MACH Senior Personnel, Michael Oppenheimer, of Princeton University, was recently featured in a video with comedian David Cross to underscore the importance of using humor and other tools to communicate climate science to a broader audience.
The use of humor may help drive the urgency of the climate crisis home for certain audiences, said Oppenheimer, particularly “when the news is so chock-a-block full of news that competes for people’s attention”. But comedy is not the only tool that can be used to better communicate the urgency of the climate crisis, he said.
“Some scientists are excellent at communicating with religious audiences and can frame the issues in a way that resonates with them [while] other scientists are great at connecting with parents,” he said. “The point is, more scientists are recognizing that it’s not always enough to lay out the facts or the data, that we have to find ways to encourage people to listen and take notice.”
Read the Guardian article and watch the Climate Science Breakthrough video here.