Presenter: Hannah Fuller
Mentors: Stephanie LeMenager, English; Shane Hall, Environmental Studies
Oral Presentation
Major: Environmental Studies
Of all the messages we receive about climate change, the most common is perhaps “10 simple things YOU can do to save the Earth.” While these lifestyle tips can be useful to individuals, the contributions to climate change mitigation are often negligible. More pressing, though, is the fact that none of these ideas target the larger underlying problems that contribute on a larger scale to greenhouse gas emissions. Since global warming came to the international stage in the 1980s, mass media, scientists, and politicians have been scared to advocate for fear of losing credibility. Instead, notable authors like Bill McKibben, Thomas Friedman, and Naomi Klein have taken it to task to identify and offer targeted solutions for global climate change as more than just a problem of atmospheric chemistry. These authors seek to interpret climate science and inspire lay readers by offering their solutions, which focus more changing institutions, worldviews, and norms than individual behavior. By reading and comparing these popular science books I have identified their most salient arguments and strategies in order to create a rubric for more effective climate change communication. These books and others like them are an archive for “best ideas” that should be popularized and carried out in activist contexts. By synthesizing a short op-ed using the best and most effective ideas, I hope to provide a context that will empower individuals and communities to take action and to demand action from higher levels of government.