FROM ANGST TO ACTION

Effective Climate Health Communication

AGENDA

What do we bring?

Where did we go wrong?

Healthy framing

Solutions

Connecting

Nuts and bolts

Motivating action

Putting it all together

Harris Poll 2014Occupational prestige

DoctorMilitary officer

FirefighterScientistNurse

EngineerPolice officer

ClergyArchitectAthleteTeacher

GALLUP POLL 2013 HONESTY AND ETHICS Highest LowestNursesPharmacistsTeachersDoctorsMilitary OfficersPoliceClergy

LawyersTV ReportersAdvertising AgentsState Office HoldersCar SalespeopleCongresspeopleLobbyists

CASE DISCUSSION:

Patient with blood pressure 200/120 taking his meds every other day.

Who are you talking to?

What do you want them to do?

Why aren't they doing it?

84% OF ALL VOTERS AND 72% OF GOP

78% support regulation of GHG emissions

59% support ending fossil fuel subsidies

68% support energy portfolio standards

63% (57% of Republicans) support programs to decrease car use

US PUBLIC OPINION

US should act on climate change even if it costs jobs and slows economic growth

US has a responsiblility to take steps to deal with climate change

Our government is not doing enough to deal with climate change

US should be willing to decrease GHGs if other countries sign a Copenhagen type agreement

MAJORITY OF RED & BLUE DISTRICTS AGREE

July 2014 Program for Public Consultation

Despite the fact that so many agree that US should do more on climate,

70% of those polled rarely or never discuss climate change with friends or family.

2016

and it remains a low priority (#16) for most Americans

What We Think About When We Try Not To Think About Global Warming: Stoknes, PE 2015

Why?

Distance

Doom

Denial

How does it make YOU feel?Frustrated Betrayed Depressed

Guilty Angry Sorry

Helpless Nervous Glimmer of hope

Anxious Apathetic Despair

Worried Optimistic Perplexed

Dumbfounded Distressed Exasperated

Solastalgia

Emotional distress resulting from damage to local environment

Solastalgia increases risk of clinical depression for people who experience:

Wildfire RR 1.29

Mountaintop removal RR 1.40

Dissonance

Identity

Solution Aversion

Campbell and Kay, 2014

Market solutions

Regulatorysolutions

HEALTH FRAMES

NEGATIVE

Disease

Disaster

Dystopia

Devils and Angels

POSITIVE

Healing the earth

Health Improvment

Caring

Preparedness & prevention

CENTER FOR CLIMATE COMMUNICATIONGeorge Mason University

6 GROUPSAlarmedConcernedCautiousDisengagedDoubtfulDismissive

Benefits more effective than harm

Maibach BMC Public Health 2010 10-299

Health harms of inaction

Health benefitsof action

O'Neill, S and Nicolson-Cole S. 2009

Solution images empower Problem images disempower

Benefits motivate actionregardless of climate belief

Bain, 2015

ACTION Vote Lifestyle Donate

“Redesigning our cities and towns to make it easier and safer to travel by foot, bicycle, and public transportation will reduce the

number of cars on the road, reduce carbon dioxide emissions, reduce traffic injuries and fatalities, and help people become

more physically active, lose weight, strengthen their bones, and possibly even

to remain mentally sharp as they age.”

Maibach, 2010

Health Benefits Induce HopeRegardless of Belief

Smith and Leiserowitz, 2013

Positive emotions correlate with Support for climate action

thesolutionsproject.org

We KNOW this stuffTOP 5 CAUSES OF DEATH IN US

Heart Disease (diabetes)

CancerChronic Lung DiseaseStrokeUnintentional Injury

(mva)

CAUSES OF THE CAUSESof death in developed countries

1) tobacco

2) high blood pressure

3) overweight and

obesity

4) physical inactivity

5) high blood glucose

6) high cholesterol

7) low fruit and vegetable intake

8) urban outdoor air pollution

9) alcohol

10) occupational

WHO 2009

UNDERLYING CAUSES

Air pollution

Car centric built environment

Industrial agriculture and food system

75 cents of every health care dollar

Is spent on preventable chronic disease

CLEAN AIRBetter pediatric lung function

Lower incidence of asthma

Fewer cardiac events

Lower CVD mortality

Less obesity

Less DM2 and insulin resistance

Less autism, ADD, behavior and learning problems

WALKABLE COMMUNITIESLess DM

Less CVD

Less overweight and obesity

More physical activity

Lower BP

3 years additional life expectancy

PUBLIC TRANSIT

More physical activity

Lower MVA mortality

Lower obesity and overweight

Decreased health spending per capita

LESS MEAT, MORE VEGGIESProspective and intervention studies:

Lower rates of DM

CVD

Cancer

Metabolic syndrome

Specific and all cause mortality

FINDING AN AUDIENCE

CONNECTING WITH YOUR AUDIENCE

Get personal

Share an experience that spurred you to act.

Find common ground / identity.

VALUES WHICH RESONATE

RESPONSIBILITY1) We owe it to our kids and future generations2) Its important to respect and take care of the planet3) We should prevent human harm and suffering

DEMOCRACY1) Its time to break Big Oil's stranglehold on Washington

PATRIOTISM1) Americans have the ingenuity and resourcefulness to

tackle this problem

Tailoring your talk to fit your listeners

Row 1 Row 2 Row 3 Row 40

2

4

6

8

10

12

Column 1Column 2Column 3

People in pictures should look like audience

Make it local

Farm on former football field, Dallas.

TELL SUCCESS STORIES Jeffery Thompson MD

Gundersen Lutheran Health System LaCrosse, WI

Sam Moody Atlanta, GA

CARMAGEDDON Los Angeles, CA

Ultrafine Particulates down 83 % PM2.5 down 36 percent

ER Visits UCLA decreased 23%ER Visits Mt Sinai decreased 13%911 calls decreased 12%

Isiah Webb, Hospital Farmer

LANGUAGE

Align with public's priorities ENVIRONMENTAL Pollution Clean energy

HEALTH ObesityCancerDiabetesHeart disease

Avoid jargon and triggers

EnvironmentCo-benefitsEmissions, GHGCarbon tax, cap & tradeRenewable energyActive transportationEnergy EfficiencySustainable agriculture

Air we breath, water we drink etcBetter healthPollutionMake polluters payClean energySafe & easy walking and bikingCut wasteHealthy food and farms

Be mindful of literacy level

QUICK AND DIRTY READING LEVEL

# of 3+ syllable words

0-1 in 30 sentences 4th grade1 in 10 sentences 5th grade1 in 5 sentences 6th grade1 in 2-3 sentences 7th grade1 per sentence 8th grade

LEVEL THE PLAYING FIELD

MAKE BIG POLLUTERS PAY

Fruits and Vegetables prevent chronic disease and multi-morbidity

Ruel, Clinical Nutrition Volume 33, Issue 3, Pages 513–520, June 2014

Mediterranean Diet Prevents Obesity, Heart Disease and Diabetes

Decrease in O3 and PM 2.5 with 3 Climate Policy Options

Clean Electricity Std Transportation Carbon Tax

T Thompson, Nature Climate Change (July 2014)

20,000 Heart Attacks PREVENTED200,000 Deaths each year

SAVED: OVER 100 BILLION DOLLARS PER YEAREPA 2013

HUMOR

300,000 Heart Attacks/Strokes PREVENTED260,000 New Diabetes Cases127,000 CVD Deaths each year144,000 Cancer Deaths

METHANE

Control Your Own Blood Sugar in 3 Easy Steps

WHY DID IT WORK?Rider: How solution works.

Elephant: Partnership, Participation, Success

Path: Broken down into steps. Clear instructions.

Will we gain or lose?

How do we get there from here?

What can I do (and how do I do it)?

COGNITIVE PROCESSING

Analytic Experiential

Logical, abstract, deliberative,Learned, slow

Intuitive, concrete, immediate,Visual, emotional, past experience

3 D's of inaction

Disempowered

Demoralized

Don't know how

20 Years Ago

Coffee(with whole milk and sugar)

Today

Mocha Coffee

45 calories 8 ounces ?

PARTICIPATION

Which 5 US cities have the worst air in the country?

Not enough is being done and we're all going to fry if we don't change.

We're already making some progress on the path to a healthier future.

SENSE OF MOMENTUM

THE POWER OF GROUPS

CLEAR INSTRUCTIONS

The evolution of a message

BEFORE

AFTER

What changed

Specific actionShort term personal benefitsEnvironmentStoryAppealed to identityCredible messengerPositive emotionsInstructions

AbstractLong term societal dangersClimate change StatementNo connection to audienceUnknown messengerNegative emotionsNo instructions

THE MESSENGER Mobilize the majority.

Inspire hope, not fear.

Talk about people, pollution and solutions.

Start where people are and build bridges.

Use humor. Tell stories. Show pictures. Invite participation.

Enlist the power of groups.

Don't leave without a plan.

THE MESSAGE

We've got solutions.

They will make us healthier now.

A majority of Americans want them.

They work.

We have to change policies, not individuals.

We're part way there already.

Here's what you can do:

What just happened? Connect with you as a human being

Start where you were

Tell you stories

Make you laugh

Talk about benefits relevant to you

Get you to participate

Involve the group

Help you feel moreEmpowered, competent, hopeful

HEALTHY PEOPLE = HEALTHY PLANET

www.climate911.org