Market research surveys commissioned by one of the nation’s largest environmentalist groups advises activists to “talk about yourselves as conservationists — not environmentalists,” “do not make global warming/climate change the primary rationale for conservation,” “do not use the threat of ‘sprawl’ unless with core supporters,” and “do not focus on ‘green’ jobs as a primary rationale for conservation.”
These quotes are found in a pair of documents, one from 2004 and one from 2013, that expose what might be called the environmental movement’s political messaging intended for public consumption.
The documents are based on research commissioned by The Nature Conservancy, which is generally considered to be less strident than most environmentalist organizations. The older one is located on a website of the Maryland Department of Natural Resources, among the “course documents” for “Communicating Conservation to Citizens: Communications Course 2009.”
Here are a few excerpts from the documents:
From the 2004 document — “Do talk about yourselves as ‘conservationists’ — not ‘environmentalists.’ This bears repeating. Voters are more likely to view themselves as ‘conservationists’ than ‘environmentalists.’ Moreover, in the focus groups, there was a decided skepticism about the agendas of some ‘environmental groups’ who engage in land preservation.”
From the 2013 document — “Do not make global warming/climate change the primary rationale for conservation. While scientists clearly link global warming to increasingly extreme weather events that affect the safety of people and communities, it is not yet perceived similarly by the public. The most politically polarizing rationales for conservation are those that position climate change as the primary reason for engaging in conservation. Republicans and Independents rated these messages significantly lower than other rationales in support of conservation.”...
From the 2004 document, and stressed again in the 2013 document — “Do talk about water first and foremost. Water cannot be stressed enough, and really it doesn’t matter how you say it. In fact, voters prioritize water as a critical reason to purchase and protect land, no matter how it is expressed: vast majorities of those polled see it as ‘very important’ to buy land to protect drinking water quality (84 percent); improve the water quality in our lakes, streams and rivers (75 percent); protect lakes, rivers and streams (72 percent); and protect watersheds (66 percent).”...
2004 — “Do not use ‘endangered species’ as interchangeable with wildlife — voters view them differently. While voters are broadly supportive of protecting wildlife, the focus groups demonstrated that ‘endangered species’ is a more polarizing term. Voters can point to examples where environmental regulations have held up important projects in order to protect what many deem to be obscure and unimportant species.”
2004 — “Do not say ‘open space.’ ‘Open space’ is not one of the better terms to use in the vocabulary of conservation, and ‘urban open space’ is even worse. In the focus groups, voters perceived ‘open space’ as empty land, not near them, and did not necessarily see how they benefited from it or could use it. ‘Urban open space’ was perceived as a bench between skyscrapers, or an abandoned lot.”
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