Resource Type: Research & Articles

Using the term “unnatural disasters” may be the best way to message extreme weather and climate impacts. The increase in extreme weather is making millions of Americans unsafe and jeopardizing the people and places that we hold dear. While the solutions are clear, the communication is more complicated than we often think. Using “unnatural disasters” as a concept turns the notion of “natural disasters” on its head and opens the door to conversations about the true cause: fossil fuels. A platform grounded in the notion of “unnatural disasters” boosted support for action on climate change by 10 percentage points overall (including 12 p.p. with Republicans, 8 p.p. with Democrats, and 7 p.p. with Independents). Through conversations with thousands of Americans and months of rigorous testing, Potential Energy found a messaging that simultaneously builds awareness for the problem and generates enthusiasm for the solutions. The phrase “unnatural disasters” was twice as effective at shifting the focus to fossil fuels than simply calling it “extreme weather.”

This post includes climate and environment headlines, data points, and key takeaways from recent public polls – including new national polling on oil and gas accountability, energy prices, and the public health impacts of climate change + new polling in Nevada on climate and clean energy messaging.

Across the US, communities are organizing around IRA opportunities, mobilizing support for clean energy, and building durable power. And they’re learning a lot about what works well (and not so well)! This week, we’re excited to share reflections and insights from our interviews with Autonomy Strategies (with Conexión and Voto Latino), Local First Arizona, Sustainable Georgia Futures, and Wisconsin Conservation Voters. Hat tip to our partner 89up for their work on this!

This post includes climate and environment headlines, data points, and key takeaways from recent public polls – including new polling on climate change in the presidential race, fossil fuel accountability, and PFAS + new qualitative research among Latino voters and new data on the long-term trends in Americans’ climate attitudes.