Education and Climate Information
The Frog will explore The Climate Action Handbook: A Visual Guide to 100 Climate Solutions by Heidi Roop in the first 100 days of 2024
In the first `100 days of 2024 we will explore 100 climate solutions that may “empower you to evaluate, engage, and act” to address on-going climate change as an individual on your terms.
It doesn’t have to be like this. All we need to do is make sure we keep talking.
Pink Floyd – Keep Talking
We need to keep talking about climate change. I mean, you and me. Other voices like climate scientists and celebrities are often discounted when communicating about climate change. And it is the rare scientist that can distill the essence of a complex scientific concept into a message that is understandable and memorable let alone resonates enough to compel action.
Many of these visible voices, like Michael Mann, have been targets of prolonged attacks as part of a concerted effort to discredit them, and thus deflect the message. Often the message is muddled by the messenger, who may have ulterior motives or may have baggage that distracts enough to discount the message.
We need to reframe climate communication and make it more personal. Big, loud, punctuated arguments from the bully pulpit are not only difficult to mount, but will are likely to be tuned out by your audience, with the opportunity to persuade lost.
No, it is the quiet but steady and firm voices that will sway one to action. You should stop thinking of changing someone’s mind through cleverly crafted arguments delivered once, but rather engaging as many people as you can as often as you can, maybe based on your understanding of the scary facts of climate change, but always with a focus on action based on hope.
But research shows that while a majority of us recognize climate change as an urgent issue, we are not talking about it often enough:
But there is a way. The New York Times called Canadian climate scientist Katharine Hayhoe “one of the nation’s most effective communicators on climate change.” Her Ted Talk is profound and I urge you to take a moment to watch it. “The number one thing we can do to change the narrative on climate change”, she says “is the exact thing we are not doing – talk about it”.
The book A Climate Scientist’s Case for Hope and Healing in a Divided World by Katharine Hayhoe is well worth your time to read.
But it is hard to have heavy conversations about anything, let alone existential threats. We may avoid bringing it up because we may “underestimate pro-climate views of those around us and overestimate the amount of polarization between our views and others”. Maybe you don’t like confrontation. Maybe there never seems to be an opening. And it may seem like a daunting task if you feel like you have to be in command of all the facts before you open your mouth.
You don’t. Reflect on your values and what brought you to commit to say something. From there, make it personal and talk about how climate change is affecting you (or us) here and now in relevant ways.
As Heidi suggests, start with what you care about and look for the shared connection of us all being it in together. Her line “something you care about is at risk from climate change” is a tremendous way to initially engage. And be honest with what you hope for – for yourself, your family, your community, or other “aspect of life your hold dear that is threatened by climate change”.
The goal of the conversation is not to tell people about climate change, it’s to expand the number of people in the conversation. So my challenge to you is to talk about climate change with the people around you. Talk with them about why it matters and work together to find solutions that you can do on your own or with your community.
Katharine Hayhoe
Next Up: Climate Action Day 98: Get Social on Social Media
Howard Creel
#rescuethatfrog
Email: rescuethatfrog@gmail.com