Gore, Scientists Need to Do More to Unite Public Opinion

Newswise — First, Al Gore won an Academy Award, now he has received the Nobel Peace Prize for bringing global warming to the forefront of public discussion with his film, AN INCONVENIENT TRUTH. Despite Gore's success, more needs to be done to unite public opinion on the issue according to Matthew C. Nisbet, an expert on the intersection of policy, science and media at American University's School of Communication.

"There are two Americas when it comes to climate change perceptions," said Nisbet, who recently published a study analyzing 20 years of public opinion trends in the United States on global warming in the journal Public Opinion Quarterly. "During the past year, Democrats have grown even more concerned about the issue while Republicans remain relatively unmoved."

Nisbet is the coauthor of "The Future of Public Engagement," an article published in the October issue of The Scientist magazine. In the article, Nisbet and coauthor Dietram Scheufele assert that those aiming to capture the public's attention on scientific issues need to learn how to communicate by shaping or framing information in a way that makes it personally relevant to diverse segments of the public. "The Future of Public Engagement" elaborates on recommendations first offered by Nisbet in an article published in the April issue of the journal Science. The reason Gore and others have failed to unite public opinion across political lines, said Nisbet, is because they have focused on factors that frighten, an approach Nisbet terms "the catastrophe frame." "When you move in that direction, where the science is still uncertain, you open yourself to the counter argument that your message is alarmist," said Nisbet, who cited as an example the suggestion in AN INCONVENIENT TRUTH that global warming may increase the number of intense hurricanes. "It is very easy for people to rely on their biases or their partisanship when it comes to making up their minds."

In The Scientist, Nisbet identified eight steps scientists and others should take in order to best engage the public in scientific issues.

1. Do the research about communication, audiences and media2. Stay on message and provide information tailored to the audience3. Focus on editors and producers, who often make assignment decisions4. Think local news - most Americans get their information from local television news5. Strengthen partnerships with churches as they are at the heart of many communities6. Facilitate incidental exposure so audiences encounter science in unexpected places7. Provide communication training for young scientists8. Advocate more funding for science communication

Gore said he plans on donating all of the Nobel Prize money to his bipartisan environmental foundation, the Alliance for Climate Protection in order to change public opinion on climate change. Nisbet said that Gore will be successful if he makes a real effort to adopt frames other than the catastrophe frame and enlists the support and participation of less partisan public figures and opinion leaders.

Matthew C. Nisbet is a professor in American University's School of Communication in Washington, D.C., where he teaches classes in public communication. To learn more about Nisbet's work and to find a list of his publications, go to http://www.soc.american.edu/content.cfm?id=294. The NY Daily News named his blog, Framing Science, to its "The Best of the Political Blogs" list. Framing Science can be found at http://www.scienceblogs.com/framing-science.

American University's School of Communication is a laboratory for professional education, communication research and innovative production across the fields of journalism, film and media arts, and public communication. Patrick Butler, vice president of The Washington Post Company; Susan Zirinsky, executive producer for CBS's "48 Hours Investigates" ; and Tony Perkins, morning anchor for WTTG Fox 5 and former meteorologist for ABC's "Good Morning America" are among the School of Communication's alumni who maintain close relationships with the school.