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Cooler Weather Heats Up Debate
New Zealand Centre for Political Research ^ | 28 May 2009 | Dr Muriel Newman

Posted on 06/01/2009 6:04:00 PM PDT by neverdem

Earlier this month a briefing paper for US government officials and environmental leaders on ways to "re-frame" the global warming debate in order to build stronger public support for climate change legislation, found its way into the hands of the New York Times (see Seeking to Save the Planet With a Thesaurus). Re-framing is a technique used by politicians to make radical ideas more palatable to the public by replacing controversial expressions with language that evokes empathy, cooperation, and a sense of interconnectedness. The concept is based on the work of George Lakoff (and others), a Professor of Linguistics at Berkley University and well known adviser to the environmental movement, who believes that if you control the language of a debate then you control the way that people think.

The report obtained by the New York Times had been prepared by the Washington-based public relations firm EcoAmerica. They explained that terms like "global warming" turned people off because they fostered images of "shaggy-haired liberals, economic sacrifice and complex scientific disputes." The report suggested that rather than talking about "global warming" they should be discussing "our deteriorating climate." They went on to recommend that instead of using the term the "environment," they should use "the air we breathe, the water our children drink," rather than "energy efficiency" which made people think of "shivering in the dark," they should be saying "saving money for a more prosperous future," and instead of confusing people with "cap and trade," they should be using terms like "cap and cash back" or "pollution reduction refund."

The report stressed the need for aspirational language and shared ideals like "freedom, prosperity, independence and self-sufficiency while avoiding jargon and details about policy, science, economics or technology."

Of course, there has already been a major shift in the language...

(Excerpt) Read more at scoop.co.nz ...


TOPICS: Crime/Corruption; Culture/Society; Editorial; Politics/Elections
KEYWORDS: agw; climatechange; globalwarming
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1 posted on 06/01/2009 6:04:00 PM PDT by neverdem
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To: neverdem

This is the first time in my life that I have had the furnace kick on in June.....


2 posted on 06/01/2009 6:05:56 PM PDT by ButThreeLeftsDo
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To: neverdem

So they need to be better liars?


3 posted on 06/01/2009 6:06:47 PM PDT by colonialhk (Harry and Nancy are our best moron liars)
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To: ButThreeLeftsDo

Obama promised climate changes...and is delivering


4 posted on 06/01/2009 6:07:45 PM PDT by rovenstinez
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To: neverdem

New Speak?


5 posted on 06/01/2009 6:07:57 PM PDT by Panzerlied ("We shall never surrender!")
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To: colonialhk
So they need to be better liars?

A lot of people stand to lose a lot of money (not to mention a lot of control) if they can't keep the myth going.

6 posted on 06/01/2009 6:10:35 PM PDT by tbpiper (How would you define a 'domestic enemy of the constitution'?)
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To: neverdem

“Berkley University” refers to what-—The University of California at Berkeley? I get a little ticked whenever someone who is allegedly learned refers to my Alma mater incorrectly.


7 posted on 06/01/2009 6:11:38 PM PDT by Rudder (The Main Stream Media is Our Enemy---get used to it.)
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To: rovenstinez

Firewood sales just north of my current position are at an all time high for this time of year.....


8 posted on 06/01/2009 6:11:56 PM PDT by ButThreeLeftsDo
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To: neverdem

Some of the prophecy sites predict cold weather so severe that it will split rocks.


9 posted on 06/01/2009 6:11:56 PM PDT by pray4liberty (http://www.foundersvalues.com/)
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To: neverdem; Horusra; Delacon; CygnusXI; Entrepreneur; Defendingliberty; WL-law; Genesis defender; ...
 


Beam me to Planet Gore !

10 posted on 06/01/2009 6:12:31 PM PDT by steelyourfaith ("The problem with socialism is that you eventually run out of other people's money" - Lady Thatcher)
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To: ButThreeLeftsDo
This is the first time in my life that I have had the furnace kick on in June.....

This is the first June I remember wanting a jacket.

11 posted on 06/01/2009 6:13:30 PM PDT by neverdem (Xin loi minh oi)
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To: neverdem

They have figured out what a cash cow “Climate Change” is. They will stop at nothing to milk it for all its worth. Truely, the biggest hoax in history.


12 posted on 06/01/2009 6:15:55 PM PDT by rbg81 (DRAIN THE SWAMP!!)
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To: neverdem
We even have a name for this process: "Newspeak".

"Don't you see that the whole aim of Newspeak is to narrow the range of thought?... Has it ever occurred to you, Winston, that by the year 2050, at the very latest, not a single human being will be alive who could understand such a conversation as we are having now?..."
- George Orwell, 1984

13 posted on 06/01/2009 6:19:10 PM PDT by TurtleUp (So this is how liberty dies - to thunderous applause!)
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To: neverdem

How can climate “deteriorate”?? What nonsense. Climate can only get warmer or cooler, wetter or dryer.


14 posted on 06/01/2009 6:19:45 PM PDT by beethovenfan (If Islam is the solution, the "problem" must be freedom.)
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To: neverdem

Ignoring Occam’s razor? I’m guessing there isn’t any sun spots right now...


15 posted on 06/01/2009 6:20:31 PM PDT by John123 (Turn on your teleprompter Obama and read your lips... "No New Taxes!!")
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To: pray4liberty
Some of the prophecy sites predict cold weather so severe that it will split rocks.

That's not even prophecy. It's normal winter weather physics. Water soaks into rocks. When it reaches +32F and changes from liquid to solid, it generates sufficient force to split rocks, water pipes, streets and sidewalks. That why northern tier states spend all summer doing road repairs after the winter does damage to the roads.

16 posted on 06/01/2009 6:24:27 PM PDT by Myrddin
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To: neverdem
Modern linguistic theory is predicated on the idea that the meaning of words is infinitely malleable and that whoever dictates their definition will rule others. That is why Liberals strive to control the terms of every debate by reference to emotionally-laden words, rather than by objective truth. In short, they intimidate rather than argue.

When the evidence of "global warming" fades in the light of empirical observation, the subject mutates to "climate change". When doubt is cast upon man's ability to affect the global climate, proof of the opposite notion becomes a matter of "consensus". What is reasonably doubted is thus "assumed" because it is said to be so, and those who doubt it are held to be "deniers". And who wants to be one of those?

17 posted on 06/01/2009 6:25:11 PM PDT by andy58-in-nh (You have enemies? Good. That means you've stood up for something, sometime in your life.)
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To: neverdem
This is the first June I remember wanting a jacket

We had SEVEN inches of snow on June 6th, 2008 in my city. This year seems to be more rainy with daily thunderstorms.

18 posted on 06/01/2009 6:26:23 PM PDT by Myrddin
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To: neverdem
American Indians could determine the severity of the coming winter by counting the cords of firewood stacked up outside the white man's cabins.

It is was said to be a very reliable method of prediction.


19 posted on 06/01/2009 6:50:20 PM PDT by Donald Rumsfeld Fan (Sarah Palin: Iron Lady of the North)
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To: ButThreeLeftsDo
This is the first time in my life that I have had the furnace kick on in June...

I heard the local weatherman say yesterday that we had a dozen (or more) days over 90 degrees last May, but only three days over the 90 degree mark this May.

This is Texas, so I'm not too dismayed about the cooler temps this time of year. Ask me again this winter, and I may have changed my tune.

20 posted on 06/01/2009 6:58:48 PM PDT by Windflier (To anger a conservative, tell him a lie. To anger a liberal, tell him the truth.)
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