Blanket: or the power of words.
As a writer, I have always been fascinating with words. Words are my galaxies. I wonder why a certain words sound in that way, where and when it was born, and so on. I like to play with associations, and I find very interesting how words can be linked with emotions and action. Therefore, when you think of climate change and the so-called “Greenhouse Effect” you must consider the impact the word we choose has on an associative perspective. Greenhouse. Green and house are two very positive words; they can be linked to life, energy and so on. How can you recognize there is a problem in the first place, when we labelled it as a positive thing? In my opinion, that is just one of the many causes of the cognitive dissonance that many people experienced when they have to deal with climate change. They knew “greenhouse effect” is a problem, but something more powerful is holding them, like deeply this imagine, the link they made around the word, does not match the reality, intensity and importance of the problem. So, maybe we have to change the word we use to describe climate change. Naomi Klein and many activists and scientists are now talking about “The Blanket Effect”, and I agree with the choice. First, it is a neutral word. Not good, not bad. Second, it describes what is happening on this planet with efficiency. Third, and must important point, it gives you the right image to think about, because nearly everyone can relate with the experience of being covered by a blanket at some point. Therefore, nearly everyone can imagine what’s being like to have a blanket around when it is already hot. That is what happening to our planet. That is what we need to talk about. Change the conversation, move forward. By changing the word.
