Most in science knew this - exaggeration tends to whittle away at the trust level of the public - and a UC Berkeley study set out to determine which worked better, data or dire, in changing hearts and minds about global warming.

The result; they found if scientists and advocates communicate their findings regarding climate change in less apocalyptic ways, and present solutions to global warming, even skeptics can get past their skepticism.

But dire or emotionally charged warnings about the consequences of global warming can backfire if presented too negatively, making people less amenable to reducing their carbon footprint, according to new research from the University of California, Berkeley team.