{"id":83319,"date":"2019-09-17T17:57:41","date_gmt":"2019-09-18T00:57:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/?p=83319"},"modified":"2019-09-23T13:42:44","modified_gmt":"2019-09-23T20:42:44","slug":"we-need-to-talk-about-climate-change","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/news\/we-need-to-talk-about-climate-change","title":{"rendered":"We Need to Talk\u2014About Climate Change"},"content":{"rendered":"

Eric Fine\u2019s journey from mountaineer to climate communicator began on the slopes of Cerro Tronador, an 11,453-foot-high peak in the Argentinian Andes, where he led expeditions for Outward Bound from 2005 to 2014. It was there that he witnessed firsthand the rapid melting of Tronador\u2019s glaciers, and \u201csaw with my own eyes the big changes year after year.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Those experiences on the front lines of climate change led Fine to alter his career path, move back to the United States and earn a graduate degree focusing on the growing field of climate communications, which seeks to educate and inform people about this problem. Now, working as a project manager for the <\/span>Yale Program on Climate Change Communication<\/span><\/a>, a leading center for research on Americans\u2019 attitudes about climate change, Fine could be called the climate whisperer to the outdoor recreation community.<\/span><\/p>\n

Fine has worked with groups including <\/span>Protect Our Winters<\/span><\/a>, the <\/span>American Alpine Club<\/span><\/a> and the <\/span>National Audubon Society<\/span><\/a>, designing surveys that help the organizations better understand their members\u2019 beliefs about climate change. \u201cWe are trying to understand how perceptions of climate change vary across society, and which messages and messengers most effectively engage with those various segments of society,\u201d he says.<\/span><\/p>\n

Fine says the solutions to lessening the impact of the climate crisis are well-known\u2014a transition to renewable energy and away from fossil fuels, green building, sustainable agriculture, better forestry practices\u2014but Americans\u2019 wariness of talking about the issue is blocking progress.<\/span><\/p>\n

Sixty-three percent of Americans say they rarely or never discuss global warming with family and friends, according to <\/span>\u201c<\/span>Climate Change in the American Mind<\/span>,\u201d<\/span><\/a> a report published twice-yearly by Yale and the George Mason University Center for Climate Change Communication.<\/span><\/p>\n

Unfortunately, many Americans who want action on climate think they are in the minority, Fine says. \u201cWhen people think they are in the minority it creates a silence and they don\u2019t speak up,\u201d he notes, referring to a social science theory known as the \u201c<\/span>spiral of silence<\/span><\/a>\u201d that causes individuals to clam up out of fear of rejection.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Yale Program on Climate Change Communication <\/span>places Americans in six categories<\/span><\/a>: Alarmed, Concerned, Cautious, Disengaged, Doubtful and Dismissive. And contrary to common perception, \u201cthe Alarmed are way more numerous than the Dismissive,\u201d Fine says. \u201cIf you are alarmed, talk about it, and understand that a majority of people are worried, too.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

As lovers of wild spaces, and with <\/span>millions of participants nationwide<\/span><\/a>, \u201coutdoor enthusiasts are one of the greatest untapped constituencies that could help drive progress on climate change,\u201d says Jamie Henn, strategic communications director for <\/span>350.org<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Recreationists<\/p>\n

Ready to become a climate communicator? Consider following these steps recommended by Henn, Fine and a range of experts interviewed by the Co-op Journal for this article. Their primary piece of advice? Listen.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWhen talking to people on the trail or the chairlift or the skintrack the same rules of effective communication apply,\u201d says Henn, an avid skier who lives in Salt Lake City. \u201cAsk questions and find common ground.\u201d Nobody wants to be bombarded by facts when they\u2019re trying to enjoy the outdoors. \u201cBut people are eager to talk about the snow, or how their season is going,\u201d Henn says. \u201cThat can open opportunities to talk about how this winter was great but last year was terrible, and how the snowpack is changing.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Once you\u2019ve established a rapport, \u201cbring it into the here and now,\u201d Henn says. \u201cConnect the dots that the climate emergency is happening right now as we speak, with drier summers, reduced snowpack, more catastrophic wildfires. It\u2019s not a future scenario.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Also, make it local and relevant. Most Americans worry that extreme weather events\u2014heat waves, droughts, floods, water shortages\u2014will harm their local area, according to <\/span>the Yale and George Mason survey<\/span><\/a>, so focus on local impacts and things your audience cares about.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cShare a commonality, establish a relationship, listen and talk, don\u2019t lecture,\u201d says Aaron Kindle, senior manager for sporting campaigns for the <\/span>National Wildlife Federation<\/span><\/a>. He frequently meets with hunters and anglers and finds himself talking about his own experiences hunting and fly-fishing\u2014and how warmer temperatures are impacting those activities.<\/span><\/p>\n

In some regions, more frequent and larger wildfires are canceling elk hunts, and wildlife managers are increasingly discussing whether to close certain rivers to fishing during hot summer afternoons because the cold-water-reliant trout are heat-stressed and likely to die if caught and released. \u201cThat has never happened before, so you ask, \u2018Why do you think that is?\u2019 which opens the opportunity to discuss that the last five years were the hottest on record globally,\u201d Kindle says.<\/span><\/p>\n

Talk about the birds and the bees, the flowers and the trees\u2014all of which are being impacted. \u201cBirds are great messengers about climate change,\u201d says David Ringer, chief network officer at the <\/span>National Audubon Society<\/span><\/a>, who works with the group\u2019s 450 grassroots chapters. Birds are nesting in places they never did before, the timing of their migrations has changed, and some species are <\/span>disappearing<\/span><\/a> from places where they were once common. Ringer recalls traveling out of state to see a Mississippi kite when he was growing up in Missouri. Now the birds are nesting in his parents\u2019 backyard.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cOpening a climate discussion with an observation about a bird can ground that difficult conversation and move someone toward a willingness to act, because you are talking about something they can see, in their backyards and in their neighborhoods, right there in front of them,\u201d Ringer says.<\/span><\/p>\n

Do your homework, 350.org and other climate communicators say. Read up on the science of climate change from trusted sources. Learn some examples of how climate change is impacting your region, and how the climate crisis is accelerating. Talk about feedback loops: The polar caps, for example, help regulate the Earth’s temperature by reflecting the sun\u2019s rays back into space; as the caps melt, they cause the ocean to absorb rather than reflect the sun\u2019s rays, causing our waterways to grow warmer.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

At the same time, don\u2019t exaggerate. It\u2019s not accurate to say a hurricane or drought was caused by climate change. Rather, it is correct to say that climate change is worsening droughts and hurricanes, and that the increasingly disastrous floods and heat waves we are seeing will become the norm, says Auden Schendler, senior vice president of sustainability for Aspen Skiing Company and a board member of Protect Our Winters.<\/span><\/p>\n

Most importantly, provide hope. \u201cTalk about both the threat and the opportunity, the worry and the hope,\u201d says Joy Hassol, an award-winning author and public speaker who specializes in climate communication. \u201cWhile this is the greatest challenge we\u2019ve ever faced, it also presents great opportunities to improve our health, economy and communities at the same time as we address the climate crisis.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Hikers<\/p>\n

And focus on solutions. \u201cA clean energy economy powered by wind and solar means better air quality and less pollution, which everyone supports,\u201d Henn says. \u201cTalk about how better mass transit means less traffic congestion, which everyone hates. \u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cAvoid ideological battles,\u201d says Schendler. Visiting Capitol Hill as part of a climate change delegation several years ago, Schendler and his colleagues had a disastrous meeting with a lawmaker after asserting that the science of climate change was settled. \u201cThey got furious and all but kicked us out of the office.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

At their next meeting, the group instead focused on solutions\u2014specifically how more funding for renewable energy can create jobs. \u201cThey said, \u2018Great, where do we start?\u2019\u201d Schendler recalls.\u00a0 \u201cThe economic argument is increasingly powerful. Wind power is now cheaper than coal power. That is an economic case for ramping up renewable energy production that avoids ideology.\u201d Indeed, <\/span>the Yale and George Mason survey data<\/a><\/span> shows that 85 percent of registered voters surveyed support requiring utilities to produce 100 percent of their electricity from clean, renewable sources by 2050.<\/span><\/p>\n

But don\u2019t bombard people with facts, especially if they are dismissive of climate change, Schendler says. Though no one responds positively to a deluge of information, \u201cpeople can change their minds if you help them discover the facts on their own.\u201d Schendler had an acquaintance who believed that volcanoes emit as much carbon dioxide as humans. \u201cWhen he found that wasn\u2019t true, he came around and now believes the science.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Provide an avenue for action. Whether you are a skier, runner, climber or mountain biker, you probably have a network of friends and like-minded individuals with whom you share common values. Encourage your friends to get involved, whether that\u2019s joining a <\/span>Citizens\u2019 Climate Lobby event <\/span><\/a>with a local elected official or attending a <\/span>climate strike<\/span><\/a>. A large percentage of Americans who are alarmed and concerned about climate have not become activists because nobody has ever asked them, Fine says.<\/span><\/p>\n

For those who are ready to become involved in climate actions or protests, Henn says, \u201cthe skills of an outdoor enthusiast directly apply to climate activism. Planning a trip or expedition is like planning a protest.\u201d Henn notes the rise of \u201ckayaktivists\u201d who have used their kayaks to block and protest drilling rigs and pipeline proposals. \u201cEncourage your friends to put their climbing and hiking and biking skills to work in the form of creative protest.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Share stories of the change you\u2019ve seen personally in your outdoor playgrounds, advised many of the activists interviewed for this article. The American Alpine Club launched its <\/span>Climbers for Climate<\/span><\/a> campaign last spring in part to encourage members to share their stories about deteriorating ice and increasingly dangerous conditions in the mountains.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

While the campaign is still new, as this article went to press the group had already posted 22 stories in its <\/span>AAC Climate Story Collection<\/span><\/a>. \u201cThey are worried and looking for ways to engage,\u201d says Taylor Luneau, policy manager for the club. \u201cWe want to turn that alarm into action.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

More resources<\/strong>:<\/span><\/p>\n