Green Message at Risk of Getting Lost in Political Cacophony

Even "green," one of the most widely used keywords in environmental conversations, has trouble keeping up with the buzz around "Sarah Palin."
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As of late, I have succumbed to the Sarah Palin effect. Headlines with her name exert a magnetic pull on my vulnerable mind. I can't get enough of the gossip, and the funny videos, and the fake pictures. I have even started a Fake Sarah Palin blog. My main activity as a green blogger is beginning to suffer. Last week, I only wrote three articles in La Marguerite blog, a record low. And I abstained from contributing to other green blogs. Let's face it, my head is with Sarah Palin, not climate change.

Out of curiosity, I did a BlogPulse Trend Search, for "Sarah Palin," "green," and "climate change." BlogPulse is a great tool to plot "buzz" about specific search terms in the blogosphere.

2008-09-16-Sarah_Palin_vs_green_blogging_activity.jpg

I also took a look at blogging activity on a typical day -- % all blog posts:

Barack Obama 1.232

green 1.195

Sarah Palin 1.096

John McCain .627

environment .437

global warming .120

Joe Biden .010

climate change .007

Todd Palin .004

The results show "environment," "climate change," and "global warming" to be no match for "Sarah Palin," or any other presidential election candidate, with the exception of Joe Biden. Even "green," one of the most widely used keywords in environmental conversations, has trouble keeping up with the buzz around "Sarah Palin."

What does this mean? More than ever, those of us who care about the environment, need to shout even louder, and more often, about such critical issues as biodiversity, and climate change, and energy conservation and efficiency. And we need to work harder at engaging our audiences.

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