Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Preface
- Foreword
- List of contributors
- List of tables
- List of figures
- List of text boxes
- Introduction
- Part I Communicating climate change
- Part II Facilitating social change
- Part III Creating a climate for change
- 31 An ongoing dialogue on climate change: The Boulder Manifesto
- 32 Toward the social tipping point: creating a climate for change
- About the authors
- Index
- References
32 - Toward the social tipping point: creating a climate for change
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 20 August 2009
Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Preface
- Foreword
- List of contributors
- List of tables
- List of figures
- List of text boxes
- Introduction
- Part I Communicating climate change
- Part II Facilitating social change
- Part III Creating a climate for change
- 31 An ongoing dialogue on climate change: The Boulder Manifesto
- 32 Toward the social tipping point: creating a climate for change
- About the authors
- Index
- References
Summary
Introduction
Over the course of the project that culminated in this book, the landscape of climate change science, communication, and related societal responses has changed remarkably – both in the United States and elsewhere. Considering the entirety of what political scientists call the global warming “issue domain” (Jenkins-Smith and Sabatier 1999; Clark et al., 2006), we have witnessed considerable movement, including the growing number of actors involved, and shifts in their “goals, interests, beliefs, strategies, and resources; the institutions that enable and constrain interactions among those actors; the framings, discourse, and agenda related to the issue; and the existing policies and behaviors of relevant actors” (Clark et al., 2006).
In this concluding chapter, we have five goals. First, we reflect on where we are in the evolution of the climate change issue domain, and then develop a simple conceptual framework to integrate the many perspectives offered in preceding chapters on the role communication can play – in principle – in facilitating social change. Next we dispel a number of myths still prevalent among communicators and social change agents that we believe hinder change. Fourth, we extract larger lessons from the chapters that could improve climate change communication and advance the evolution of this issue domain. Finally, we suggest questions for future research and action steps. The collective experience represented in this volume suggests that these research directions and action steps can further support effective communication and responses to climate change in ways that help move all levels of society toward an environmentally, economically, and socially more sustainable future.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- Creating a Climate for ChangeCommunicating Climate Change and Facilitating Social Change, pp. 491 - 516Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2007
References
(2003). Social capital, collective action and adaptation to climate change. Economic Geography, 79, 4, 387–404.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
and (2002). Multiple routes for social influence: The role of compliance, internalization, and social identity. Social Psychology Quarterly, 65, 3, 226–47.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
(2001). Education and public attitudes toward science: Implications for the “deficit model” of education and support for science and technology. Social Science Quarterly, 82, 4, 779–95.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
(2003). How does environmental concern influence specific environmentally related behaviors? A new answer to an old question. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 23, 21–32.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
(1999). Overcoming the “value–action gap” in environmental policy: Tensions between national policy and local experience. Local Environment, 4, 3, 257–78.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Clark, W. C., Mitchell, R. B., and Cash, D. W. (2006). Evaluating the influence of global environmental assessments. In Global Environmental Assessments: Information and Influence, eds. , , , and Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press, 1–28.Google Scholar
, , and (2003). Social capital in virtual learning communities and distributed communities of practice. Canadian Journal of Learning and Technology, 29, 3. Available at: http://www.cjlt.ca/content/vol29.3/cjlt29-3_art7.html; accessed February 15, 2006.Google Scholar
Field, C. B., Raupach, M. R., and Victoria, R. (2004). The global carbon cycle: Integrating humans, climate and the natural world. In The Global Carbon Cycle: Integrating Humans, Climate and the Natural World, eds. and , SCOPE Report #62. Washington, DC: Island Press, pp. 1–13.Google Scholar
French Jr., J. R. P. and Raven, B. H. (1959). The bases of social power. In Studies in Social Power, ed. Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan Press, pp. 150–67.Google Scholar
(2000). The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference. Boston and New York: Little, Brown and Co.Google Scholar
and (eds.) (2001). Panarchy: Understanding Transformations in Systems of Humans and Nature. Washington, DC: Island Press.Google Scholar
, , and (eds.) (1995). Barriers and Bridges to the Renewal of Ecosystems and Institutions. New York: Columbia University Press.Google Scholar
, , , , , , and (eds.) (2002). The Precautionary Principle in the 20th Century: Late Lessons from Early Warnings. London: Earthscan.Google Scholar
Jenkins-Smith, H. C. and Sabatier, P. A. (1999). The advocacy coalition framework: An assessment. In Theories of the Policy Process, ed. Boulder, CO: Westview, pp. 117–66.Google Scholar
(2003). Maps of bounded rationality: Psychology for behavioral economics. The American Economic Review, 93, 5, 1449–75.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
and (2003). Governance for sustainability through transition management. Paper presented at the Open Meeting of the Human Dimensions of Global Environmental Change Research Community, Montreal, October 16–18.
(2004). The environmental–social interface of sustainable development: Capabilities, social capital, institutions. Ecological Economics, 49, 2, 199–214.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
(2006). The Revenge of Gaia: Why the Earth Is Fighting Back – and How We Can Still Save Humanity. London: Allen Lane.Google Scholar
(2003). Sustainable consumption and greenhouse gas mitigation. Climate Policy, 3, S135–46.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
(2005). Impacts assessments and policy responses to sea-level rise in three U.S. states: An exploration of human dimension uncertainties. Global Environmental Change, 15, 353–69.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Moser, S. C. (2007). In the long shadows of inaction: The quiet building of a climate protection movement in the United States. Global Environmental Politics, accepted for publication.CrossRef
with , , and (2001). Doing Democracy: The MAP Model for Organizing Social Movements. Gabriola Island, BC: New Society Publishers.Google Scholar
National Research Council (NRC). (1999). Our Common Journey: A Transition Toward Sustainability. Washington, DC: National Academy Press.
(1990). Governing the Commons: The Evolution of Institutions for Collective Action. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
and (2005). Understanding adaptation: What can social capital offer assessments of adaptive capacity?Global Environmental Change, 15, 4, 308–19.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
, , , et al. (2002). Great Transition: The Promise and Lure of Times Ahead. A Report of the Global Scenario Group. Stockholm Environment Institute, Stockholm, Sweden.Google Scholar
(1993). The bases of power: Origins and recent developments. Journal of Social Issues, 49, 4, 227–51.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
, , and (2001). More evolution than revolution: Transition management in public policy. Foresight, 3, 15–31.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
, , , , and (2006). Avoiding Dangerous Climate Change. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. Available at: http://www.defra.gov.uk/environment/climatechange/internat/pdf/avoid-dangercc.pdf.Google Scholar
Schultz, P. W. (2002). Knowledge, information, and household recycling: Examining the knowledge-deficit model of behavior change. In New Tools for Environmental Protection: Education, Information, and Voluntary Measures, eds. and Washington, DC: National Academy Press, pp. 67–82.Google Scholar
and (2003). Reframing environmental messages to be congruent with American values. Research in Human Ecology, 10, 2, 126–36.Google Scholar
Smit, B., et al. (2001). Adaptation to climate change in the context of sustainable development and equity. In Climate Change 2001: Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability, ed. IPCC Working Group II. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, pp. 877–912.
(1992). The transition to a sustainable society. Proceeding of the National Academy of Sciences, 89, 870–2.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
(1997). Pasteur's Quadrant: Basic Science and Technological Innovation. Washington, DC: Brookings Institution Press.Google Scholar
and (2004). Science in society: Re-evaluating the deficit model of public attitudes. Public Understanding of Science, 13, 55–74.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
(1988). The Collapse of Complex Societies. New Studies in Archeology, Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Toth, F. L., et al. (2001). Decision-making frameworks. In Climate Change 2001: Mitigation, ed. IPCC Working Group III, Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, pp. 601–88.
(2001). Mitigative capacity – the mirror image of adaptive capacity on the emissions side. Climatic Change, 49, 247–62.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
- 48
- Cited by