'How to save a planet'
New study on public opinion about climate change, 'a story to save the world,' a new podcast on 'how to save the planet,' food sustainability communication, and more!
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A mid-week update on some environmental communication happenings!
What I’m reading:
A couple of new studies on climate communication:
#1: The first is a new study (or research update) – based on survey data collected by Stanford researchers since 1997 – about changes in American public opinion on climate change. Their findings?:
“More Americans than ever before consider [climate change] to be extremely important to them personally.”
But also, “The results from this survey illustrate that, despite numerous efforts over the past two decades to change public opinion, Americans’ views on climate change have been remarkably consistent.”
Read the findings and check out the interactive data tools here: Climate Insights 2020: Surveying American Public Opinion on Climate Change and the Environment.
#2: A new study that compares how top corporations in New Zealand, Australia and the Global Fortune 500 group communicate about climate science. Their findings?:
Most Global Fortune 500 companies do not explicitly mention agreement with climate science in their corporate communications. But they do talk a lot about “societal risks of climate change, as well as business contribution and responsibility.”
Corporations in New Zealand do poor in comparison to Australian corporations.
Some of the research I’m doing now looks into how corporations are communicating about the UN Sustainable Development Goals, big companies like Unilever and Pearson. How do these companies communicate their goals? How do they measure their progress? And are these just clever ploys at ‘greenspeak’ to greenwash their otherwise unsustainable business enterprises? Or are these companies actually contributing to substantive sustainable and equitable transformations of the global economy in line with what the SDGs call for? Just some questions I’ll be covering more in the future!
What I’m watching:
I’m always a bit wary of people who refer to themselves as thought leaders, but this clip of self-styled thought leader/comedian Russell Brand in conversation with Michael Meade, “mythologist, psychologist and anthropologist,” is worth checking out. Especially for environmental communicators interested in the underlying narratives that influence how we think, talk, and act in relation to our many global challenges.
Some background: Michael Meade writes and speaks about the relevance of mythology for understanding and tackling our social and ecological problems today. He started the Mosaic Multicultural Foundation to “support and educate at-risk youth, refugees, combat veterans, and communities in need.” In their conversation, Russell asks Meade if there is one story that can help us make sense of the myriad ecological and social predicaments we find ourselves right now:
What I’m Listening to:
One of the challenges with communicating monumental environmental crises like climate change, especially in the face of global inaction, is to find ways to communicate these crises without leaving people pessimistic, unsure how to act, and in a general state of unhelpful ‘climate anxiety.’ (On a side note, I reccomend checking out Emma Marris’ 5-step self-help guide on How to Stop Freaking Out and Tackle Climate Change).
Of course, recognizing the severity of the crisis we’re in, and taking full account of the reality of the urgency of the situation is crucial, but we also need positive stories of climate action that can help guide us out of this mess. Enter How to Save a Planet, a new podcast hosted by journalist Alex Bloomberg and marine biologist, science communicator, and overall amazing human being Dr. Ayana Elizabeth Johnson.
I’ve only listened to this one episode, but I’m looking forward to what’s in store: The Witch of Wind: How Somerset, MA went from a town of coal to a launching point for the burgeoning offshore wind industry.
Eco-Tool(s) I’m using:
Landscape Maps for Wildlife Conservation: I’ve been following the fascinating research and public outreach being done by the CONVIVA project for a while, and these maps are really cool public communication tools. Their main goal is to reconcile apex-predator conservation (wolves, lions, bears, jaguars) with economic development, a key goal of the UN Sustainable Development Goals. To do so, they are developing a range of neat tools for communicating their work to local communities who are often a bit hesitant about rehabilitating populations of these keystone predators. This blog post offers some behind the scenes insight into how map-making is an essential tool for this communication challenge.
Other ideas, news, and research in environmental Communication:
Organization: I’m a big fan of the advocacy work marine biologist Dr. Ayana Elizabeth Johnson does for the ocean, and here support for a ‘blue new deal.’ If you’re involved with any work related to the ocean (we all are in some way!), I recommend checking out her organization, Ocean Collectiv, which “creates and amplifies solutions for a healthy ocean. Our collaborative of experts supports clients in advancing ocean sustainability, grounded in social justice. We provide fresh ideas on policy, science, and commerce.
Environmental keyword: Use downcycle not recycle. This is a short but helpful explanation of what we get wrong when we use the word ‘recycle’: Written by Ph.D. stuent Anupriya Aggarwal, she argues that ‘recycling is a misnomer; call it ‘downcycling’: “let us start using the word ‘downcycling’ instead of recycling; because no matter how subtly, our vocabulary affects our perception of the ongoing environmental crisis.”
Food: We don’t talk enough about how the food we eat will be dramatically impacted by climate change in the coming years. So here are some stories that caught my attention: Vox recently put out a pretty terrifying explanatory video on the coming coffee crisis (a scary proposition for coffee addicts like me!).
Every Question About Sustainable Cooking, Answered by a Climate Change Expert.
Also, if you’re involved with work at the intersection of food and sustainability, consider attending, or even presenting at this upcoming online conference Communicating for Food Sustainability (deadline September 15).
Thanks so much for this mid-week update, if you found this useful consider commenting or sharing with someone who might find it useful too:) See you all Sunday,
Gavin