Although I do not live in BC, the recent flooding has felt tremendously close to home. I wonder if it has for others as well, if yet another severe weather event and the images flashing across news cycles garner more attention to climate change adaptation. Climate change is commonly viewed as a faraway issue, mostly for polar bears and small islands. Melting ice caps, tropical hurricanes and coral bleaching may easily be recognized as indicators of global warming- but have the BC floods, wildfires and heat domes all experienced in the last year been seen as local warming?

In a study conducted to analyze local and global framing and place attachment through visualizations of climate change, the findings did not reveal that local framing encouraged more action (Altinay, 2017). This result, although not academically comparable due to many parameters, contradicts several conversations I’ve had this week. As someone who is engaged in the study of climate change, and has been in the environmental realm for several years I have had more conversations with friends and family than ever before. Usually I am trying to make connections and share with my peers, but since the flooding it has felt quite the opposite with many asking me: Why the floods happened? Could they happen in Alberta? And what do we do to prepare for something like this? As I am no expert in hydrology my answers were probably vague at best, but it did open up a few conversations about adaptation closer to home and it suddenly felt like there was more of a connection that climate change isn’t just happening to polar bears, it is happening to us. Though these accounts there were a few mentions of the imagery on the news that hit home- people going down major roads in kayaks, collapsed infrastructure and animals being rescued. It feels like a small shift is occurring, maybe as this is one of several in a series of devastating natural disaster events this year, and it occupied familiar spaces, and even to friends of friends.  Not to mention the global climate summit COP26 was going on in the background. 

It makes me think of how important engaging all of our senses in climate communication can be, through audio, visual, storytelling, factual, data and even specific diction along with emotional and spiritual ties, different information will connect with different people. “It” is no longer just happening on the other side of the world, and being impeccable with how we talk about what is happening may be integral to eliciting climate action (Kimmerer, 2017). I am hopeful that in light of the hardship occurring as a result of the flooding that more attention will be diverted to proactive adaptation, and more conversations regarding local risks will be had among neighbours.

 I am particularly fond of this quote from Mary Annaise Heglar and her pragmatic approach to coping with climate change.

“We don’t have to be pollyannish, or fatalistic. We can just be human. We can be messy, imperfect, contradictory, broken. We can recognize that “hopelessness” does not mean “helplessness.”” -Heglar (2019)

References

Altinay, Z. (2017). Visual Communication of Climate Change: Local Framing and Place Attachment. Coastal Management, 45(4), 293–309. https://doi.org/10.1080/08920753.2017.1327344

Heglar, M.A. (2019). Home is always worth it. Medium Environment. https://medium.com/@maryheglar/home-is-always-worth-it-d2821634dcd9

Kimmerer, R. W. (2017). Speaking of nature: Finding language that affirms our kinship with the natural world. Orion Magazine. https://orionmagazine.org/article/speaking-of-nature/

Theres about 6 inches of fresh white snow on my balcony today where my sit spot is. Anything that was visible before is covered in a blanket of white. Theres a magpie sized indentation in the middle of the untouched snow where the bird perhaps touched down for a moment and then promptly flew off. Like  the bird I also am reluctant to sit in the snow. It feels like the snow came later this year than it has in the past, I’m tempted to research and confirm my suspicion but decided not to as I remind myself that this is the weather, and weather does not discern climate. The snow is soft and soothing looking, a momentary clean slate to mark the start of a new season, kind of like the first blank page in a book. 

Theres an overwhelming amount of research, knowledge, theories and history in the practice of narrative storytelling. Particularly in regards to climate change, which is a relatively new protagonist- or antagonist (depending on your view) to write about.  Sundin (2018) discusses the use of narrative storytelling as an additional tool to help translate scientific knowledge in a more relatable and memorable context, along with traditional communication forms. Michael Segal points out how the story of climate change is wide ranging- and often emotionally loaded in various regards, with many individuals emphasizing differing aspects of the conversation. And Hinyard & Kreuter (2007) pose that along with characters, plot, and conflict that resolution is a key component of narratives. Which makes me wonder how can we utilize narratives in climate action without knowing the end, the solution, the happily ever after? And if it is a happily ever after would this be solarpunk, or perhaps hopepunk (Hull, 2019).

“Both dystopian and utopian narratives have their own rationales and evidentiary support, and there’s no doubt that climate change presents a real and severe danger. But in the public realm, these types of narratives also have a tendency to be useless. They leave the public spectating a stalled debate between extremes and generate ample motivation to check out.” (Segal, 2019)

The Alberta Narratives Project presents a very tangible collection of examples that show how the story of climate change is perceived and communicated where I live. The project showcases how valuable framing climate conversations in an identifiable, appreciative and straightforward way is, and how technical, divisive snd “absolutes” are often received negatively (Corner et al., 2018). It appears there is a recognized balance that is more relatable, and challenge oriented that focus groups narrowed in on. This type of dialogue is very important in Alberta to help bridge the gap between oil and green energy, or economy vs environmentalism which is often the perceived debate when climate change comes up. Rather than focusing on doom or gloom, maybe it’s best to just read the room?

References

Corner, A., Clarke, J., and Marshall, G. (2018). Communicating the Canadian clean energy transition: Principles and case studies for effective public engagement on energy and climate change. Ivey Foundation. http://albertanarrativesproject.ca/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/ANP-Report-I-Final-Online.pdf

Hinyard, L. J., & Kreuter, M. W. (2007). Using narrative communication as a tool for health behavior change: a conceptual, theoretical, and empirical overview. Health Education & Behavior, 34(5), 777-792. (15 pages) https://go.openathens.net/redirector/royalroads.ca?url=https%3A%2F%2Fjournals.sagepub.com%2Fdoi%2Fabs%2F10.1177%2F1090198106291963

Hull, A. (2019). Hopepunk and solarpunk: On climate narratives that go beyond the apocalypse. LitHub. https://lithub.com/hopepunk-and-solarpunk-on-climate-narratives-that-go-beyond-the-apocalypse/

Segel, M. (2019). To fix the climate movement, tell better stories: The missing climate change narrative. Nautilus. http://nautil.us/issue/75/story/to-fix-the-climate-tell-better-stories-rp  

Sundin, A. Andersson, K., & Watt, R. (2018). Rethinking communication: integrating storytelling for increasing stakeholder engagement in environmental evidence synthesis. Environmental Evidence 7(6), 1-6. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13750-018-0116-4