Resource Center

“Perceived fairness” and “effectiveness” are the most important determinants of public support for climate policies. “Self-enhancement values” and “knowledge about climate change” showed weak relationships to public opinion support, and demographic variables showed only weak or close to zero relationship to support for climate policies (or climate concern). “Fairness” refers to the extent that people or a process are treated or implemented equally, or according to criteria like need or merit. “Effectiveness” is people’s beliefs that a policy can fulfill a specific aim.

There are major gaps in the Environmental Impact Statement issued by the Army Corps of Engineers about the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL) impacts. The NDN collective has produced a special report on the impacts of the DAPL in light of the D.C. District Court decision on June 22, 2021 dismissing tribe’s case against the Army Corps of Engineers. The purpose of this report is to provide a comprehensive summary of the DAPL project in the context of critical environmental, engineering, social, economic, and climate justice issues that continue to plague the construction and operation of the pipeline.             

“Impact storytelling” is an important political tool, but it needs more coordination, training, talent, research, and funding. This report argues that “narrative and cultural strategy” are important tools of social change and should be further invested in, in many ways. The actors involved in the impact storytelling ecosystem include strategic communicators, grassroots and field organizing, legal and public policy advocacy, and artists and cultural organizers. More important people and groups are engaging in impact storytelling, but challenges remain: people don’t always lead with an impact storytelling mindset, there are too many vague reports and not enough actionable research, there is a looming leadership and staff crisis, there aren’t great ways to measure progress, and there are hurdles to collaboration. Therefore, this report includes recommendations for how to strengthen impact storytelling—there needs to be more: formal coordination and distribution of impact storytelling, training to boost the talent pipeline, practical and useful research and measurement, and more abundant and strategic funding.

Deep canvassing increases support for climate change action in rural British Columbia. The Neighbours United Project, an initiative of the West Kootenay EcoSociety, has shown that deep canvassing and storytelling can persuade on climate in a frontline, rural, industrial community in British Columbia. Successful deep canvassing requires the right script, trained canvassers (staff or volunteers), and a supportive organizational culture. When knocking on doors to have conversations with people, canvassers followed six steps: surface conflicted feelings, connect and acknowledge identity, share a personal story, make the case and help the voter process, understand the impact of the conversation, and make the campaign ask. One overall conclusion is that increasing a sense of government efficacy and support for government action on climate change could be key to moving citizens on climate change.

Our understanding of social movements is shaped by the images we see of them, and there are some key ways to create the images we need to win. A cohesive visual strategy translates disconnected technical skills from visual storytelling crafts into a plan to meet our movements goals. It brings together graphic design, printmaking, illustration, puppetry, theater, photography, set design, digital content, and more. A successful visual strategy does three specific things: contests public and media assumptions about who you are and what is possible; creates unity in your base though increasing access, commitment, resiliency, wellbeing; and maximizes your threat to power by swaying how much power your targets think you have. This resource includes one 90-minute recorded presentation and accompanying PDF slides of the presentation. These also include practical how-to exercises for movements building visual strategies, from what specific visual tools to use, how and when to employ them, and more.