浪花直播

Communicating complex scientific concepts to general audiences is difficult given today鈥檚 information overload. Capturing the attention of time-pressed policymakers long enough to explain multifaceted issues like climate change and global health is an even greater challenge. The Environmental Communications Division of the  co-sponsored two panels at the 浪花直播 Center on November 22 featuring communication directors and professors of communications to explore this issue.

鈥淧ut the Hay Down Where the Goats Can Get It鈥�

鈥淲hat all communicators are dealing with right now is an increasingly fragmented news information marketplace鈥hat鈥檚 far from settling down,鈥� said Laurie Boeder, director of health communications at the . 鈥淧eople now go out and find their own sources of news, so increasingly thinking about the audience that you want to reach, what you want to tell them, and what you want them to do with that information when they get it is essential,鈥� she said, or what she called 鈥減utting the hay down where the goats can get it.鈥�

On the bright side, 鈥渨e have an incredible opportunity now to produce content and reach audiences in a way that we never would have before,鈥� said Dilly Severin, director of communications at  (PAI). She explained how an  produced by PAI shows the  family planning, food security, and climate change vulnerability in many countries. 鈥淭hese visualizations鈥hey transcend culture, they transcend language,鈥� said Boeder.

Making connections like these between health and climate change is one way to start productive conversations, said Bob Deans, associate director of communications at the , because people want to know what climate change means for them and what they can do as individuals. 鈥淲hen we can connect the dots, when we can put a human face on the dangers, the costs, and the rising risks and hazards of climate change, we tend to get people鈥檚 attention,鈥� he said. 鈥淲hen we talk about parts per million of CO₂ in the atmosphere and the 14 hottest years on record since 1997, we tend to lose people鈥檚 attention.鈥�

Rebecca Bertram of the  says her organization also focuses on making personal connections, but with a more positive spin. In Germany, which has committed to meeting  with renewables by 2050, 鈥渨e are now debating on how best to solve the problem,鈥� rather than debating the causes of climate change, she said. The country鈥檚 energy transition 鈥渆nables ordinary citizens, farmers, and rural communities to get involved in [renewable energy cooperatives] and collectively invest in renewable energy projects.鈥�

Getting Past Differences in the Internet Age

The sheer amount of information available today makes it challenging for the average reader to filter facts from opinions, explained George Washington University鈥檚 Michael Svoboda, who also writes for the .

Peter Jacques of the University of Central Florida suggested that the inaccessibility of scientific findings in peer-reviewed journals and conferences contributes to public misconceptions about politicized issues like climate change. His research with Riley Dunlap from Oklahoma State University found that at least  of the books challenging anthropogenic climate change have not undergone peer review, the standard of acceptance in the scientific realm.

Political inertia compounds the inaccessibility of peer-reviewed science: 鈥淎ll [climate skeptics] have to do is sow enough doubt to prevent change鈥here [climate activists] have to instill enough confidence to enact change,鈥� said Deans.

In Brazil, 鈥渕eat consumption would be the obvious discussion if the national discussions were to reflect the national emissions profile,鈥� as  of its greenhouse gas emissions are from cattle production, said Myanna Lahsen from the . Instead, discussions in the media generally center on the need to reduce deforestation without going into much detail. 鈥淭here is very little probing鈥etting at the drivers and getting to these issues that hurt,鈥� she said.

On the other hand, some global health issues, like expanding access to family planning, suffer more from public disinterest than misconceptions, making it difficult to get attention unless you 鈥減ick a fight,鈥� said Sandra Jordan, senior technical advisor for external affairs at the U.S. Agency for International Development鈥檚 Office of Population and Reproductive Health. Since USAID is nonpartisan, she relies on 鈥渃onstituencies and coalition building鈥o get the word out.鈥�

Given these challenges, , like those explored by PAI and USAID, are doubly difficult to communicate, but Severin helps by providing the language and tools that can engage environmentalists while respecting human rights. 鈥淲e鈥檙e not talking about target numbers or trying to stop women from having children. Our conversation is about how can we fulfill their right to choose the size of their families, and then the benefits that flow from that for themselves, and then for the environment, and for their communities,鈥� said Severin.

鈥淲hat we have to do is to make this science real and understandable for people when they sit down at their kitchen table, when they look out their window, when they wander around in their own backyard,鈥� said Deans. 鈥淚t can be done, because after all, science is the story of what is happening to our world. We just have to tell that story in a way that connects with people.鈥�

Event Resources:

鈥婦rafted by Laura Henson, edited by Schuyler Null and Meaghan Parker.