On Wednesday, April 2, Cathy Zoi, CEO of the Alliance for Climate Protection discussed in an OnPoint interview a $300 million climate change ad campaign, funded in part by former Vice President Al Gore. She said that 80% of the American people are now aware that climate change is a problem. However, this has not been translated into the appropriate sense of urgency to inspire people to take action. People also do not understand that the climate change problem is a solvable issue nor are they voting on it as if it were a top tier issue.
She noted that it will probably take several years to raise the awareness level so that climate change is considered an important issue for the "average person" and it translates into getting them to urge their leaders to take action.
Zoi said that this new organization will be able to reach people and encourage them to do more. The campaign will be a combination of paid media and partnerships with community-based organizations. She noted that the main message of the campaign will be that the climate change issue is both urgent and solvable. The focus will be on educating voters, so that they will pressure governmental leaders to take action. The message that they hope to get across is that there needs to be a major cut in greenhouse emissions by mid-century. Zoi believes that if voters realize this, they will take the necessary steps to enact change on this topic. Gore is providing the seed funding for the ad campaign. More information, click on the following link: http://www.wecansolveit.com/