Protester holds a ‘Stop the Keystone XL Pipeline’ sign (photo credit: Steve Rhodes/flickr, CC BY-NC-ND)
My first-ever analysis piece in The Conversation was published yesterday. The piece analyzes how climate change activists — especially 350.org — influenced President Obama’s decision to reject the Keystone XL pipeline, and what this victory means in the near future for activists. An excerpt:
According to my research into climate change activism, 350.org – an advocacy organization co-founded by environmental author Bill McKibben – and its allies employed a number of communication tactics to achieve what is one of the biggest symbolic victories for the US climate movement to date.
Specifically, climate activists embraced the following strategies to scuttle the pipeline: shifting the final decision from the State Department to the White House; effectively counter-framing pro-pipeline arguments; and successfully combining digital organizing with offline actions.
The Conversation bills itself as “an independent source of news and views, sourced from the academic and research community and delivered direct to the public.” Read my whole piece at The Conversation and let me know what you think!