| Chapter : | Introduction |
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Chapter 3, “Demonstrative Protest Rhetoric and the Boston Step It Up Campaign,” analyzes a Boston event to see whether and how the physical presence of people at the event sent a political message about climate change. Unfortunately, Prelli argues, SIU did not make a new movement visible to outside publics or politicians. Given this conclusion, he offers strategies that would more effectively use demonstrative rhetoric to draw media attention and build support for a movement. Chapter 4, “Step What Up? Rhetorical Framing and Dialectical Tensions in Salt Lake City's Step It Up Events,” considers the tensions and disconnects between organizers and participants at rallies; for example, the chapter identifies a disconnect between organizers who advertised a “concert” and some participants who sought a “protest.” Noting these tensions, the authors suggest how different rhetorical framing could help manage these tensions and more effectively draw diverse publics to future events.
Modes of Organizing
Each of the chapters in this section focuses on a distinct aspect of organizing. In chapter 5, “Organizing Step It Up 2007: Social Movement Organizations as Collective Resistance,” the authors consider the dynamics between national and local SIU organizers. By encouraging local organizers to take control over their actions, SIU avoided some common problems that established environmental organizations face. Yet, the lack of control created new dilemmas typical of loosely organized movements such as SIU. Reminding readers of the goals behind collective resistance, the authors suggest key themes that organizers must consider in structuring their efforts—even when advocates do not want to replicate traditional organizations.
Chapter 6, “Toward Just Climate-Change Coalitions: Challenges and Possibilities in the Step It Up 2007 Campaign,” builds on the discussion of the national-local dynamics to advocate that national organizers need to explicitly build coalitions with climate-justice groups nationally and create strategies for establishing connections with existing local organizations beyond an open invitation on the Internet. This advocacy stems from the authors' observations that climate-justice organizations,