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Planet Now
Blog on Effective Environmental Communication
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I recently had a minor identity crisis. After years of identifying as a Type One (the Reformer) on the Enneagram test, I realized I may now be a Type Five (the Investigator)! The Enneagram system categorizes people into nine personality types based on their worldviews and emotions. I was assigned to take the test for The Branding of Me class (for which I’m writing this blog) at the UNC Hussman School of Journalism and Media. While I’ve been interested in personality type tests like the Enneagram for years, even teaching a Splash UNC course about them to high schoolers, I decided to take it again for fun. I figured I would get Type One like I always had. This time, though, Type Five appeared as my top Enneagram type. At first, I blamed my “incorrect” answer on being tired and taking the test right before going to bed. Upon closer look at the description, I realized Type Five is actually a good fit. Type Five describes people who are curious, independent problem-solvers. They spend a lot of time (sometimes too much time) deep in thought. What really stood out to me about the Enneagram Institute’s description of Type Five is that their key motivations are “to possess knowledge, to understand the environment, [and] to have everything figured out as a way of defending the self from threats from the environment.” While this description was likely referring to a person’s surroundings (school, work, etc.), it aligned exactly with what I’ve been doing in school the past five years. I’ve been studying environmental issues, especially climate change, to figure out how to mitigate this problem and its devastating effects. I’ve found strategic communication as a solution and have continued to study it so I can advocate for slowing climate change and its threats. Until now, I’ve confidently identified with Type One as someone who cares a lot about doing what is right and creating justice in the world. We are perfectionists, sometimes to a fault. The “sense of mission” that is common for this type definitely relates to my goal to help solve climate change and reduce environmental injustices. I still think Type One can be a fit for me - most people find that they fit with multiple Enneagram types! Each type takes on the characteristics of another type when stressed or growing. An interesting connection is that the Type One acts like a Type Seven when experiencing growth. The Type Five acts like a Type Seven when experiencing stress. I thought that reviewing the Type Seven personality type and seeing whether it better matches a growing or stressed version of myself might help me compare my two types. Reading the description of that type - someone who is spontaneous, extroverted, and optimistic - seemed much more like a growing than stressed version of myself, making me feel more like a Type One. Ultimately, I plan to keep learning about both Type One and Type Five and seeing what personal insight they can give me, whether about my career or life in general. Enneagrams are valuable because they help us reflect on ourselves, our strengths, and areas for growth. They can also influence how we feel about climate change and the types of messages that resonate with us. I wrote more about connecting Enneagram types to environmental messaging in a previous blog post.
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When we are talking about environmental issues, whether with friends or in mass media, we should use the terms that most effectively encourage our audience to care about the environment and act to protect it. The Yale Program on Climate Change Communication (YPCCC) recently studied the terms that Americans use to refer to “carbon emissions.” It tested the difference in reactions to the following terms: “greenhouse gas emissions,” “carbon emissions,” and “carbon pollution.” It found that the latter two terms are better for getting Americans to understand climate impacts even if the first is technically more correct since it is inclusive of greenhouse gases besides carbon. YPCCC also compared the effectiveness of the terms “climate change” and “extreme weather.” In summary, the better term to use varied by the audience. “Climate change” was more likely than “extreme weather” to encourage actions to prepare for climate change among politically liberal audiences. “Extreme weather” was a better option for encouraging conservative audiences to take action, like creating emergency preparedness kits. Moreover, public opinion analyst Frank Luntz has shared terms that focus groups have shown to encourage people to take climate action: My takeaway from these recommendations is that we should focus on terms that are positive (like “solving”) and avoid terms that are overused (like “state of the art”). It is certain that climate change has negative impacts and some of those impacts are already happening, so it makes sense to use “consequences” rather than “threats.” The best terms can be very specific for different purposes and audiences, so these recommendations are not to say that you should never use the above “lose” terms.
Most surprising to me is “principles and priorities” being better than “values.” I have studied the importance of connecting climate change to people’s values, and now I may switch the terminology that I typically use to match that recommendation. Do any of these “use” terms surprise you? From heat waves to hurricanes and their inequitable impacts, climate change is already harming our planet and communities. However, it is not a salient news topic in many Americans’ lives. A 2021 Yale Program on Climate Change Communication survey found that just 33% of American adults hear about global warming in the media at least once per week.
At the same time, 58% of Americans reported being alarmed or concerned about climate change in 2021. While many people are aware that the issue is serious, it can feel like the issue is not getting enough attention or action, which might increase feelings of hopelessness and climate anxiety. Fortunately, there is an increasing amount of content about climate change. The Media and Climate Change Observatory, based at University of Colorado Boulder, actually found that 2021 had more climate news than any other year. (Of course, with abundant climate disinformation, not all media about climate change is good.) The New York Times covers several climate change stories per week. I like to receive their regular notifications of climate news, even if the news itself is negative. A recent article featured two climate activists, Bill McKibben and Xiye Bastida, discussing the future of the environmental movement. While The New York Times is behind a paywall, Grist is a great spot to visit for articles centering climate justice. This outlet connects climate change to different topics that matter to audiences. A recent article shared five ways climate change made life more expensive. You could share it with a cost-conscious friend who is open to understanding climate change but not yet particularly engaged with the issue. HEATED is a newsletter by reporter Emily Atkin. It holds companies and politicians accountable for their contributions to climate change and climate disinformation. I’d recommend subscribing to it to learn about topics like greenwashing and how you can help the climate crisis. Moreover, I was excited to see a climate reporter, Liz MacLaughlin, start working at my local news station, WRAL. The station commonly covers climate stories on topics like clean energy and sea level rise in the Outer Banks. These sources are just a few of many places to learn about climate change. I recommend you look at these resources and share them with friends to help them stay informed as well as equipped to advocate for climate solutions themselves. Comment below with your favorite sources to keep up-to-date on climate stories and solutions! In a 2021 poll, the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication found that only 47% of Americans think climate change will harm them personally. A strategy for effective climate communication is showing people how climate change will likely affect them. One impact of climate change that will probably affect most people is the reduced availability of some foods and drinks. What we eat and drink is a core part of our lifestyles. Showing people how climate change, mainly caused by burning fossil fuels, threatens this part of our lives can help them understand why it is important to slow the problem. Then they may take steps themselves to slow the problem. Here are some foods and drinks that climate change could limit: Chocolate Drought is a growing problem in West Africa, where more than half of the world’s cocoa is grown. As climate change reduces humidity in this region, less land will be suitable for growing cocoa. Less cocoa means less chocolate. Health-conscious people may not be concerned about less chocolate, but communication with them could include health benefits of dark chocolate. For example, it has several vitamins and reduces people’s risk of heart disease and diabetes. Potatoes Do you like mashed potatoes or french fries? Hot temperatures and dry weather make potatoes more difficult to grow and can give them unattractive bumps and dark spots that consumers do not prefer to purchase. The good news is that scientists are creating new potato varieties that are more resilient to weather changes, showing the importance of research to help agriculture adapt to climate change! People should still be aware that climate change affects common foods like potatoes. Not all food has the option for resistant varieties. Also, hurricanes can destroy sweet potato farms. North Carolina is the top producer of sweet potatoes in the United States. Hurricane Florence, which climate change likely worsened, washed away the majority of some farmers’ sweet potatoes in North Carolina in 2018. Fish Shockingly, climate change could cause 60% of fish species to go extinct by 2100. It is already harming fish like salmon by creating ocean acidification that kills their food. Lowered fish availability is a problem since about 3 billion people rely on seafood for protein. Coffee Coffee is a necessity in the diets of many college students and workers, but high temperatures and precipitation have caused spores to grow on coffee plants. The spores have prevented coffee berries from growing, especially in Central and South America. The spread of these spores could reduce land suitable for coffee production by 50% by 2050. Wine Climate change leads to wildfires that threaten vineyards in regions like California, Australia, and Spain, which are known for producing wine. Even distant wildfires can cause wine to have a smoky taste. These foods and drinks are just some popular sources of fuel for our bodies that climate change threatens. Other foods that climate change may make less available include rice, almonds, peaches, and cranberries. In North Carolina, climate impacts like heat, droughts, and floods have already destroyed crops like corn, soybean, and wheat, causing these industries to lose hundreds of millions of dollars. The supply of food is not the only challenge. As the world population grows, demand for food will increase, which could also increase the costs of food. Do you want to keep these foods and drinks readily available? Have conversations with family and friends about climate change and how it affects food. Vote for politicians who take climate change seriously. Support companies and brands that are sustainable. Join environmental organizations; they can connect you with resources to write letters to lawmakers. While climate change is already happening, the extent of the impacts depends on how much our society continues to contribute to the problem by burning fossil fuels. We can still fight to protect our environment—and our food.
Like many young adults, I enjoy taking personality tests. What can they teach us about communication to help the environment? The Enneagram is one personality test that can provide insight about the types of messages that resonate with us and other people.
The Enneagram system categorizes people into nine personality types based on their worldviews and emotions. The lines in the chart below connect each Enneagram type to two other types that represent how they act when they are experiencing personal growth or stress. For example, a person who is an Achiever becomes like a Loyalist when growing and becomes like a Peacemaker when stressed. Learn more about Enneagram types here. It is not necessary to understand all the details of the Enneagram to use it as a communication tool. The important part is that these personality categories show there are many ways for people to think, so different messages will motivate people to protect the environment. The Enneagram could be beneficial if you plan to communicate about climate change with an individual and know that person’s Enneagram type. You could find ways to connect to that person based on the characteristics of their personality. Even if you are communicating with many people at once, you can still consider how information will resonate with people of different Enneagram types. Here are some ways Enneagram types may respond to communication about climate change: 1. Reformers are rational and principled. They may engage with content about the reasons people, businesses and governments are responsible for mitigating climate change. As a Reformer myself, I like how Dr. Katharine Hayhoe’s book Saving Us explains how people can communicate about industries causing climate change in order to encourage policy changes. Recognizing my Enneagram type reminds me that accountability is a topic that appeals to me but may not appeal to all Enneagram types. 2. Helpers are caring and generous. Messages about climate threats people face and how to help could appeal to this group. 3. Achievers care about success and images. They may engage with information about climate careers or ways to make lifestyle changes that align with images of being sustainable. 4. Individualists are sensitive and expressive. Emotional imagery could be an effective way to reach this group. For example, images or videos of animals suffering from heat could motivate Individualists to fight climate change.
A polar bear looks for food in the Canadian Arctic in 2017. It struggles to find food since climate change has melted ice that it needs to catch seals. This video could appeal to an Individualist.
5. Investigators are intense and innovative. Information about entrepreneurial initiatives to solve climate change could engage this group and motivate them to find more solutions.
6. Loyalists are committed and responsible. Effective communication with this group could focus on showing them ways they can commit to climate advocacy, like volunteering for environmental organizations. 7. Enthusiasts love to be busy and have fun. Communication efforts could show them how they can use their time to mitigate climate change in enjoyable ways, like attending protests with friends or volunteering at community gardens. 8. Challengers love power and confrontation. Effective climate communication could show this group how they can confront the powerful oil and gas industry to encourage a transition to cleaner energy sources. 9. Peacemakers are easygoing and agreeable. They could be successful at connecting with people who disagree with them about climate change. Effective communication with this group could teach them how to talk with others to help more people understand climate change. This approach is out of this world! Of course, people do not fit perfectly into Enneagram categories, and there is no guarantee that a message will appeal to someone because they received a certain Enneagram result. The Enneagram is still a unique way for someone to understand how others may view the world differently. It could help people get creative with generating new ideas and strategies for communicating about climate change. Your turn! I encourage you to take the free Enneagram test if you have not taken it before. Once you have your result, read the description about your Enneagram type and reflect on how it affects the ways you communicate. Answer the poll to share your Enneagram type! Since many young adults feel concerned about climate change, it is comforting to see a climate scientist expressing hope. I recently read Dr. Katharine Hayhoe’s book Saving Us: A Climate Scientist’s Case for Hope and Healing in a Divided World. In the book, Hayhoe clearly explains the science of climate change and why it is a serious problem already harming the planet. However, she shares several communications strategies that show readers how to successfully encourage people in their lives to help slow the problem. Hayhoe is Chief Scientist for The Nature Conservancy and a professor at Texas Tech University. She is a co-author of three other books and released Saving Us in September 2021. Saving Us is unique because Hayhoe shares her personal experiences as an evangelical Christian advocating to protect the environment. “Evangelical Christian” is probably not the first description that comes to mind when people think about a leader in climate advocacy. In fact, Hayhoe refers to an October 2020 poll that found white evangelical Christians tend to be less worried about climate change than people from other combinations of racial and religious groups in the United States. In her book, Hayhoe explains how she uses her religion to connect with people who do not think climate change is a serious problem. To reach other evangelical Christians, she tells them that climate change disproportionately harms people who are poor, hungry and sick and that the Bible instructs people to care for others in need. Hayhoe finds that connecting with people over their shared faith leads them to trust her and begin to recognize the problem of climate change. Hayhoe’s experiences teach an important communications strategy: people should find ways to connect to others’ values in order to be trusted messengers about climate change. Religion is not always a shared value, but people could connect over other values, such as the economy and justice. In addition to connecting with people through religious faith, Hayhoe maintains faith that people can reduce the impacts of climate change with quick action. She explains that she feels hopeful when she sees kids leading climate strikes. As a climate scientist, she understands the serious threats and consequences of climate change, so it is meaningful that she nevertheless has hope for mitigating the problem. Her hope gives me confidence that it is worthwhile to talk about climate change and take individual actions, like composting. Hayhoe explains that there is not one single solution to climate change but a variety of small solutions, reminding me that every small reduction in greenhouse gas emissions could reduce the severity of climate impacts, including natural disasters. The combination of unique personal experiences and hope makes me give the book a 10/10 rating! I have read several books about the environment, but this book stands out because Hayhoe’s positivity made me feel motivated to continue advocating for the planet. The communications strategies in Saving Us closely align with the strategies I describe in my book Planet Now, although Hayhoe and I write about different individual experiences with advocacy. If you have enjoyed this blog and my book, you should find reading Saving Us to be an intriguing way to continue learning how to slow climate change using strategic communication. To learn more about Hayhoe’s work and communications strategies, follow her on Twitter and listen to her TED Talk: Hayhoe explains the importance of science communication to show people how they can help solve climate change. She spoke at a November 2018 TED Talk in Palm Springs, California.
Being part of Generation Z often means loving TikTok, wearing oversized clothing and feeling terrified of climate change. If you resonate with that last part, you may wonder why some people say they believe climate change is happening but still do not take steps to help the environment. A strategy for communicating about the environment is to connect the impacts of climate change to a person’s values. Speaking of TikTok, this strategy will help you keep “Pushin’ P” as you work to protect the earth that you value. Connecting climate to communities, justice and the economy are just a few ways to help people realize they should care about climate change. Communities People tend to view climate change as a distant threat in time and space, but it is already affecting many communities. For example, climate change has caused sea level rise at the Outer Banks in North Carolina. Even small storms flood the roads. Residents may have to move away or pay significant property taxes for new infrastructure. Flood insurance rates are high, which can make the area unaffordable. Climate communicators should help people see how climate change is a problem here and now since it harms communities in people’s home states or areas where they like to take vacations. Justice Some people may not realize that protecting the environment is about protecting people. Climate injustices occur when impacts of climate change do not affect all people equally. These injustices take many forms. Wealthy people are responsible for more carbon emissions because they tend to buy more items and travel more often than others, but they have more money to evacuate during climate-related natural disasters. Younger people, over their lifetimes, will experience more of the climate impacts that older people caused by emitting greenhouse gases throughout their lifetimes. Communities of color often face more risks from air pollution compared to white communities as a result of a history of residential segregation and unequal access to health care. Climate change worsens air pollution in these communities. Reducing greenhouse gas emissions to slow climate change will help create a just society. Environmental communicators should discuss these injustices to show that caring about climate change means caring about people. The Economy If people value a healthy economy, they should know that climate change could cost the United States $1.9 trillion each year by 2100. Major reasons for this cost include hurricane damage, real estate destruction, increased energy demand and limited water supply. Damage from Hurricane Florence cost North Carolina $22 billion in 2018. Some people think climate policies will hurt the economy, but reducing climate impacts saves individuals, governments and businesses money over time. When someone says they think climate policies will hurt the economy, make sure they understand that failing to slow climate change will have huge economic costs. Your Turn!
Do not feel discouraged if that person does not immediately express more concern about climate change. Recognizing connections between climate change and values could make that person pay more attention to climate news and care more over time. Eventually, they may explore ways they can help solve climate change. If you use this strategy, share your experience in a comment below! If you have not talked with someone yet, you can also share ways you plan to help them understand connections between climate change and their values. From arguments over COVID-19 vaccines to debates about different ways to respond to climate change, people often disagree about policies in the United States. Climate change is polarizing since more Democrats than Republicans think the federal government should take further steps to slow the problem. Have Americans ever come together to protect the environment? Yes, partly thanks to Rachel Carson! Carson was a marine biologist who studied human impacts on wildlife. In the mid-twentieth century, people used pesticides like DDT to grow crops and kill insects that could cause disease. However, Carson found that these pesticides had tragic consequences. These pesticides killed birds and could cause cancer in humans. Carson faced challenges communicating these dangers to the public because she was battling breast cancer and knew that chemical companies would attack her for sharing the dangers of their products. Nevertheless, Carson published the book Silent Spring in 1962 to call attention to the need to limit harmful chemicals in the environment. She claimed that chemical companies had spread disinformation about pesticides to make them seem safe when they are deadly. (Disinformation is incorrect information that has been intentionally spread.) As Carson expected, chemical companies attacked her, saying she was spreading disinformation and that people should not listen to a woman. Carson’s personality was as calm and quiet as the waters she studied, so it might be surprising that her written voice captured the attention of Americans. The book helped Americans understand the dangers present in the environment, leading to bipartisan support for policies protecting the environment. Carson targeted housewives, who had various political views, because many of them had seen dead wildlife in their yards and might experience moral concern about the dangers of pesticides to people. Carson died of breast cancer (possibly as a result of working with pesticides) in 1964, just two years after publishing Silent Spring, but her writing led to an environmental revolution. In 1970, President Richard Nixon established the Environmental Protection Agency and Congress passed the Clean Air Act. In 1972, the Environmental Protection Agency banned DDT and Congress passed the Clean Water Act. In some ways, the debate about pesticides in the 1960s is similar to the debate about climate change today. Fossil fuel companies attack environmental scientists who write about the threats of climate change for humans. These companies spread disinformation to make people think climate change is not as big of a threat as scientists say. Polarization around the environment has made an increased awareness of science less likely to make people support environmental policies. Rachel Carson’s work is one of the reasons I became interested in environmental communications. When I was in high school, I did a project about her life and impact on the environment. I realized that writing about the environment to make people aware of problems is a way to encourage change.
Given Carson’s contribution to the environmental movement, climate advocates should know her story and share it with other people who may wonder about the importance of environmental communication. I am thankful that Carson helped the American public understand the dangers of pesticides despite knowing that she would receive criticism from chemical companies. Perhaps Carson’s story will encourage more people to advocate for slowing climate change and see that it is possible to bring people together to protect the environment like Silent Spring did. The following documentary segment from PBS provides a further look at Carson’s life and the battles she faced when communicating about environmental dangers. Discussions about climate change with friends and family members can lead to frustration if those people do not trust climate science. However, a March 2021 report from the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication said 70% of Americans think that climate change is happening and only 15% of Americans deny that climate change is happening (other Americans are undecided). Instead of spending time and energy attempting to convince people about climate facts, environmental communicators should show those people who already trust climate science how to take steps to slow the problem. To encourage people to make environmentally friendly decisions in their own lives, environmental communicators can share stories about why they care about the environment and the steps they are taking to protect it. For example, I began caring about human impacts on the environment as a kid when I saw neighborhoods replace forests in my rapidly growing hometown of Apex, North Carolina. My concern about climate change led me to start an environmental club at my high school and study the environment in college. I was shocked to learn that the world’s oceans will likely have more plastic than fish by 2050! Now that I am older, I recognize that sometimes people need to cut down trees for homes and that trees probably once stood in the same spot as my own home. Nevertheless, my experience seeing deforestation helped me realize that humans should be careful about how they affect the environment, especially when polluting oceans or releasing greenhouse gas emissions that cause climate change and its devastating consequences, including severe hurricanes, wildfires and droughts. Why should you read my advice about environmental communication? I am in the Environment and Science Communication dual-degree program at the Hussman School of Journalism and Media at UNC-Chapel Hill. Through this program, I have taken several courses in environmental science, environmental policy, sustainability and communication. In September 2020, I published a book called Planet Now: Effective Strategies for Communicating about the Environment. My next goal is to use this blog to share strategies from my classes and research to help people learn how to effectively communicate about the environment to slow climate change. Some people may not have personal stories about climate change, but they could use several other strategies to communicate about the environment. These strategies can help them influence other people to take steps to reduce climate change. In this blog, I will share strategies to help people discuss climate-related problems and solutions with other people in their lives, especially those people who are willing to listen. People who want to help the environment should have a communications strategy for discussing the urgent problem of climate change, so they need to plan it now, or rather, “Planet Now.” |
Welcome to my blog! It is a combination of posts from my strategic writing (spring 2022) and personal branding (spring 2023) courses at UNC. I hope you will enjoy reading the posts and learning about the environment and communication.
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