Changing Climate...Communicating Change
Have you heard about Climate Change this week? In the news, on the web, in a conversation? Communicating about climate change takes on many forms - comedy, news, statistics, web sites, blogs, word of mouth, class lectures, etc. In your experience, that is the most effective medium for communicating about climate change? What has impacted you the most, or what has been most useful for you in your outreach efforts? Include any examples or links you want us to know about.
posted by UVM Eco-Reps Program Coordinator @ 3:19 PM
36 Comments:
I have found the most informational information in my classes. I took a geology class where we discussed climate change and the earth's geological processes. We really focused on whether it is a cyclical process or whether humans are influencing climate change. I feel like I got the most accurate information from this. I also enjoy seeing documentaries about this subject. Many times through word of mouth I feel that I am not getting all of the facts.
Natalie Bishop
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I feel like most of the information I have heard has come from my classes. Being in the Rubenstein school, I have heard many discussions on climate change and have heard many speakers talk about the current changes. I really like that I have been able to learn so much and it feels much more reliable than from the media. I think the media does play a big part in how most people get their information though so it is important to make sure this stays as accurate as possible.
Alyssa Iveson
YES! I just saw this clip recently: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=faSi914TVhI (or just search Jon Richardson: Stand Up to Climate Change) and thought it was pretty funny. Its great to hear the audience laughing along and being on the same page as Richardson. There are definitely still places where he would be getting boo's instead of laughs. I think comedy is a great way to appeal to the masses on climate change because it is a pretty heavy issue and sometimes we need to laugh off the stress that comes with it. Also, in Unlearning Consumerism we looked at the artist Chris Jordan (chrisjordan.com) and he does some really cool stuff about waste that will make your jaw drop.
Most of the time I hear about climate change in my classes. I'm also in the Rubenstein School so a lot of my classes focus on climate change, environmental science, etc. I think classes, lectures, and seminars are a great way to educate people but most of the time only people interested in the subject will come. I find it frustrating that some people know so much about climate change and the issues surrounding it and other people are very uninformed. Classes and lectures are a good for helping those already in the know, but they aren't very good at getting more people involved. I think we should turn to the news more in an effort to better inform the general public.
So I agree with you guys, of course. I always leave frustrated when I'm talking to my buddies about environmental issues. I hope our whole generation hasn't been plagued with this do nothing attitude.
It seems to me that too often, global citizens with environmental awareness get pigeonholed into a certain niche. Its like a fashion statement. We listen to Phish, Yoga it up, and rarely waste time with expensive deoderant. While, yeah, I'm being simplistic and exaggerating... it's almost what we don't see what makes it.
And I'm not talking about news media here. When was the last time you saw Robert Pattinson take time to compost. Kate Moss riding a bike? Maybe she needs a little more protein first.
We need to consider these kinds of media, because they affect the (mostly uneducated) image of our generation's identity.
-Forrest
ave you heard about Climate Change this week? In the news, on the web, in a conversation? Communicating about climate change takes on many forms - comedy, news, statistics, web sites, blogs, word of mouth, class lectures, etc. In your experience, that is the most effective medium for communicating about climate change? What has impacted you the most, or what has been most useful for you in your outreach efforts? Include any examples or links you want us to know about.
In my experience the most effective medium for communicating climate change awareness has been through setting the example. Bringing my own bag, my own mug or my own silverware is an effectively passive way to spread the word through silent reminders versus in your face action.
When I see someone with a cool eco-gadget I often ask what it's for and where they got it, spreading the knowledge even further strictly through reference.
Livy
I have been hearing most about climate change in one of my extra credit classes. It is the solutions seminars on Tuesdays at 11:30 in Aiken 104. All of the talks so far have been very interesting and very insightful. Last Tuesday we got to hear from the founders of 350.org, which was super cool. It is great to see young people with an idea going out and making so make change around the world, even in countries that you would normally not expect. There was one women in Iraq that even was apart of the 350.org Day for Climate CHange, which was Oct. 24th. It is a very interesting seminar and I suggest it to all eco-reps.
genna waldvogel
This week I have heard about climate change in every single one of my classes, which I find strange considering that doesn't typically happen for classes outside of the Environmental program in my past experience. It continues to be an issue with social, environmental and economic effects, so I am definitely glad to be hearing about it, both from my professors and my peers. The most effective ways I have seen to communicate about climate change are when potential futures are pointed out, or when the withheld studies confirming the changes are shown to the public. It seems like a shock and awe tactic can be effective, but only in moderation, so I would say respectful word of mouth is the best method.
I've also found that my classes have been the most informative means for me to learn about climate change. I think the style in a classroom is largely beneficial because of the (usually) scientific nature of the presentation of facts. Another place where information is coming at us a lot is the media, which can be great (for getting people who don't take classes about the environment) except that it seems like on the news, scientific information usually spends the least time on air as opposed to arguments and opinions. Movies and documentaries are also pretty good for conveying information (if they are factual).
I think face-to-face conversation can be very influential for raising awareness and sparking interest, but it can be dangerous if you don't have statistics memorized and someone walks away thinking they "won" an argument against it.
-Laura D.
I think that by seeing other people acting in environmentally friendly ways, it is the best way to get others to follow. By carrying your own mug, silverware, and water bottle, you are setting an example. I also think that even seeing things such as Planet Earth opened my eyes as to what we could be losing.
-Olivia McGee
I think the most important way to communicate climate is not only showing the causes and effects of it, but also how we can stop it in its tracks. From talking to people, I’ve found that the climate change conversation often leads to a depressed state because they think we’re on a one way track. In the Rubenstein School my most influential classes include the solutions aspect of this field. It’s easy to talk about our problems, but few people want to sit down and collaborate solutions.
-Cassie McGoldrick
With the bizarre weather we've had in Burlington i.e. no snow while D.C. gets a blizzard and its February (?!), I feel like I have been hearing a lot of people freaking out and actually blaming the changing climate. What's funny is that it's been coming from people who I bet otherwise wouldn't discuss such a topic or even really know much about it. Since climate change has become so present in the media, it is finally becoming a common term and an somewhat understood concept. I think it is great that people are actually making connections whereas a few years ago the same people may not have thought twice about the climate, even though it was in just as bad of shape. It is too bad that people are just beginning to recognize the changes now, but hopefully the publicity and almost glamour of knowing what is going on with our planet will prove that people didn't start talking too late.
I feel like a lot of the information I have learned about climate change has been through school. Also reading articles in newspapers like the New York Times seems to address the topic as well. In school I like to learn about the topic because the information seems fresh and then I feel like I'm able to share it with other peers of mine. -Molly Wallner
Most of the factual information I learn about climate change comes from the classes I take and from articles or website. Sometimes the news can be pretty bias or only focus on extremes to get public attention so it can be a little misleading. Its also interesting when friends and family members views on climate change come out in conversation, since sometimes the facts they think are true are actually not or are just not as cut and dry as they see them. Although the facts might not always be true in these types of conversations they really give you a sense of how people in general perceive climate change.
Meghan Arpino
Most of the information I hear and that really sticks with me is shocking statistics about how the world/ environment is changing because of climate change. Things like, Florida will be underwater, how alot of plants and animals are migrating because of weather pattern shift and the warming oceans and ice caps, etc.... Statistics like this, because they are such large scale make me realize that this is really happening.
Zoe Hoffman
It surprised me to hear about climate change during the Olympics however I saw a commercial/interview about polar bears and the tourism around their habit. While that might seem like the opposite of climate change per say it really brought to my attention the influence that tourism could have on the sharing of information about climate change as the polar bear's habitat is obviously suffering from it. It was touched on during the commercial/interview as well and being on during the Olympics I think that would definitely have reached a large audience.
Personally I've always responded well to facts about climate change and statistics that pertain to different locations or groups of people that were being affected. Also in relation to how climate change would impact daily life I think that would be a good way to reach students at UVM in a more long-standing way.
I think it's great that Allie mentioned talks of climate change due to the bizarre weather. I was just thinking about that today because of the sun shining so brightly and really making the middle of February feel like the first day of Spring. It is shocking to not feel that bitter cold that Vermonters are so used to in the Winter months. The irony is that at the same time, many skeptics of climate change like to use bizarre weather to their advantage, pointing out that so much snowfall in other parts of the East are clear signs that climate change is a myth after all. It's obviously an unprecedented, ridiculous argument, as the extreme snowfall is just another example of bizarre climatic changes. In the past week, I've probably talked about climate change in many of my classes, especially my Environmental Studies ones. It is frightening, though, that a lot of people have become desensitized to the topic because we hear about it so much.
-Anya Gedrath-Smith
I agree with what many of you have been saying about picking up a lot of our factual information in the classes we're taking, but what about people who don't take those classes? This stuff rarely, if ever, comes up in engineering courses, and most of us don't take a single environmental studies course in our time here. That said, I think that living in a community where people fill their bookbags to the brim with jars and mugs, where coffee (and water) is actually cheaper if you byo-mug, is tremendously influential. Not only here, but those influences will carry on outside of the University as well.
rachel
In my experience, documentaries have really given me a lot of information and made the biggest impression. From the typical Inconvenient Truth to The 11th Hour to even Food Inc. which does address food systems related problems to climate change, movies are my favorite source of climate change information. It seems that films make me realize the quickest how dire our situation is and how we need to start making changes in our every day lives all of the time. Also films are more interesting to me than boring text books and long lectures (the picture and sound component doesn't hurt either).
Samantha Rothberg
I first knew about the climate change from a TV documentary. I guess I was less than ten years old. At that time documentary programs were such a big source of information, but now, as the term "climate change" became widely known and could be even could be made a joke about it and it is hard to get very useful information from documentary programs. I find my classes very informational, too. Especially, the geology class I am taking this semester makes me think about "climate change" that is often said to driven by human activities. From the records, it really looks like the "climate change" now we are talking about is just a part of the climate cycle...although I know I will still keep believing in the environmentally destructive "climate change."
-Kazuha
I first knew about the climate change from a TV documentary. I guess I was less than ten years old. At that time documentary programs were such a big source of information, but now, as the term "climate change" became widely known and could be even could be made a joke about it and it is hard to get very useful information from documentary programs. I find my classes very informational, too. Especially, the geology class I am taking this semester makes me think about "climate change" that is often said to driven by human activities. From the records, it really looks like the "climate change" now we are talking about is just a part of the climate cycle...although I know I will still keep believing in the environmentally destructive "climate change."
-Kazuha
Like many of you guys, I think most of the information I get about climate change and the environment is from my classes. In one of my ENSC classes we get scientific and current event information from the professor, and then we discuss it as a class. This allows a lot of viewpoints, opinions and obscure facts to be brought to my knowledge and others. I try to read the news and keep up with what is going on around the world outside of class too, but sometimes it's hard with all the going ons of school!
Anna Speidel
With information about climate change, I feel the most I hear about it is in classes and by word of mouth. Being an environmental studies major, some of the main focuses in my classes is climate change. I have also recently seen many television ads about products going green, like for example a potato chip bag made completely of plant products. I think the climate change issue is growing fast.
This semester I have heard a lot of arguments between those who believe in local movements to fight climate change and those who think the answers lie solely in international forums. I don't know why they aren't talked about hand-in-hand. A reading for one class said something along the lines of, You can't think sustainable unless you think local, and another class emphasized global cooperation. I think arguments between the two points of view are counterproductive and silly; I think both sides need to work together!
Also, Saleem Ali (my ENVS prof) has been providing me with a very realistic take on climate change. He believes that the current economic, political, and social paradigms are NOT "evil" and can be harnessed to solve climate change. While the idea of a paradigm shift is certainly interesting, I think telling people that they need to fundamentally change who and how they are makes our movement more difficult.
So for me, the most productive effective ways to talk about climate change are to take into account many points of view, and to be realistic when educating people about the climate movement.
For me, one-on-one interaction in person is the best way to get people moving toward being greener. I never cared about the environment until a friend (Joanie Stultz, to be specific) led me by example and by enthusiasm into caring about the impact of my actions in that sense.
In my outreach efforts, I find that informing friends of my commitment to the environment and that by instructing them (nicely, of course) in how to do things like compost or recycle has made the most influence on them. A lot of my friends that would not normally care about their environmental impact are starting to notice, and it's no longer just when I remind them to take care of waste properly or the like. It's really quite heartening.
I think the most effective strategy for communicating climate change is comedy. Well, I feel that way for most political issues. Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert have a marvelous way of pointing out how ridiculously stupid it is to not believe in climate change (or evolution, or gay marriage, or...). Okay, so they don't give you all of the facts: how does climate change work, why does it work, what causes it, how big of an impact will it have, which parts of the world will it effect most, how can we prevent it, etc. But we learn enough of that through classes, and by reading or watching TV programs about it. By "we" of course, I mean "people who care about climate change." People who care about climate change will learn about it and learn what they can do to prevent it. People who don't care are not going to read articles about it or take classes, and they'll probably just change the channel if there's a program giving scientific information about it. But, perhaps if a very funny man or woman makes you laugh hysterically about climate change, then perhaps you will acquire an interest. Or maybe you won't. Either way, its funny, and that's probably the most important thing.
Emily
Today in one of my non-environmental/natural resource related classes, someone made a scenario involving "global warming". I'm pretty sure he didn't realize it, but global warming and climate change are two completely different terms. On one hand I'm excited that people are hearing more information about the subject; on the other hand, it irks me as to how often people use these two terms interchangeably. Does anyone else feel this way?
-Federica Wade
I'm not really sure of the best way to get information about climate change. I think that the way I have gotten the most reliable facts and information have been in classes, or in a documentary. However, that being said, I was in the class or watched the documentary because I am interested in climate change. Word of mouth is, I think the most effective way to arouse people's attention, especially those who often do not know about the topic at hand. After the initial word of mouth about climate change, interest in the subject will then build, and then they will seek out finding more, reliable information on the subject.
Also, I thought this cartoon would really hit home for us this winter. http://www.open2.net/blogs/media/blogs/skiingholiday_cartoon.gif
I must admit that I haven't heard much about climate change recently. My classes aren't really geared toward environmental awareness, therefore I don't get much of it in the classroom. However, the other day in my statistics class we did watch a clip from the tonight show, or something like that, about jumping to outrageous conclusions from one simple fact. The clip showed a spoof weather report from Washington D.C. in which the reporter claimed that climate change and global warming was all a lie because it was snowing in D.C. in february. Although the clip was meant as a joke, apparently many have been saying that because of unusual amounts of snow down south climate change isn't actually true. This way of thinking has reminded me that many people aren't presented with the facts. I think that the use of funny clips, or short interesting segments on TV may help to raise awareness and get people interested in seeking out the true facts about climate change. I feel that these forms of media (particularly late night comedy television) may be effective in reaching people that haven't learned much about climate change in their lives. Here's the clip if you're interested:
http://www.repoweramerica.org/climate-change-causes-severe-weather/
(starts at 4 minutes or so)
Alayna Howard
I must admit that I haven't heard much about climate change recently. My classes aren't really geared toward environmental awareness, therefore I don't get much of it in the classroom. However, the other day in my statistics class we did watch a clip from the tonight show, or something like that, about jumping to outrageous conclusions from one simple fact. The clip showed a spoof weather report from Washington D.C. in which the reporter claimed that climate change and global warming was all a lie because it was snowing in D.C. in february. Although the clip was meant as a joke, apparently many have been saying that because of unusual amounts of snow down south climate change isn't actually true. This way of thinking has reminded me that many people aren't presented with the facts. I think that the use of funny clips, or short interesting segments on TV may help to raise awareness and get people interested in seeking out the true facts about climate change. I feel that these forms of media (particularly late night comedy television) may be effective in reaching people that haven't learned much about climate change in their lives. Here's the clip if you're interested:
http://www.repoweramerica.org/climate-change-causes-severe-weather/
(starts at 4 minutes or so)
Alayna Howard
I have found that lessons within the classroom are the most effective way of sending a message. Probably second to that would be Word of Mouth; as we tend to listen to our peers much more than authoritative figures. While perhaps it is not a full picture, it can certainly lead one to seek further information from a 'specialist' or dig deeper to find more.
While I do not hear about climate change directly in any of my classes, an accounting professor of mine will occasionally read the Wall Street Journal at the beginning of class. Sometimes there is an article relating to climate change or the environment. It makes for an interesting discussion if even just for five minutes.
-Brian S.
Of all generations, i believe the current one we are in could be referred to as the Green Generation.
And with the bizarre weather patterns the east coast has been experiencing this winter, climate change is certainly a common discussion topic.
In fact, the Women's Ultimate Frisbee team attended a tournament in Virgina two weekends from now and were utterly speechless about the amount of snow present in the south compared to the north. Due to this news, I almost gave up hope in Vermont until last Wednesday's quintessential snowfall that occurred all day long.
In my experience, the most effective medium for communicating about climate change has been word of mouth due to the vast perspectives each individual holds and willingly shares to their peers. This has impacted me most as well since it is always a delight to understand other viewpoints and to gain open-mindedness.
After all, people should learn to become better listeners. Then, better practices and habits result and the degradation of our only home, the Earth, could be spared a bit longer. That is, until the human impact which resulted climate change in the beginning accumulates far too much. Then, everything will plummet from there on since nature always wins in the end.
-anne chan.
One medium that effectively highlighted the here-and-now of climate change and that carried a message that I think of every day was a short film that I watched about the effect of climate change on skiing. It was effective in communicating about climate change because it had information that was particularly relevant to my personal interests and moved me to act. It also highlighted local as well as universal effects. The film is called "Generations" and it is presented by the organizations "Protect Our Winters" and Teton Gravity Research, among others. It can be viewed at this website -- http://www.tetongravity.com/generations/
- Madison Gilmore
i have found that the best way to spread awareness about Climate Change is through film. Specifically movies like an Inconvenient Truth, were extremely moving and spark conversation about climate change. This specific movie is often referred to when discussing climate change as well and provides visual representation of the affects of climate change. These visual representations are very powerful.
-Liz
As many have already said, I have found that the most effective medium of communicating climate change has been my classes. I first learned about global warming in my sixth grade science class, and many classes since then have touched upon a similar topic. This is a good way to learn because you can be sure of getting pretty accurate information--at least, as accurate as you can get. I've also read extensively on the subject, either through research for classes or in the newspaper. The problem with web sites/newspapers is that there is no such thing as complete neutrality--you have to be really careful to determine the bias of the article, etc before blindly believing it to be true. I also think documentaries are a good way of communicating climate change. Another problem, as with pretty much anything, is preaching to the choir. The things i have been describing so far work well for people like us eco-reps who already understand that we are facing a climate crisis, but it's difficult to find things that really reach out to the broader community. A really catchy video on youtube would probably be super effective but I definitely wouldn't be the person to do that.
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