“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!

I’ve had my eye on a local conservation group, Save Palmyra Cove Nature Park, for a while. They’re very skillful in their use of free Internet tools and they do a good job turning out citizens to work together to protect their beloved natural area. Now they’re weighing in on New Jersey Governor John Corzine’s plan to close nine state parks (boo!), and since they’ve posted their talking points for all to see, I’ll offer some praise – and a little free advice. Click here to see their call to action.

Praise: Really great job with the photos! When you’re trying to get everyday citizens off the couch to do something, it’s “monkey see, monkey do.” Showing pictures of people excercising their freedom of speech is the best possible way to get more people to exercise their freedom of speech.

Praise: Great job telling people what they can do to influence the governor. Contact information, talking points, links to various organizations in on the campaign.

Suggestion: So what’s with the “sad sack” attitude? The group writes:

As environmentalists in New Jersey, we have been beaten down time and time again. Even with our small victories to protect Palmyra Cove and restore Green Acres funding, we are still fighting a tough battle.

Whether or not it’s true, this kind of language is very demotivating to those considering speaking up. It’s human nature to want to join the winning team. The group should cite their victory at Palmyra Cove and hold it up as an example of the great things that citizens can accomplish by working together and demanding that elected officials plan ahead to protect natural areas that are important to local families. Be positive!

Suggestion: And speaking of families, why is the consequences of park closures on families at the bottom of the list of talking points? After a boring recap of the history of the NJ DEP budgeting going back two governors, and a bunch of hard-to-read factoids about # of dollars, employees, acres, and so on?

It’s important for top activists to know those facts so they can raise it in a private conversation with a politician or their staff – but that stuff is not helpful for getting another dozen or so everyday citizens to show up at your event and carry a sign.

Best wishes to the New Jersey conservation community! Go get ‘em!

Disclosure: The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection is a past client of Water Words That Work.

“If we could just impress upon everybody the magnitude of the crisis, they would rise up and demand that something be done about it!” That seems to be the underlying premise of the film “For the Love of Water,” which made a splash at the Sundance Film Festival earlier this year. And every once a while, this premise holds up (see: An Inconvenient Truth).

But more often, this approach does not achieve the desired results, at least not outside a small group of educated, empowered treehugger types. Sometimes it even backfires. And here’s why: As the chart below reveals, everyday citizens pretty much already believe that the state of the planet is getting worse. And piling on the evidence and anecdotes to “prove” it, as the individuals featured in the film do in their interviews, often just ends up “proving” that the problem is too big to do anything about.

You can’t scare people into action unless they know what to do. The Water Words “method” anticipates this in two areas. Rule #4 is to “warn AND encourage” — point out the problem, but always emphasize that there are solutions and that the target audience is part of those solutions.

And when touting solutions, use the water words that work to “prove” to everday citizens that they can make a difference. Sometimes it means telling people what they can do, and using facts and figures to show just how consequential that act really is. And often, that means “proving” to people that they won’t be acting alone, that they’ll be working together with others, and the individual deeds will add up to something meaningful.

Hat tip to Ari for the link to the interview with the experts in the film.

If you need a little inspiration for how to activate some concerned citizens out there, look no further than this recent blog post from the West Virginia Highlands Conservancy, which is campaigning to get some local natural areas protected as wilderness.

This well-written post doesn’t belabor all the various facts, statistics, and details about the issue. The author knows that the audience is friendly to the cause, so he or she addresses the real reasons a concerned citizen may stay silent:

“Writing a letter to the editor is easy and takes only a few moments,” the Conservancy writes, then explains how to do it. Most importantly, the group paints a vivid picture of elected officials and their staff reading the letter in the paper as they contemplate their eventual vote on the issue. Their straightforward explanation leaves the reader with no doubt hat if their letter gets published, it will, indeed, make a difference.  And that is far more motivating than knowing how many acres are at stake here.

Here’s a revealing comparison: Check out the “rough and respectful” attitude that the WV Highlands Conservancy shows  its supporters with “slick and stifling” attitude that The Nature Conservancy of Illinois displays towards theirs with the ”Start One Conversation” campaign.

Which group would you rather be a part of? I thought so.