Speaking green in a red state

I had been toying with the idea of this blog post for a long time. For the life of me, I can’t understand why environmentalists are spending so much energy trying to convince people that climate change is happening when it’s far easier to get them to make climate-friendly choices through other means.

But most of what I would have said was already being done by the Climate and Energy Project (CEP) as told in this New York Times article: In Kansas, Climate Skeptics Embrace Cleaner Energy. The article by Leslie Kaufman is part of the Times’ series Beyond Fossil Fuels.

A year-long competition sponsored by CEP convinced Kansans to cut energy use by focusing on thrift, patriotism, spiritual conviction and economic prosperity rather than regulating greenhouse gases.

It’s a fascinating article. As CEP said in response on their blog:

And as the nation’s leaders continue to struggle to find modes and models for energy reform… Hellooooooo………

This is a topic I’d like to spend a lot more time on. What do you think? Can we make more progress on the environment by not talking about climate change?