Weekend Rewind: ‘Climate change’ is the new ‘global warming’ — the green linguistics battle
May 24, 2009 at 6:00 am by Wayne GarciaEditor’s note: Weekend Rewind is a new feature of PoHo, republishing the best, longer posts about politics and public affairs from my blog and Daily Loaf as well, in case you might have missed them the first time around. Think of it as my version of a Sunday/weekend newspaper.
Cross-posted from the Daily Loaf blog
By Paul Messerschmidt
Green Community contributor
So it’s come to this? “Global warming” is out and “climate change” is in? We are no longer looking for a “silver bullet”, but rather seek “silver buckshot”?
Based on a recent article in the NYTimes, linguistic battles are shaping as PR firms and lobbyists look to shape the language of debate over climate-change legislation working its way through the halls of Congress. Though, navigating this new lexicon may help to improve the image of this most important social, environmental, and geo-political issue. Perhaps when renamed, “global warming” will climb from its last-place position of twenty important voter concerns (based on a recent Pew Research poll).
Recent focus groups indicate we should drop “energy efficiency” and “the environment” as well, and reframe them as “saving money for a more prosperous future” and “the air we breathe, the water our children drink”, respectively.
Sometimes leading the debate is a case of first-mover-advantage, as in the case of the coal industry staking out “clean, green coal” in their full-page advertisements.
And sometimes, the defenders depend on having a spirited song to sing while marching into battle. And what better way than coal ringtones — I don’t make this stuff up. Be sure to scroll to the bottom and chose your favorite, the “Male Voice Choir (Up Tempo Mix)” or the “Bluegrass Mix”.
I recently attended a Climate Change forum where I heard that the search for solutions to achieve a reduced-carbon future has shifted from seeking a single “silver bullet” to accepting a portfolio of solutions, or so-called “silver buckshot”.
Please send your favorite phrases and neo-logisms to me at @paulmess or paulmess@gmail.com
May 24th, 2009 at 4:13 pm
I agree that the Green Forum http://www.greenforum.com is an excellent green resource.
May 31st, 2009 at 6:24 pm
“Global warming” is out and “climate change” is in. Well, dated back to 1969, the phrase “Greenhouse Effects” was first announced by Daniel Patrick Moynihan, a delegate of US President Richard Nixon on behalf of NATO. In reaction over the issue, German government argues that the issue was solely American political interest. Indeed, the year was the lost of America in Vietnam War; hence the American government tried to regain international terrain by shouting the issue. So, “greenhouse”==> “Global warming” ==> Climate change. That’s good idea, but I think such an issue is just a mere conspiracy. http://melodic-4.blogspot.com/2009/05/beyond-global-warming-conspiracy-theory.html