How Our Attraction to Natural Fixes Can Stymie Climate Progress
Does a human-made problem need a natural solution? The post How Our Attraction to Natural Fixes Can Stymie Climate Progress appeared first on Nautilus .
A new study published in Communications Earth & Environment suggests that our support for climate change solutions is heavily influenced by whether we perceive them as "natural" or not. Researchers from the University of Colorado Boulder surveyed 1,000 Americans on their views of various climate change remedies, including carbon capture, tree planting, solar energy, wind, and nuclear power.
Participants were asked if they would support funding these solutions through taxes and how they viewed the solutions in terms of naturalness, potential benefits, risks, familiarity, and fear.
The study found that people were more likely to support climate change solutions that they perceived as "natural." For example, solar energy and tree planting scored higher in support than "unnatural" technologies like carbon capture and nuclear energy. Surprisingly, the perceived "naturalness" of a solution had a stronger influence on support than factors like risks, benefits, fears, or familiarity.
This trend was consistent across political affiliations, indicating a potential point of common ground in the climate change debate.
To further explore the impact of perceived naturalness, the researchers conducted a follow-up study focusing on the four climate solutions with the most extreme perceptions of naturalness and unnaturalness. These were solar energy, tree planting, carbon capture, and nuclear energy. They then emphasized the natural aspects of each method in their communication.
The result was an increase in support for all solutions, with solar energy receiving a smaller boost, likely due to its familiarity making it more resistant to re-framing.
The researchers concluded that while technological solutions are crucial for addressing climate change, the way we communicate about these solutions can significantly impact public perception and support. Simply developing effective climate change solutions is not enough; the way we present these solutions to the public is equally important.
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