ABSTRACT

This study explores the comparative grounds people employ to understand weather and climate, recognizing weather change while distancing themselves from climate change. It draws on interviews with farmers and ranchers in the Texas panhandle and West Texas, confirming previous research that rejects the idea of a knowledge gap or information deficit leading to misunderstanding of climate change. The semiotic method extends findings of media frame analysis and critical discourse analysis, showing how climate contrarianism employs semiotic gradients as people attach scales to sense of place, environmental process and personal identity. This scaling process clarifies why rural communication avoids the term “climate” while accentuating local, practical and weather-based responses.

摘要

这项研究探讨了人们用来了解天气和气候的比较依据，在认识天气变化的同时远离气候变化。它借鉴了对德克萨斯州狭长地带和西德克萨斯州的农民和牧场主的采访，证实了先前的研究拒绝了知识差距或信息不足导致对气候变化的误解的想法。符号学方法扩展了媒体框架分析和批评话语分析的发现，展示了气候逆向主义如何利用符号梯度，因为人们将尺度与地方感、环境过程和个人身份联系起来。这种规模化过程阐明了为什么农村通信避免使用“气候”一词，同时强调当地、实际和基于天气的反应。