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San Diego County Key Influential Interviews on Climate Change Knowledge and Engagement

Summer of 2011 - Summary Report

This project is funded by the National Science Foundation Grant Award #Ant-1043435.


Summer of 2011 / Summary Report2

Acknowledgements

This study was conducted by the Climate Education Partners – San Diego Region at the University of San Diego and was funded by the National Science Foundation’s Climate Change Education Partnership Phase 1 grant (Award Number ANT – 1043435).

Report Authors:

Mica Estrada, Ph.D.Applied Social Psychology LaboratoryPsychology Department, California State University San Marcos(760) 750-3559 [email protected]

Steve Alexander, PresidentThe Steve Alexander Group1375 Caminito ArriataLa Jolla, CA 92037

Cite as: Estrada, M. & Alexander, S. (2012). San Diego County Key Influential Interviews on Climate Change Knowledge and Engagement, Summer of 2011. University of San Diego. San Diego, CA: Climate Education Partners – San Diego Region.

We want to acknowledge with gratitude the time of the many Key Influentials who participated in the interviews. Though they were extended confidentiality for this project, their thoughts and insights have contributed greatly to the region’s work.

We want to acknowledge Michel Boudrias, Nilmini Siva-Send, P. Wesley Schultz, and Scott Anders for their general insights on the content and format of this paper.

We also want to acknowledge the significant contributions of Martha Garcia, Alyssa Messina, Joseph Schmitt, and Baylee Moore on the execution of this project.

Summer of 2011 / Summary Report 3


Introduction and Overview

Background

Addressing climate change impacts on the San Diego region requires a commitment to collaboration. And not just collaboration among those who agree climate change is occurring. Collaboration needs to occur across sectors including business, labor, government, transportation, housing, special communities, energy, water, natural resources, faith-based communities and the diverse range of interests that represent the rich and varied nature of the region.

The impacts from a changing climate are equally wide-ranging. Climate science research informs us that climate change is likely to impact water supplies, coastal erosion, wildfires and other air and water quality issues that affect human health in the San Diego region (The San Diego Foundation, 2008). Climate change education can help to preserve the region’s assets, natural and human-made, and guide adaption to the changes that are already occurring.

The San Diego region prides itself in its ability to lead in such quality of life issues. The region has an unprecedented opportunity for leaders to come together, to dialogue and decide what is best for the region, its assets and people, and to collaboratively lead the region into the next several decades.

Purpose

As part of its climate change strategic educational planning process, the Climate Education Partners (CEP) – San Diego Region conducted interviews with Key Influentials, consisting of San Diego regional opinion leaders and decision-makers. As part of a National Science Foundation, Climate Change Education Partnership (CCEP) initiative, the purpose of the interviews was to assess climate change knowledge, views, values and perspectives of leaders of business, industry, labor, government, energy, cultural groups and faith-based organizations. This report focuses on the findings from the interviews with San Diego regional KIs as conducted by representatives of The Steve Alexander Group and observed by members of the CEP team.

These results assist in fulfilling the overall mission, vision and goals of the CEP project, which are as follows:

Mission

The Climate Education Partners – San Diego Region is an innovative collaborative whose mission is to implement a research-based education and communications program to increase knowledge about climate science among non-traditional audiences in the San Diego region.

Vision

The Climate Education Partners – San Diego Region’s vision is to be a nationally recognized model of educating the community about climate science to foster informed decisions about climate change solutions.

Goals

• EDUCATE: To raise public understanding of the causes and consequences of climate change

• EVALUATE: Identify the most effective educational methods to educate non-traditional audiences about the causes and consequences of climate change

• REPLICATE: To develop and implement a national model for regional climate change education and communication

This report, its results and conclusions, will lay a foundation for education, collaboration and actions that address climate change issues in a uniquely San Diego way, and yet can be adapted for application in other regions throughout the US.



Top Line Summary and Observations

1. While some KIs were cautious, there was a general acceptance of climate change predictions and causation.

The majority of KIs found the graphs of temperature and sea level rise to be accurate. However, there was some hesitation as interviewees reviewed the charts and graphs. In spite of reservations, only five percent of interviewees flatly dismissed the graphs and 30% were unsure. While 68% did attribute temperature rise explicitly to human cause, KI’s commonly mentioned global warming, greenhouse gases, and other environmental factors as also contributing to climate change.

2. There was acceptance of Scripps Institution of Oceanography temperature and sea level data, and KIs also valued other credible sources.

The majority of KIs found the Scripps Institution of Oceanography a credible source for scientific knowledge regarding climate change. Other suggested sources include Google, national organizations including, the US Geological Survey, National Academy of Sciences, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the Environmental Protection Agency, in addition to state and local organizations including the California Air Resources Board and The San Diego Foundation.

3. KIs mentioned global impacts of climate change, and cited local impacts less frequently.

When asked to describe the impacts of climate change, interviewees were more likely to mention global level impacts (e.g., icebergs melting, ozone, air quality, etc.) than local impacts. When local impacts were described, shrinking beaches and coastal building and construction were mentioned most often. Less than 10% of KIs cited loss of native habitat and animals, destruction of tide pools, or wildfires as threats to the region. Most KIs did not mention economic concerns such as higher water and energy costs, or impacts on regional industries such as agriculture, fishing, tourism and real estate. Interestingly, the more KIs knew about local impacts, the more likely they were to engage in mitigation and adaptive behaviors. This finding implies that increasing knowledge of local impacts may be important to enabling KIs to make informed decisions regarding the local region.

4. KIs were sensitive to the partisan nature of the “climate change issue,” but knowledge about climate change was consistent across political affiliations.

Based on local, state, national and international news reporting, climate change continues to be a polarizing issue, often split along party lines, and the causes of climate change were still very much up for debate among many of the interviewees. Liberals were most likely to accept projected trends in temperature and sea level rise and conservatives were least likely to accept such data. Overall, however, there were no significant differences in the knowledge, concern, values or behaviors among liberals, moderates, and conservatives.

5. KIs were inconsistent in their public identification and private actions to mitigate climate change.

Over 90% of KIs agreed that changes in their personal behavior could reduce the negative outcomes associated with climate change and that they could reduce electricity, gas and water use among people their decisions impact.

The purpose of this section is to concisely summarize key findings which were reflected in the Key

Influentials’ (KIs’) quantitative responses to closed questions, their qualitative responses to open-ended

questions, and interviewer observations.



However, many did not consider the conservation/environmental behavior in their personal lives as being related to their environmental views in public, even though these behaviors are often consistent with a strong conservation ethic.

6. The majority of KIs identified with the local community concerned about climate change, but thought others do not share the same concern.

KIs overwhelmingly (over 90%) identified themselves as part of a community concerned about climate change in the San Diego region. However, 90% of KIs described other San Diego leaders as moderately to not at all concerned. The findings suggest that climate change education in the region should build community identity around community concern for climate change and its impacts.

7. KIs were most concerned about the impacts of climate change for future generations.

KIs did not express much concern about how impacts from climate change would affect them personally. They did, however, express significant concern for future generations, often citing impacts that their children or grandchildren could experience. Concern for the community was more than twice as important as concern for self; concern for the health of the planet ranked as the highest overall concern, with 80% rating it as “very important” or “important.”

8. Regardless of the cause of climate change, KIs valued reducing costs, conserving resources and protecting the region’s special quality of life as other benefits of actions that deal with the impacts of climate change.

Interviewers noted that regardless of their stance on climate change “science,” interviewees believe that conserving resources is cost-effective and a “good thing to do,” particularly to preserve the quality of life in this region for the benefit of future generations. Interviewers reported that KIs strongly supported 1) ensuring that the region is resilient to climate change impacts, and 2) San Diego being a world leader in reducing energy and water use. Leadership in climate change action was seen as critical, but lacking.

Take Home Message

Based on the data collected, we found that in San Diego, regardless of party affiliation, KIs valued climate change education, conserving resources, and preserving a high quality of life for the next generation. There was willingness among KIs, across sectors, to collaborate and an interest in gaining access to credible local climate change information and utilizing this knowledge to make informed decisions. In short:

There is opportunity for collaboration and there are educational tools that can be provided to support the work of Key Influentials in the region.



Description of Quantitative and Qualitative Data

The Theory

Interview questions were designed to assess KIs’ scientific knowledge, their beliefs and opinions about climate change and how best to address this issue. These survey items also allowed for testing a theoretical model, the Tripartite Integration Model of Social Influence, which explains integration into a community that engages in climate mitigation and adaptation behaviors. To test this model, the project assessed levels of knowledge of climate issues, efficacy (whether the KI believed he or she could do something to mitigate/adapt to climate change), identity (how the KI identified as a citizen concerned about climate change), and values (how the KI viewed the importance of climate education, mitigation, and adaptation). The model predicts that knowledge that increases efficacy, identity, and values surrounding climate issues will result in individuals being more integrated into the defined community (Figure 1).

Interview Method

The project partnership developed a protocol to capture the perspectives of influential leaders in the San Diego region. From May 2011 to July 2011, third-party interviewers, trained to create a comfortable rapport and yet maintain objectivity, conducted thirty-eight in-person interviews with Key Influentials (KIs: opinion leaders and decision-makers of the region). Interviewees chose locations for the interview that were convenient for them. Each interview followed an identical protocol and lasted approximately 30 minutes. Silent observers were present for 84% of the interviews.

Participant Description

Thirty-eight regional KIs representing diverse sectors and communities in the San Diego region were selected using a criteria-based process. KIs included elected officials, tribal leaders, academics, labor leaders, and representatives from local businesses, nonprofits, ethnic and cultural communities, faith-based groups, and special interest groups. Sixty-six percent of the KIs were male, and 34% were female. Twenty-five percent were Latino/Hispanic, reflecting well the ethnic diversity of the region. KIs were mid-to senior-career individuals typically 40 years or older. Approximately 84% of those interviewed were married, 65% had children, and a majority lived in suburban areas. A little over 70% of the KIs interviewed held a master’s, doctoral, or law (JD) degree. About 25% were liberal, 42% were moderate, and about 30% were conservative to very conservative. All KIs described their individual decisions as having high impact in their communities or sectors, which include the border community, public transit and public safety, businesses, veterans, and labor (union members and non-union members).

The purpose of this section is to provide a more complete description of the education model that shaped

the questions asked during the interviews and to report on the specific results from the interviews.



Please note that because the interview participants were not a random sample of 38 people from the larger community, we cannot generalize these findings to the larger public. The charts and statistics reported below are intended to provide a descriptive report of the interviews and provide a general sense of the types of responses given during those sessions.

Scientific Findings

Science Knowledge and Opinion

Graphs showing climate impacts received mixed reviews. During the interviews, KIs were shown graphs created by Scripps Institution of Oceanography (SIO) of projected temperature and sea level rise in San Diego due to global warming. While roughly 65% of KIs accepted the actual and projected rise in temperature and sea level shown in graphs, and only 5% flatly disagreed, around 30% of the KIs were not sure if they did agree or did not agree with the graphs. Among those who found the graphs confusing, comments such as “don’t know” or “not sure” were common when asked to assess the accuracy and reliability of the graphs (Figure 2).

KIs were split on who is a credible source of science knowledge. The majority of KIs (60%) found the Scripps Institution of Oceanography as a credible source for scientific knowledge regarding climate change. Twenty-six percent indicated that they do not know who is credible or that there is no way to know who is credible. Suggested sources mentioned include Google, national organizations including the United States Geological Survey, National Academy of Sciences, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and Environmental Protection Agency, in addition to statewide/local organizations including California Air Resources Board and The San Diego Foundation.

KIs held diverse opinions about the cause of climate change. Of the 38 interviewed, only three KIs said they did not know what was causing the shift in temperature. In contrast, 50% attributed the shift specifically to humans or human activity, 26% mentioned fossil fuel, CO2 or greenhouse gas emissions, and 18% attributed the trends to nature and natural planetary cycles alone. Over 50% mentioned the melting of polar icecaps as the primary cause for sea level rise. Fifteen percent linked the sea level rise directly to global warming.



Impacts of climate change on the region most commonly cited include water shortage, beach shrinkage and risks to buildings and construction on the coast. All KIs were asked what they thought the impacts of temperature and sea level rise would be. Reponses were content-coded for types of impacts mentioned. Almost every person interviewed described global impacts and mentioned at least one impact on the local region. In describing the local impact of temperature rise, 50% mentioned severe water shortage, while only 9% mentioned wildfires and 4% mentioned loss of native plants and animals in the San Diego region. In describing the impact of sea level rise, 53% mentioned beach shrinkage and 47% mentioned building and construction impacts, while only 4% mentioned destruction of tide pools (Figure 3).

Efficacy means “Yes, I can.”

KIs believed their professional behaviors have impact. Climate change efficacy is a measurement of how much a person feels they can engage in behaviors that mitigate or adapt the community to climate change. Over 90% felt they could reduce electricity, gas and water use among the people their decisions impact (Figure 4). Twenty-six percent believed they could achieve this by educating their constituents and developing outreach programs. Many (55%) of the KIs mentioned reducing energy, water, and gas use by turning to alternative fuel sources (solar) within their organizations. Further, 21% were interested in working with San Diego Gas & Electric, the local utility provider, and other conservation-friendly organizations and environmental groups, along with partnering up with fellow clients/businesses that are similarly interested in energy/gas/water conservation, or getting LEED certification. About 10% of the KIs believed they could make an impact by changing policy within the San Diego region.

KIs believed their private behaviors have impact. Eighty percent describe themselves as believing changes in their personal behavior can reduce the negative outcomes associated with climate change in the next 50 years. Personal behaviors include taking advantage of public transit, carpooling, owning hybrid vehicles, taking shorter showers, saving electricity, installing solar panels, and using energy efficient appliances. A few KIs mentioned educating their children about the importance of conservation and pressuring businesses to participate in eco-friendly programs. Interestingly, 13% of the KIs explicitly mentioned the importance of individual behavior change and its cumulative potential.



Identity means “Yes, I am a part of the concerned community” even if I am the exception.

• KIs identified themselves as part of the concerned community. Nearly 90% described themselves as part of the community that is concerned about climate change (Figure 5). When asked the specific sources of concern, 30% reported concern for self as important or very important compared with 71% concern for community and 80% for the health of planet (Figure 6).

• KIs did not describe others as concerned. Yet, 90% of KIs described other San Diego leaders as moderately to not at all concerned.

Value means “Yes, I believe education, world leadership, and the resilience of our region are important.”

Valued education. Around 75% of KIs describe themselves as being like or very much like a person who “believes that climate change education is important.” Of these, 50% mentioned the importance of climate education in grade school. Approximately half of the KIs mentioned that kids are most receptive to these issues, and that kids can teach adults. KIs also mentioned other ideas about climate education such as improving the credibility of climate messages, creating a behavioral model for local change, highlighting the economic incentives that motivate adaptation behaviors, and creating messages that could be easily understood by the public.

Valued resilience. KIs also “believe it is important to ensure that our region is resilient to climate change impacts.” Twenty-six percent believe that we should better educate the public about the impacts of climate change to increase resilience. Ten percent mentioned infrastructure change, and an additional10% mentioned incorporating renewable energy sources.

Valued San Diego leadership. About 82% describe themselves as “finding great importance in the San Diego region being a world leader in reducing energy and water use.” However, few common themes emerged regarding how best to achieve this. Twenty-one percent suggested that San Diego needs to become more energy and water efficient and improve its public transportation system. Eighteen percent cited the importance of collaboration between organizations, and fostering communication between scientists and policy makers (Figure 7).



Current actions

KIs engaged in diverse mitigation and adaptive behaviors. The KIs are very active in the community and described a diverse array of activities in which they engaged in the past three years. Public behaviors included LEED certification, using alternative fuel sources, energy audits and solar energy. Eighteen percent of KIs mentioned publicly supporting clean air and energy policies and being active in conservation programs. Personal behaviors described included purchasing hybrid vehicles, reducing energy and water use, recycling at home, using public transportation, educating kids about conservation and composting. Figure 8 shows the mitigation and adaptive behaviors KIs most commonly mentioned.

Self-connection to environment: “I am not an environmentalist, but….”

While only 20% of the KIs interviewed described themselves as highly connected to nature (“highly connected to nature” is a common response of “environmentalists”), all KIs interviewed were open to future collaboration with the San Diego Climate Education Partners team by having a small survey given to their constituents, organization or community members to assess climate change knowledge and behaviors (Figure 9).

Differences across the political spectrum

KIs were categorized as conservative (n=11), moderate (n=16) or liberal (n=10) by the interviewer and observer after the interview was completed. These groups were then compared in terms of their knowledge, efficacy, identity, values



and behaviors. Results show that overall, response patterns were very similar across all three groups. However, while almost all liberals accepted the graphs presented on temperature and sea level rise, roughly a third of moderates and conservatives were uncertain about the graphs. In addition, moderates and liberals had more concern for climate change impacts on self than conservative respondents; they shared similar concern for future generations and for the heath of the planet (with 1=not at all concerned and 6=very much concerned). Engagement in climate change mitigating and adaptive behaviors were similar.

Inferential Statistics: Testing aspects of the model

What predicts engagement in behaviors that mitigate and adapt to climate change?

• Those who agreed with the temperature and sea level rise graphs were significantly more likely to engage in mitigation and adaptive behaviors, which confirms the study’s hypothesis that knowledge is related to behavior.

• The greatest unique predictors of engagement in the behaviors were knowledge of the impacts of climate change on the region1 and identification of self as part of the community of concerned citizens.2 Interestingly, knowledge of impact and identity were not significantly related to each other.3

• KI identity is key to increasing integration into community. Most KIs reported very high efficacy and endorsement of values, making these less predictive of the more variable engagement in behavior. This suggests that among KIs, the issue of non-engagement may be more highly related to social identity (and willingness to appear publically concerned) than the belief that they can make a difference or the endorsement of key values concerning climate change and San Diego.

Conclusion

Climate change educational approaches should be new and innovative, relevant to KIs’ interests, theory-based, and capitalize on KIs’ desire to collaborate.

Create New and Innovative Educational Approach to Address the Gaps

KIs often noted that they were very open to learning more and few felt they knew everything they needed to know about the issue of climate change. However, the interviews also revealed that traditional approaches to education will not work with this audience. For instance, while the majority of interviewees ultimately found the graphs of temperature and sea level rise to be accurate, interviewers felt that interviewees struggled with the charts and graphs as presented. Interviewers felt strongly that the graphs were uncomfortable for interviewees stating, “Do away with graphs! Most folks glazed over, questioned or otherwise dismissed them.” Thus, qualitative data indicated that showing KIs graphs alone is not the most effective way to educate this population.

1 Correlation results for temperature rise: r=.41, p=.01 and sea level rise r=.39, p=.02 with engagement in behaviors.

2 Correlation results for identity: r=.40, p=.01 with engagement in behaviors.

3 Correlation results of temperature rise, r=.13; p=ns; sea level rise r=.14, p=ns with identity. This was also run as a simultaneous regression analysis with impact knowledge collapsed into one variable. In this analysis, KIs’ knowledge about the impacts of rising temperature significantly predicted conservation behavior, b = .54, t = 2.43, p < .05, as well as identification as a part of a community concerned about climate change also predicted conservation behavior, b = 1.67, t = 2.42, p = .02, (R2 = .53, F(2,34) = 6.74; p < .001)



Creating new and innovative educational tools will be essential for increasing knowledge of local climate change science and impacts. Educational materials must be intuitive, easily accessible, come from a credible source (the Scripps Institutes of Oceanography cited as the most reputable), and easily shared with other colleagues. New educational tools also need to be coupled with creating non-traditional educational spaces for dialogue, interaction and collaboration.

Good Education = Focused and Relevant Messages that Resonate

Good educational approaches are going to tie climate change science to those issues that are of the greatest concern for KIs. Drawing form the qualitative data and interviewer impressions, three themes resonated with KIs throughout many of the interviews.

Local. The larger climate change discussion can sometimes feel inaccessible with its focus on global impacts, causes, and future trends. Climate change often was described as affecting the Artic and having impact on iceberg melting. Yet the daily work and concerns of the KIs are very local. The KIs are aware that the San Diego region has iconic natural landscapes that define the region and regional quality of life, often defined by its beaches and bays, local forests and close-by mountains and deserts. This study suggests that there is a need for more compelling messages and rationales regarding not just climate change, but the impacts of climate change on the local community.

Economically wise. While many KIs across the political spectrum engaged in pro-conservation behaviors, they did not all attribute their respective reasons for those behaviors to either a concern for climate change or its impacts. For example, driving fuel-efficient vehicles is both cost-effective and conservation-wise. For some, the reason they drive fuel-efficient vehicles is primarily because it is cost-effective. For many KIs the economy has a high resonance; framing the data and information in a way that highlights that good climate change policy is good for the economy is powerful. This is true both at the personal/individual level as well as at the social/regional level.

Future generations. Another issue with high resonance includes the notion of preserving the region’s great quality of life for future generations. This concept provides several entryways to climate change impact discussion, since many KIs felt it was very important to maintain and maybe even improve the region’s iconic natural resources, like quality, quantity and access to water. Educational approaches should connect climate change science knowledge to the issue of preserving and protecting these unique natural areas from the longer-term impact of climate change and emphasize the benefits this provides to future generations.

In general, interviewees emphasized making climate change education relevant to their audiences, so a bit of customization or flexibility to adapt to different points of view (or areas of interest) will be required.

A Theory-Based Approach Helps Identify Effective Education Strategies

Much of the current climate change discussion focuses largely on a knowledge deficit model. This model assumes that if people have more facts about an issue, they will change their beliefs and actions. Applying an alternative model, the Tripartite Integration Model of Social Influence (TIMSI) predicts that knowledge alone may not result in shifts in beliefs or actions. Our results show that among KIs, general knowledge about temperature and sea level rise does not relate to engagement in climate change mitigation or adaptive behaviors. However, knowledge of local impacts does. These findings further refine the TIMSI model.

Second, the results show that regardless of political affiliation or sector expertise, KIs tended to report high efficacy (i.e., belief that they can engage in behaviors that make a difference in decreasing energy and water use) and they had high endorsement of climate change community values regarding education, leadership and resilience, but varied in their personal identification with the community that is concerned about climate change. The TIMSI model provides a lens that enables us to see that for the KI group, increasing knowledge about local impacts and building stronger



community identity will be the two ways to most successfully increase community knowledge and informed decision making among San Diego KIs.

Collaboration is Possible and Essential for Effective Education

Almost all of the KIs believed that climate change education is important. The majority was amenable to (and many even enthusiastic about) working with the project partnership as conduits to their constituencies for surveys and outreach.

Interviewers experienced in communications strategy who conducted the interviews suggest it will be important to identify and work with ambassadors, such as these KIs, and the channels available to them, to effectively reach key groups of people. For example, one KI is a trusted voice in the Hispanic community who offered to translate materials and act as a channel for accessing this cohort, explaining that this would ensure far greater success in reaching an audience that can be wary and distrustful of those from outside the community. Similarly, as a leader in the tribal communities, another KI offered to act as ambassador to all the tribes in the region. KIs provide information that can help the project partnership better understand border issues, environmental racism and cross-cultural communication and values when designing and implementing a culturally sensitive public education and outreach program.

With various caveats, the vast majority of those interviewed responded positively about participating in a future web-based survey, thus providing a potential avenue for them to also learn about their constituents, employees, members, mass transit riders, residents and tenants and their views about these issues, which could potentially help them to shape policies and programs responsive to their needs.

Many expressed that they would want to be involved and to co-present the information in alliance with the project partnership. This included KIs interested in broadening and building support across key areas including tribal populations, minority communities, local and regional leaders and others outside the normal range of supporters.

The interviewer team concluded that supporting KIs in working with their spheres of influence would be very effective for reaching specific audiences and for communicating about climate change with the assistance of people they already know and trust.

There is great opportunity because highly influential and engaged San Diego Key Influentials are enthusiastic about partnering and collaborating with the project team as conduits and co-presenters in communicating climate change information to key audiences.

References

The San Diego Foundation (2008). The San Diego Foundation regional focus 2050 study: Climate change related impacts in the San Diego region by 2050. UC San Diego: UCSD Sustainability Solutions Institute. Retrieved from: http://www.cleantechsandiego.org/reports/Focus2050_Technical%20Assesment.pdf.

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