Simplifying the Environmental Message

I believe that the environmental movement needs to communicate its message more effectively to the American people.

The simple message that I recommend is:

Pollution causes cancer

Buying Mid-East oil supports terrorists

Cancer
Most Americans know someone who has cancer or is dying from cancer. Two people I know died last week from cancer. Most efforts are focused on treating cancer, not preventing it. But why are so many people getting cancer? A growing body of research suggests that the causes are in the air, water, and food that we consume daily.

Terrorists
Thomas Friedman (an expert on the Middle East), in a March 27 column states:

By doing nothing to lower U.S. oil consumption, we are financing both sides in the war on terrorism and strengthening the worst governments in the world. That is, we are financing the U.S. military with our tax dollars and we are financing the jihadists - and the Saudi, Sudanese and Iranian mosques and charities that support them - through our gasoline purchases.

The American people are overloaded with information. The Republican party has had great success by focusing on simple, appealing messages. Environmental issues have to be simplified, which is difficult, in order to rise above the overload of marketing messages blasted at consumers all day, every day.

The simple message above ties a number of environment themes to two issues, cancer and terrorism, that are universally regarded as bad.