I generally avoid taking stands on politics and specific policies on this blog, but the presidential election is the Superbowl of campaigning, so I will dissect the occasional example for nature protection and pollution control experts to learn from. And here’s one now:

Hat tip to this blog for spotting the bumper sticker

So let’s imagine for a moment that we’re the John McCain for President Campaign, and a reporter has just asked you for a reaction to this bumper sticker. Which of the following would be the better thing to say:

• John McCain is not crotchety old man
• John McCain is in excellent health and has the experience to the lead the nation in difficult times

Pretty easy, isn’t it. After all, the more the John McCain campaign denies that their candidate is a crotchety old man, the more some people will believe he is a crotchety old man. It’s not fair — but that’s how denials play out in the public’s ears and minds.

And the same principal applies to you, too. Let’s imagine that you are campaigning to protect some natural areas that help ensure clean drinking water for families in a city downstream. And a reporter has just asked you to react to this bumper sticker, which is starting to appear on pickup trucks in the region:

Source for the sticker: bumperaRt

Should you say:

• We are not environmental extremists!
• Something else.

If you picked “something else,” what would that be?

Here’s a video sure to get your blood boiling. Matt Chancey is running for Public Service Commission in the state of Alabama, and he’s running on a pro-nuke anti-enviro platform. Watch this video and check out all the unkind things he has to say about you:

Most of my relatives live in Alabama, and I’m sure they will all vote for Matt and take great pleasure in telling me about it at the next wedding or funeral. So it goes. But as a general matter, social research suggests that if Alabama conservationists play their cards right, Matt’s accusations won’t do lasting damage to their reputation. Here are some tips:

Don’ts
Chancey has called you “radical.” Don’t deny it! The more you deny it, the more some voters will believe Chancey. You should response by saying “we exercise our freedom of speech to protect the health of Alabama families.”

Chancey has called you the “liberal elite.” That’s a charge that might stick, so watch yourself. It’s not a great time to throw around a bunch of elite vocabulary like “watershed,” “riparian,” “biodiversity,” etc… you’ll only prove his point if you do. (It’s never a great time to throw around elite vocabulary in front of everyday citizens)

Do
Post comments on Chancey’s YouTube video accusing him of being a shill for corporations that want to build dangerous and polluting nuclear power plants that threaten the health and safety of Alabama families (assuming you sincerely believe that to be the case, of course).

Point out that the corporations Chancey is shilling for are accountable to anonymous shareholders rather than local citizens.

Do point out that the responsible way for the state to help residents save money is by investing in conservation and clean, renewable energy, not by giving handouts to wealthy corporations.

Thanks to Katie at the Alabama Rivers Alliance for the great tip on this video.

It sure was fun to deliver this presentation at the 2008 River Rally! Nice to meet you all.

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Challenging those who disseminate misleading or outright false information ought to be one of the easiest parts of our jobs, but actually it’s one of the hardest. The bottom line is that many of our efforts backfire, inadvertently legitimizing the myth or lie and even increasing the number of people who remember it at all. Coincidentally, a relevant example and new research landed in my inbox this morning, so today’s blog topic has been decided.

Here’s the example: Some of your Iowa peers are up in arms about a TV spot the Iowa Farm Bureau is running, which makes the outrageous claim that, “Due to modern livestock techniques, Iowa’s waters are cleaner than ever before.” It’s hogwash, quite literally. The clean water listserv is buzzing like an angry beehive.

“PLEASE HELP US FIGHT BACK – please send a donation to help get the truth to the voters of Iowa,” wrote one activist, who went on to detail false and misleading claims in the ad.

And that’s partially the right instinct — as the public will interpret silence as acquiescence.

But here’s the research: It concludes that detailing the falsehoods and misleading statements before debunking them is usually counterproductive. “Denials inherently require repeating the bad information, which may be one reason they can paradoxically reinforce it,” according to Shankar Vedantam in his Washington Post story “Persistence of Myths Could Alter Public Policy Approach” (Note: You may have to create an account to read this story, and yes, it’s worth it). Another scientist who studies how human brains respond to competing claims found “”it is better to make a completely new assertion that makes no mention to the original myth.”

So here’s a sample script I whipped up that challenges the Farm Bureau — without repeating their claims.

Trick or Treat!
The Iowa Farm Bureau must think it’s Halloween. They’ve helped a bunch of corporate polluters dress up like family farmers — and now they’re knocking on doors at the Iowa statehouse asking for loopholes in the clean water laws that protect your family.

And to get that treat, they’ve got a trick: misleading TV ads that hide their true record: Using more and more chemicals and drugs. Employing fewer and fewer Iowa workers each year.

Don’t let our elected officials fall for the Farm Bureau’s exaggerations. Tell your senator that you want responsible laws and fair enforcement to keep Iowa’s water clean.

This Halloween, let’s hand out candy to our kids. Not loopholes to corporate polluters.

Fundamentally, this is all a reminder that the best defense is a good offense: Place your own provocative (but true, always true, completely true) ads out there and let the corporate polluters and developers be the ones who tie themselves in knots trying to respond to you.

Good luck out there!