Talk About it Tuesday

Why it’s important: 

When we talk about climate change we normalize it as a topic of discussion. 

The stark news from climate scientists only reaches so many people. Sixty-four percent of Americans say that global warming is important to them personally, yet there’s nowhere near that level of talk about it.  The more we talk about climate the faster it becomes a part of our culture. That will lead to more individuals changing their actions and give leaders no choice but to act with speed, at scale in just and accountable ways to stop climate change. 

 Action Options:

  1. Talk to others about your connection with the climate emergency and your hopes for the future we can create. Talk with people you suspect are already concerned about climate. If you need help getting started you can mention:

  • Today’s weather is always a conversation starter. It’s changing everywhere. It takes just a quick search to learn that Michigan is heading into a future with more intense storms, higher temperatures, and much less ice cover on the Great Lakes. 

  • Have you made any shifts in how you drive, heat, eat or taken any other measures to help stop climate change that you can share?

  • Devastating weather tragedies around the world are in the headlines more and more. Newscasters are now making clear the role of climate change in weather tragedies. Listen for the connection, learn and share.

  • Climate films are great to talk about (see Sunday at the Movies)

  • Tell someone about your participation in Climate Week and invite them to join you.

  • Perhaps share your answer to “Why I care about Climate Change”

2. Wear it! Here are a few of the many climate tee shirts out there:

 Why I'm Hot Tee, Plant Trees, Renewable Energy I'm a Big Fan or There Is No Planet B

3. The authors of the article Yale Climate- How to Talk, layout a three column exercise to provide content for talking about climate with people you know. Well worth reading.

4. You can easily bring a climate conversation to any type of group you are a member of by hosting a climate presentation. We can connect you with a speaker from the Climate Reality Project.

5. Social media - Yes!

“Just start by doing something, anything, and then talk about it: Talk about how it matters to your family, your home, your city, the activity that you love.”

“Connecting with one another is how we change ourselves, how we change others, and ultimately, how we change the world. It’s contagious.”

Dr. Katherine Hayhoe, Climate Scientist: leading the call to talk about climate change. 

Bright Spots

Two Tales About Giving

Last September, Yvon Chouinard, the founder of the clothing brand Patagonia transferred his family's ownership to a charitable trust.

“Making the Earth the sole share-holder and beneficiary of any profits not reinvested back into the business.”

READ MORE

“Guy” who won over $200 million in a European lottery is using his winnings to protect the planet and the living. Click Below to read more.

Resources:

How to Have a Connected Conversation About Climate Change By James McClintock, Processor of Polar and Marine Biology at University of Alabama at Birmingham December 12, 2018

Let’s Talk Climate - A How to Guide with five simple tips “Because we can’t fix what we don’t talk about” Guide from the Nature Conservancy

Saving Us (book pub. 9/21/21) by Dr. Katherine Hayhoe. A rich source of information on talking about climate.

How to Talk About Climate Change  Sara Peach and Jennifer Marlon YCC

How to talk about CLimate Change- Jimmy Kimmel - Dr. Hayhoe

TED talk by Dr. Katherine Hayhoe 1/11/19

Accomplished marketing professional John Marshall explains elements of vivid and meaningful climate communications (7 minutes).  Excellent Lesson on Communicating About Climate

The Right Words are Crucial to Stopping Climate Change Scientific American, February 2023 about the words we use and other aspects of Climate communication.

Messages Matter- A history of PR and Advertising in the Fossil Fuel Industry from Clean Creatives

The Yale Program on Climate Change Communication has a wealth of information. The statistics above came from this article:

Climate Change in the American Mind, April 2022 reported July 2022

If you would like to know more about climate change before you talk, visit our “learn in less than 10 (minutes)” video selections here:

GPC CAN (Climate Action Now)