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Planet Now
Blog on Effective Environmental Communication
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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.
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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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