The new climate awareness of America

They are unanimous : during the last 18 months, the United States have been experiencing a rising interest in the global warming issue. From coast to coast, all the people I have so far been talking to have perceived the unprecedented "climate revolution".

A new awareness that finally buries the scientific debate

Recent polls confirm this rise of awareness. According to the Pew Research Center, 38% of the Americans now rank the global warming issue as a top priority, a number 14% higher than in 2002. Although the problem is still not seen as an emergency by the majority of the American population, it seems at least that the long-lived scientific debate is finally over : in January 2007, 77% of the Americans thought that climate change was indeed real, an increase of 7% since June 2006.

The impact of a hurricane...

But what did trigger this change of public opinion? It seems that causes are numerous. According to Annie Strickler, communication director of ICLEI USA, an association that helps local governments implement measures to reduce their emissions, the recent climate awareness started with the hurricane Katrina. However, local climatic events (drought, lack of snow) and the recent Democrat majority in Congress also made a deep impression on people.

... and a movie

For many Americans, Al Gore's famous documentary An Inconvenient Truth also plaid an important role in the public opinion reversal. "With his movie, Al Gore managed to turn the public's attention to a very complex issue", says Dr. Stephen Nodvin. Thus, the climate change problem became a matter of interest for other people than the traditional intellectual elite who had been familiar with the subject for years. And as a proof of its success, Al Gore recently demonstrated again the power of the entertaining formula by organizing the Live Earth concerts series.

Nevertheless, according to Anthony Leiserowitz, director of the Yale project on climate change, who was recently interviewed by the National Public Radio during its Climate Connections series, Gore's impact on public opinion is probably overestimated. In his opinion, people who actually watched and liked the movie were often Democrats, traditionally more aware of environmental issues. Katrina's impact was probably more determining.

A new scandal story full of economic opportunities

Finally, according to the science journalist Chris Mooney, who had a thorough look into the question, public attention was also caught by the impressive rise of media interest displayed since Katrina's disaster. Mooney indicates that not only did the coverage of the issue increase dramatically, but the subject has also been entirely reframed.

While global warming was for a long time only discussed on the so-called scientific debate point of view, it suddenly became scandalous subject. As journalists were telling the stories of the various scandals related to the Iraq war, they unfortunately discovered the intimidation methods and the scientific information distortion that were used by the Bush administration. All this clumsiness made the uncertainty thesis more difficult to sell and journalists started writing about personal stories and big economic opportunities.

A long-lasting impact?

In a world where information ought to follow an ever faster pace, can such an interest last? For Anthony Leiserowitz, this is not certain. It is then even more necessary to use this opportunity window to implement courageous national policies.

Version française : Le grand réveil de la conscience américaine

Caricature 1: http://www.brutallyhonest.org/brutally_honest/images/2007/03/15/051206winterblunderx.gif
Caricature 2: Dan Perjovschi, What Happened to US?, MOMA exhibition