April 5 (UPI) -- Though scientists are largely in agreement on the realities of man-made climate change, the topic remains contentious among politicians and the general public.
To forge consensus, researchers at Stanford University suggest activists and policy makers look past the science and focus on shared values like job creation, health and safety.
"We need to relate to people's daily lives," Rob Jackson, an environmental scientist and senior fellow at Stanford, said in a recent interview. "People care more about improving human health than reducing greenhouse gas emissions."
While people may not agree on the evidence of climate science, many support efforts to improve air quality, for example.
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As Jackson likes to point out, the ongoing discussion over the fate of the coal industry overshadows the fact that the energy industry, particularly the clean energy sector, has added more jobs in recent years.
"About 175,000 full time workers mine, move, and burn coal across the United States," Jackson wrote in a recent oped for Scientific American. "In comparison there are 475,000 jobs now in solar and wind power. We created an astonishing 100,000 new solar and wind jobs last year alone."
Jackson's research group has helped several cities, including Washington, D.C., and Boston, plug leaks in their gas lines. Updating infrastructure is politically viable and good for the environment, Jackson argues, and it doesn't require a discussion about climate change.
By embracing energy efficiency and the low-carbon economy, Jackson and his colleagues say politicians and the general public can make strides in curbing climate change and its negative impacts.
In the meantime, research suggests Americans are beginning to come to an agreement: climate change is real.
Despite the urgency of the challenge presented by climate change, Jackson says there is hope for the future.
"Carbon dioxide emissions in the United States have been dropping slowly but steadily for a decade because of greater energy efficiency and a switch from coal power to natural gas, wind and solar," he concluded.
