P. M. Doughman, eds., Climate Change: Policy Connection,” Harvard International Journal of What It Means for Us, Our Children, and Our Grand- ADVERTISE IN Press/Politics 11, no. 2 (2006): 3–40. children (Boston, MA: MIT Press, 2007), 139–60. 15. E. Goffman, Frame Analysis: An Essay on the 33. Maibach, Roser-Renouf, and Leiserowitz, note 3. Organization of Experience (New York: Harper & Row, 34. Revkin, note 32; and M. Boycoff and R. Rajan, 1974). “Signals and Noise,” EMBO Reports 8, no. 3 (2007): ® 16. D. Kahneman, “Maps of Bounded Rationality: 207–11. A Perspective on Intuitive Judgment and Choice,” in 35. Dunlap and McCright, note 5. T. Frängsmyr, ed., Les Prix Nobel: The Nobel Prizes 36. Second Presidential Debate 2004, http://www Contact Sally Wright 2002 (Stockholm: Nobel Foundation, 2003), 449–89. .washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/politics/debatereferee/ 540.592.3634 or 17. Ferree, Gamson, Gerhards, and Rucht, note 13; debate_1008.html (accessed 23 January 2009). and Price, Nir, and Capella, note 13. 37. C. Mooney, The Republican War on Science (New [email protected] 18. D. A. Scheufele and D. Tewksbury, “Framing, York: Basic Books, 2005). Agenda-Setting, and Priming: The Evolution of Three 38. 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