Super Eco

Photo credit: DerrickT, flickr

In the end, climate change doesn't really matter—it's the side effects we can all get behind fixing. Republican craftsman of public opinion Frank Luntz, infamous for devising such charged phrases as the "death tax," says environmentalists are fighting the wrong battle. Changing the very language we use to address the issues caused by global warming, he claims, would go a lot farther in getting people focused on their ways and the world around them. Pragmatic language aimed straight at specific issues ignites more action than fiery rhetoric about climate change and the world at large.

"It doesn't matter if there is or isn't climate change," he said. "It's still in America's best interest to develop new sources of energy that are clean, reliable, efficient and safe." Green light words: "cleaner," "healthier," "safer," "independence from foreign oil." Red light words: "sustainability" and "carbon neutral." In fact, Luntz warns Republicans that continued squabbling over climate science could give them a political black eye. Time instead, he says, to engage the public over American jobs, American energy and American oil—whether or not it's "green" or "sustainable."

Luntz's common sense strategies may help us move forward together despite those with their fingers in their ears, humming over brand new reports from NASA showing that the last decade was the very warmest ever. Ultimately, we don't have to agree on the concept of climate change or, strangely enough, even the facts—as long as we can all get behind efforts to change the effects.