Grim Northwest heat: Do you believe now?

The Northwest heat scares the crap out of me. For years, scientists have been warning us that climate change was already happening. And it’ll only get worse.

Some of us took heed. A few companies did. And some nations knew this day was coming. Even if most of us live in denial.

But I’ve spent a great deal of time in the Northwest. And summer temperatures are usually moderate. Wearing a light jacket is relatively common if you’re in Washington or Oregon during the summer. Especially near the coast.

Temperatures reaching over a 100 degrees? Get outta here. Blistering heat so extreme it’s melting power cables.

Could the Northwest heat be only the beginning?

The Northwest heat situation remains frightening. Roads are buckling. Health concerns abound. They’re like the ominous signs in a disaster movie. “Why didn’t we heed the signs?” a character will ask. And as viewers we’ll just shake our head, thinking, “Dumb people.”

As a brand strategist, I’m most interested in the belief systems that drive human behavior. Aligning a brand with the most intensive belief systems is how you create preference. Belief systems are powerful. In fact, they only have to believed. Truth is beside the point.

What are the belief systems that drive some to believe climate change was a hoax? That the government lies to us? Maybe it’s a belief that science tells you one thing one day, then another the next. Or maybe battling climate change just seems too inconvenient.

The climate change perception

Al Gore. His documentary, “An Inconvenient Truth,” first introduced climate change to most Americans. That was in 2006. Fifteen years before this Northwest heat is waking us the hell up. Looking back, maybe Al Gore was the wrong spokesperson for this issue. I don’t blame him. In fact, he did start the conversation.

But having a former vice president made the issue political. It became a left vs right issue. When it’s just a scientific fact issue. It probably does nobody any good to look back and think who would’ve been more believable to more of the world population.

It’s worth examining, though, in terms of what people believe. It’s much harder to change a belief than to align with it if you want to change human behavior.

Believing the Northwest heat is climate change

Let me take a quick step back. The anti-smoking campaigns have worked. Sales are at an all-time low. That was based on science, so what went right there? Well, the campaign struggled at first because it became only about science. About health. Then the organizations got smarter. They attacked the manufacturers as thieving monoliths that didn’t care about killing people.

The public could cling to that belief. We’re all suspicious of large corporations, whether they are unfounded or not.

My guess is climate change needs to brand itself as being smart. Of being the the Han Solo in the movie who says, “I got a bad feeling about this.” Savvy people believe in climate change. Others, with financial interests at stake, tell lies.

Do be fooled. The Northwest heat signifies the cost of believing the liars. Be smart.