“Our results echo other recent poll data showing that Americans are growing more concerned about climate change,” write the authors of a recent 2008 Porter Novelli/George Mason University poll on the subject. This was a major effort: The authors surveyed 12,000 adults (most pollsters just survey 1,000) and 1,000 children (which most pollster don’t try to reach).

And in two other key areas, the results echo the findings of other studies in the Water Words collection:

#1: Global Warming Is An Issue of Relative Consensus

Analyzing the responses by gender, age, race, and other factors, the authors concluded “…on the whole, we found their demographic similarities to be more striking their differences.” This is the pattern for environmental issues generally, not just for global warming.

#2: You Must Warn AND Encourage

The report clearly validates one of the fundamental principles of the Water Words That Work method: It’s as important to convince people that their actions matter as it is to convince them that the problem is real.

The authors found that those who believe that global warming is real and dangerous, and also have confidence in their ability to make a difference participate in many conservation behaviors. However, those who believe global warming is real, but lack confidence in their ability to make a difference, participate in far fewer conservation behaviors. That’s common sense, but nature protection and pollution control experts routinely invest more effort in proving the problem rather than the solution. This report provides fresh insight into why that’s a mistake.

Here at Water Words That Work, we have an elaborate formula to convince people they can make a difference: You tell them: “You can make a difference, here’s how…”

Coming soon, I’ll blog about the findings in this research that don’t support my own deeply held beliefs!