Messaging on climate change can make all the difference.  Conservatives tend to shut down mentally when it comes to discussing the science, mostly out of fear that it will be used as an excuse to over-regulate the economy.

But a new study suggests a method to getting the science across.  Researchers at the University of Cologne in Germany found that “phrasing pro-environmental messages in past-focused ways” worked better with self-described conservatives than messages that warned of future problems:

Their idea is that conservatives tend to take a brighter view of the past than other groups; thus, they might be receptive to arguments regarding global warming couched in more pro-past oriented ways, e.g., “Times were better when you could count on snow for Christmas in northern towns,” or “We planted bulbs in the garden on the same spring day every year.”

Yet another approach to reach this demographic, as I’ve chronicled before.  Even thought support for climate action appears to be increasing, per a new poll from the Yale Program on Climate Change Communications, we’ll need all the help we can get from conservatives on this issue.