Study: How To Convince Climate Change Deniers Without Using Graphs

There are many people who don’t believe in climate change -- starting with President Donald Trump and the head of the Environmental Protection Agency Scott Pruitt -- and it seems like climate change deniers and believers won’t ever understand each other.

Those who don’t believe in climate change are often portrayed as being out of touch, ignorant or as someone that cannot comprehend science facts. However, Jacob Lipsman, a doctoral student in Sociology at the University of Kansas, found there might be a way to approach those who deny climate change, and talk about the issue even if they don’t want to accept the problem.

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The study comes as Trump and other Republicans continuously deny climate change. Trump previously said global warming was a hoax invented by the Chinese, and promised to bring the coal industry back throughout his campaign.

Among Americans, there is a strong divide when it comes to climate change, with both sides constantly arguing with each other over the issue. In a recent worldwide survey, Americans said ISIS was the biggest threat to national security, followed by cyberattacks and climate change. However, the story was different among political lines, as 86 percent of liberals said they saw climate change as a major threat, compared to 31 percent of conservatives.

Lipsman has been looking into the economic, social or cultural influences that could play a part in why people don’t want to accept climate change. It’s worth noting that those who tend to deny climate change depend on certain industries for jobs, which has an impact on how they feel about the issue.

“The most obvious example of this is the instance of an individual who works for an industry, such as in oil and gas production, that may be negatively impacted by regulatory policy," said Lipsman in a statement. "This also functions on the community level; for instance, in southeast Louisiana, oil and gas represents a disproportionate source of revenue for coastal parishes."

Through his research, Lipsman found that climate change denial is not because of lack of information or whether someone fails to understand scientific facts, but how the issues is communicated, especially through empathy and local issues.

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Lipsman looked at two parishes in Louisiana, Plaquemines and St. Bernard, which are near the mouth of the Mississippi River. The area has been vastly affected by climate change. The state has already lost nearly 2,000 square miles of land, almost the size of Delaware, because of coastal erosion.

"This land loss has major impacts on communities both directly in terms of increased flood vulnerability and indirectly through potentially decreased economic productivity," said Lipsman, who was scheduled to present his findings at the American Sociological Association's 2017 annual meeting in Montreal Tuesday.

Although the area is impacted by rising waters, southeast Louisiana still a has a high number of climate change deniers. However, the study found parish residents are aware of the local environmental problems and care about solutions.

"Local residents are aware of coastal erosion and are focused on addressing this issue, whether or not they attribute this land loss to climate change," said Lipsman.

Southeast Louisiana relies heavily on oil, gas industries, which are to blame for greenhouse emissions. Because the communities are so dependent on those industries, it could play a part on why locals don’t embrace the idea of climate change. Strong environmental regulations could disturb oil and gas companies, which could affect jobs in the area.

Nonetheless, Lipman’s study shows climate change deniers still care about where they live, especially as we see waters rise in Louisiana. Lipman’s findings could help climate change advocates engage with people who disagree with them on global warming.

"If an individual or a community is resistant to the idea of climate change for economic or social reasons, climate advocates will not be able to effectively communicate with these individuals about climate change simply by presenting more data," Lipsman said. "By better understanding the processes of climate change denial, climate advocates will be better equipped to have an effective dialogue with individuals and communities that are skeptical of these ideas."

This means scientists should put their graphs and talk about how locals feel instead.