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Cornell Professor Lauren Chambliss discusses some of the challenges in communicating about climate change and other environmental topics, and raises recommendations for experts and individuals to follow moving forward for more impactful climate conversations.
You already know the facts about climate change. Now, we need cultural evolution. In this podcast, we apply cutting-edge insights from diverse fields to tackle climate change and environmental issues more effectively.
Climate Clear is powered by AreaHub, a climate and environmental hazards platform.
Note: Some expert guests on Climate Clear may be AreaHub advisors.
Climate Clear Ep. 1. Communicating Effectively About Climate Change
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Alison: Hello, I'm Alison Gregory and you're listening to Climate Clear, powered by AreaHub, a climate and environmental platform. This is the podcast where we hope to help you discover climate environmental issues, or angles or perspectives about them, in a clear and digestible way by talking to experts on these topics- all in less than 15 minutes.
At Climate Clear, we believe in the potential impact of each informed person and in the extraordinary aggregate impact of many.
On today's episode, we are fortunate to be speaking with Lauren Chambliss, professor of communication at Cornell University. Lauren also has served as the communications director of the Cornell Atkinson Center for Sustainability, and has a distinguished background as a journalist, having published in top publications, including London's Evening Standard, the Washington Post and others. In addition, a decade ago, Lauren ran the first energy conservation and behavioral change campaign for the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences at Cornell.
Lauren, thank you so much for joining us. We're thrilled to be speaking with you.
Lauren: Hi, Alison. Yeah. Thanks for having me. I'm really pleased to be here talking to your audience and to you.
Alison: Thank you. Well, we're delighted to have you, and I'd love to start our conversation by asking what interested you in this area of communication.
Lauren: I think it started when I was a journalist for about 20 years in Washington, DC. I covered economics, international economics, for a variety of publications, but most notably for the Evening Standard of London. I was their U.S. Economics correspondent and I did that for about 20 years and I started to become increasingly aware of and concerned about the environmental impact that our economic system, and we as people in America, were having on the environment.
I think this started because, as a child and really all through my adult years, what I have always loved is being in nature. And I started to notice changes in the places that I would go and that led me to some science investigation to figure out what those changes were.
And I came face to face with this idea of climate change about 20- 25 years ago. I hadn't heard much about it, but it was that that really got me interested in this intersection of the environment and communication.
Alison: Interesting. This intersection does seem not only important, but also challenging. So let's talk about why communicating about topics like climate change and other environmental topics is so difficult. What makes it more challenging than other topics?
Lauren: Alison, that that is a great question, and one that a ton of research has been devoted to studying over the last 10 or 15 years, including here at Cornell. It's a combination of issues.
One is that climate change and other environmental issues, for a long time, were not necessarily right in people's spaces. It seemed like a very distant and far away issue. We were told by scientists that we really weren't going to see the impacts for many, many years, like the next generation or the one after that. In fact, that's changing now, which is making the climate change communication a little bit easier.
But that fact that it seemed distant and far away and not near us, and also the politicization of the issue over the last decade or so, has greatly impacted our ability to communicate about it effectively.
That is changing. We are learning how to communicate about it, and people are also beginning to listen much more. A vast swath of American citizens do understand and agree with the consensus science, but it's been a touchy complicated issue for many years.
Alison: That's interesting. I can imagine how challenging it is to communicate on these topics. But for many of us, talking about climate change and thinking about natural disasters may not be, in some respects, 'new' because we've known about these issues for decades.
What are some of the main assumptions or mistakes that scientists or communicators have made in the past that we should know to avoid in the future when discussing climate change and other environmental issues?
Lauren: Well, I think the main thing- that in fact still happens today- is that when we are talking about climate change, whether we're a scientist or we're just talking to our grandma at the dining room table, or we're discussing it with peers who may or may not be as aware as we are, is to discuss how close it is to us all now.
And this is in fact, one reason why we're seeing changes in the number of people who believe in climate change or who are concerned about it is because it is beginning to affect our daily lives. Whether you live in Miami and the infrastructure changes that are having to take place with regard to sewer systems and sea level rise, and storm surges, and storm drains, and all the things that go along with that, or whether you live some other place, like in the west where there's droughts and wildfires, these things are happening in part because of a response, the Earth's response to climate change. The more we can link these natural events, which of course have always occurred, but are occurring now with more frequency and more severity, to climate change, the more people will begin to understand how important the issue is.
Also, the other important thing to discuss is what are the solutions? what we can do as individuals to address climate change? And what we as individuals can do when we collectively join with others.
I see this among the young adults that I teach. You know, most of them are in the 18 to 22 year old range, and they're quite concerned about climate change. There's almost no one who doesn't think it's happening, who believes it's an issue. But they're a little lost about what to do about it and what kinds of conversations we should be having.
Alison: I'm so glad you raised that point, because I do think that so many people are concerned. They're seeing the relevance in their lives and in their future, and they are hungry for this information.
So, turning back to the communication aspect for scientists, for experts, for professors, such as yourself, what are the things that you think have been most effective in terms of being able to help those who interested be able to access and comprehend the information that would be relevant to their own decision-making or choices or understanding about the issues?
Lauren: Well, for sure, one of the things is proximity, which is understanding what is around you. And that is from either the scientist's perspective or the individual's perspective.
The more we understand what our own environmental risks are or what hazards there are around us that might affect our life, the more likely we are to be able to take individual or collective action to mitigate or adapt to those risks and hazards.
So that's the number one thing is just education and awareness. Find out how you are personally being impacted and what you can do about it.
And as a scientist, focusing on that proximity, what's close to us, what affects us most, is really, really critical. Not making any of these things seem like they're distant and far away from us, whether it's in the Antarctic, which is pretty distant to us or 50 years from now, because the things we're seeing are right in our backyard, the floods, the droughts, the wildfires, the increasing hurricane intensity, etc, etc. All these things are here, happening now and we're already having to deal with them. So understanding what's in our own environment is really important.
And, secondly, is not becoming despondent about it, but seeing that there are places to act, seeing that there are ways to make a difference. Whether it's in your own individual home, where there are things you can do, or even more importantly, in the collective by communicating with politicians or getting involved in community organizations, or regional, or national organizations, these things really matter.
Whatever is the particular area that you care about, get involved because that's how you, how we, make long-term differences, by really pressuring our political system to understand how important it is.
Alison: Well, I'm encouraged that you believe that there are many options that we have to be able to not only comprehend the situations around us, but also to take steps, whether it's mitigation to our own risk or whether it's a concerted activity as a citizen to try to take that knowledge and bring it towards action in ways that can be.
Before we close, I just wanted to ask also, if there are any additional points you want to raise on this topic?
Lauren: Yeah. I'd like to say something about, you know, there's kind of a common wisdom out there that one of the reasons it's so hard to communicate about environmental issues , hazards, and climate change, is because it's too depressing of a subject and too despairing.
I really want to push back against that because we do have solutions. We have science-based solutions that, at the personal level, whether it's being mindful of our energy use, whether it's purchasing a car that requires less on gas and more on alternative resources, whether it's helping out to clean up a local, natural area, or doing our best to provide pollinator gardens to provide pollinator plants in our gardens.
There are so many things that an individual can do to make a difference. Once you know what's happening around you, you can respond to it on a personal level.
And then of course, as a people, as a society, as a culture, there are many, many things at our disposal. Our country is rich in resources. We are rich in brilliant minds and engineering minds. Our farmers understand about climate change and there's lots that they can do there. Every one of us has a role to play in making a difference for future generations. And it's all possible. It's all still within our grasp to make a positive difference.
But it's first based on awareness and education so that you as an individual, or me as an individual, understand what's around me and then figure out what I can do. There are so many things we can all do. And so many things many people are already doing. So I actually have great hope for the future because I know our country is up to the task and I believe firmly that our people are up to the task.
Alison: Lauren, what a great way to close. Not only is it uplifting in terms of the positive message that we can all make such a difference, and we can all have hope, but also because it brings us back to where we started, which was Climate Clear's belief in the potential impact of each informed person and an extraordinary aggregate impact of many.
You are listening to Climate Clear and we'd encourage each of you to check out AreaHub to learn about your area's climate, natural, industrial, and environmental picture. And I want to thank you, Lauren and thank you all for joining us today.