Language and Climate Change

The New York Times dot Earth blog today looks at the question of whether language alone can inspire action on long-term challenges. A correspondent of the reporter writes:

“In the absence of physical evidence that something bad is going to happen, people tend to ‘wait and see.’ Evidence for this can be seen in behavior surrounding natural hazards such as wildfires and volcanoes. In many cases people can receive a warning that something bad is headed their way. They may even be well-educated about the processes and dangers of the approaching hazard. However, without a physical manifestation of the hazard, or evidence seen with their own eyes, people may not necessarily do what you want them to do to mitigate the risk."

I'm not sure where the question leads us. Does this argue for small actions to force change? Or something stupendous, with potential for reaction we may not like? Anyway, take a look.