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Climate Risk – Time to Hop to It.

Leave a Comment / Academic Writing, CALS 501, CALS 502, CALS 503, Climate Risk Management, Leading Climate Action in Society / Deanna

One might think that doing a climate risk assessment for “the greatest threat the world has ever faced” (Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights [OHCHR], 2022) would be a top priority for policy and decision makers. Unfortunately, adaptation planning, and implementation of strategies are not keeping up with changing climate (IPCC, 2022). That gap will widen at the current pace increasing the risk for more people. So how do practitioners get policy and decision makers to match the urgency the IPCC tells us is needed?

Having completed CALS503 Climate Risk Management, I know there are many tools, frameworks, and methods available to undertake a climate risk assessment. Some of these frameworks have been around for many years and have been honed with years of experience (for communities, built infrastructure, and ecosystems). Therefore, the how-to-do-it is available and should not be a barrier. In addition, there are also adaptation solutions that can cost effectively reduce an organization’s or community’s risk if only they would invest. Thus, the lack of solutions should not be a barrier.

Is How We Think a Barrier to Climate Action?

Perhaps a barrier is in how we think. Neuroscientist and psychologist research tells us that how we think and evaluate risk is based on intuition and that this shapes our decision to act (Roberts et al., 2021). Intuition is developed based on past experience, areas of expertise, bias, and prior knowledge. As a result, a climate practitioner needs to understand the decision makers’ areas of knowledge and expertise to frame the message accordingly. Doing so requires knowledge and interpersonal skills to communicate with the intended audience. Having these insights and skills is an essential aspect of what I think of as the art of climate action leadership.

The Art of Climate Action Leadership

At a minimum, the art of climate action leadership requires good communication skills. Those skills are applied initially to get a risk assessment process approved, secondly to bring together a diverse group of stakeholders and knowledge holders, and thirdly, to build sufficient momentum for action that will be taken on the highest priorities. Practitioners can start this process by focusing on listening, getting to know the intended audience, and understanding the primary risks the audience is already concerned about (Bennett et al., 2021; Maibach et al., 2011 & Roberts et al., 2021). With that information, the climate change practitioner can link the audience’s primary concerns to the climate risks affecting them.

Practitioners need to be aware that different audiences have different priorities. For example, Indigenous communities may not see the framing of climate risk as a top priority (Whitney et al., 2020). Solely focusing on climate risk misses context from the community’s history, the impacts of colonialism on the local environment, and the lack of self-determination and governance. Asking questions and listening first is foundational to the climate risk engagement process and will ensure the outputs are useful to end users (Roberts et al., 2021). The table below provides some questions to get the conversations started.

Questions to Start Building the Engagement Process

Note Table format adapted from ICLEI Canada (n.d.). Questions adapted from ¹ Roberts et al., 2021, p. 13 & 14 and ² ICLEI Canada, n.d., p. 19.

Benefits of the Engagement Process

Answers to the questions in the above table can be used to build the engagement process. When considering the process, Tuhiwai Smith, in Decolonizing Methodologies (2012), points out that the process is more important than the outcome because of the potential for healing and education that people involved undergo. Similarly, a climate risk assessment process can be used to build trust, especially when it involves diverse perspectives (Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment [CCME], 2021). Such a process can also build momentum for the adaptation phase and lead to long-term success.

An involved initial engagement process may be at odds with the urgency climate change practitioners feel to generate action. Planning the engagement process will help the practitioner determine where and when the effort should be made. Completing preliminary research or a desktop assessment with existing information can provide the practitioner with an understanding of local climate impacts and what organizations or similar communities are doing to address the risk (ICLEI Canada, n.d.). With that information in hand, the practitioner can look for win-win options that achieve the objectives of concerns facing the community or organization while addressing climate change risk. This win-win approach to climate risk assessment can create the desired support and build the most momentum. Additionally, another benefit of an involved engagement process is the exposure to climate risks that participants will go through as part of the process.

Talk About Local Climate Change Trends and Impacts

Increasing exposure to regional climate information and trends can help shift intuitive risk perception for decision makers (ICLEI Canada, n.d., & Roberts et al., 2021). Practitioners should have decision makers consider what climate impacts have already occurred and what trends they have noticed. Most people will have a story to tell. By listening to those stories, telling the stories of what others are doing and reiterating the scientific consensus, practitioners help decision makers connect climate change risk to their area of influence and ease doubt (Bennett et al., 2021 & Lewandowsky, 2021). In addition, practitioners can frame trends as “too much rain” or “too much heat” to make it easier for the audience to relate to these changes as critical risks (GIZ, EURAC & UNU-EHS, 2018).

Keep It Local and Within Decision Makers’ Area of Influence

Research also tells us to keep it local in time and space, as feeling a personal sense of risk is a powerful motivator to act (Maibach et al., 2011). However, climate change practitioners often use dates such as 2030, 2050 and 2100 to discuss milestones for climate targets or climate change impacts. Since most people typically think in much shorter time frames and have many immediate problems to contend with, distant dates may not be intuited as immediate risks. This can be addressed by pointing out that some of the adaptation work needed will take time to be implemented. Also, climate impacts are already occurring and will increase in severity, duration, and frequency (IPCC, 2022). In short, we are already in a pot of boiling water, and it is time to jump out.

Have You Noticed? Climate Change is Already Happening

Note From Ingemann, M. (2020, May 18). Don’t be the boiled frog. Jump out! https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/dont-boiled-frog-jump-morten-ingemann/

To get decision makers to take the jump and recognize climate change risk as a top priority, practitioners can think about decision makers’ areas of knowledge and expertise and how that is applied to their understanding of risk. Practitioners can start the process by asking good questions and listening. If decision makers prioritize health, then link to health impacts from climate change and the health benefits of implementing adaptation measures (Maibach et al., 2011). Spending time at the beginning of the process builds trust and develops relationships. Mutual understanding can foster the momentum needed to ultimately implement climate adaptation measures. Additionally, practitioners should frame the issues around local climate impacts already occurring and bridge the far-off dates so decision makers can understand that humans are already in the soup, and it is getting hot! It is time to act in our areas of influence and communicate to deliver an understanding of climate change risk.

References

Bennett, A., Hatch, C.,& Pike, C. (2021). Climate Messaging that Works, Climate Narrative Initiative, Climate Access. https://climateaccess.org/sites/default/files/Climate%20Messaging%20that%20Works%20-%20Talking%20Energy%20Transition%20and%20Climate%20Change%20in%20Canada.pdf

Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment. (2021). Guidance on Good Practices in Climate Change Risk Assessment. https://ccme.ca/en/res/riskassessmentguidancesecured.pdf

GIZ, EURAC & UNU-EHS. (2018). Climate Risk Assessment for Ecosystem-based Adaptation – A guidebook for planners and practitioners. Bonn: GIZ. https://www.adaptationcommunity.net/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/giz-eurac-unu-2018-en-guidebook-climate-risk-asessment-eba.pdf

ICLEI Canada. (n.d.). Changing Climate, Changing Communities: Guide and Workbook for Municipal Climate Adaptation. https://icleicanada.org/project/changing-climate-changing-communities-guide-and-workbook-for-municipal-climate-adaptation/

IPCC. (2022). Summary for Policymakers. [H.-O. Pörtner, D.C. Roberts, E.S. Poloczanska, K. Mintenbeck, M. Tignor, A. Alegría, M. Craig, S. Langsdorf, S. Löschke, V. Möller, A. Okem (eds.)]. In: Climate Change 2022: Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability. Contribution of Working Group II to the Sixth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. [H.-O. Pörtner, D.C. Roberts, M. Tignor, E.S. Poloczanska, K. Mintenbeck, A. Alegría, M. Craig, S. Langsdorf, S. Löschke, V. Möller, A. Okem, B. Rama (eds.)]. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK and New York, NY, USA, pp. 3–33, doi:10.1017/9781009325844.001

Lewandowsky, S. (2021). Climate Change Disinformation and How to Combat It. Annual Review of Public Health, 42(1), 1–21. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-publhealth-090419-102409

Maibach, E., Matthew, N.,& Weather, M., (2011). Conveying the Human Implications of Climate Change – A Climate Change Communication Primer for Public Health Professionals. Fairfax, VA: George Mason University Center for Climate Change Communication.

Roberts, F., De Meyer, K. & Hubble-Rose, L. (2021). Communicating climate risk: a handbook, Climate Action Unit, University College London. London, United Kingdom. DOI: 10.14324/000.rp.10137325

Tuhiwai Smith, L. (2012). Decolonizing Methodologies: Research and Indigenous Peoples. Bloomsbury Academic & Professional. (Chapter 7). http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/royalroads-ebooks/detail.action?docID=1426837

United Nations Office of the High Commissioner (OHCHR). (2022, October 12). Climate change the greatest threat the world has ever faced, UN expert warns. https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2022/10/climate-change-greatest-threat-world-has-ever-faced-un-expert-warns

Whitney, C., Frid, A., Edgar, B., Walkus, J., Siwallace, P., Siwallace, I., & Ban, N. (2020). “Like the plains people losing the buffalo”: Perceptions of climate change impacts, fisheries management, and adaptation actions by Indigenous peoples in coastal British Columbia, Canada. Ecology and Society, 25(4). https://doi.org/10.5751/ES-12027-250433

Climate Risk – Time to Hop to It. Read More »

A hopeful photo of the sunrise shining between trees and off of harbour at Maffeo Sutton Park.

The Better News is a Vision of a Very Low Emissions Pathway

Unprecedented Extremes

Climate Change Communication Content Analysis of a CBC Article

Leave a Comment / Academic Writing, CALS 502 / Deanna

A CBC article was selected to analyze its use of climate change communication evidence-based techniques. Communicating about climate change has been a complex enterprise for climate scientists as simply providing increasingly alarming information has not generated sufficient action to mitigate the damage done. What climate change communication research has found is there are evidence-based techniques that work well to engage an audience and others that do not. Analyzing the selected article for the evidence-based techniques will demonstrate what worked well, what did not and why. The article chosen for analysis is “What Canadians need to know about how climate change is affecting their health” (Bernstien, 2021). It is part of an initiative by CBC News called “Our Changing Planet.” This initiative intends to increase climate change coverage across the many segments of the corporation’s news and media resources, recognizing that climate change is more than an environmental story. The CBC pledges a “sustained journalistic focus and attention (climate change) deserve(s) at a time most experts describe as an inflection point for the planet” (Fenlon, 2021). This paper will determine if the focus CBC is giving climate change is also effective in engaging their audience.

To do the analysis, it is helpful to understand the target audience for the article. As a public broadcaster, the CBC is mandated by the 1991 Broadcast Act to provide programming at a national and regional level and be accessible to all Canadians (Branch, 2020). Based on the CBC’s annual report for 2020-2021, during a typical month, 78% of Canadians accessed one of CBC’s services (CBC/Radio Canada, 2021). Additionally, according to a 2018 Canadian Viewing Profiles report on CBC audiences, the demographics for all viewing types range from an average age of 37 for those that are predominately online to 61 years old for those who predominantly view television (Media Technology Monitor, 2018). Therefore, climate change articles from the national CBC News department need to have a broad appeal and engage the public across all audience viewpoints as defined by the “Global Warming’s Six America’s” (see Table 1.0 below), where views range from alarmed to dismissive about climate change (Maibach et al., 2011). Further, because of the commitment to the “Our Changing Planet” initiative, the article should demonstrate evidence-based climate change communication techniques to ensure the message engages the public and encourages dialogue. Considering the intended audience and the need for broad appeal, climate change communication research points to a few techniques demonstrated in this article and some that could have been used for better effect.

Table 1.0

“Global Warming’s Six America’s” Audience Type

Global Warming’s Six America’s	Alarmed	Concerned	Cautious	Disengaged	Doubtful	Dismissive
Description of belief in Global Warming	Highest belief, concern, and motivation	Highest belief, concern, and motivation		Many are members of vulnerable communities.	Lowest belief, motivation, or concern	Lowest belief, motivation, or concern
What audience is interested in knowing	What can be done to reduce global warming?	What can be done to reduce global warming?	What harm will global warming cause?	What harm will global warming cause?	Want proof that global warming is occurring.	Want proof that global warming is occurring.

(Maibach et al., 2011, p.16-17)

This article demonstrates several evidence-based climate change communication techniques, including highlighting the scientific consensus. It claims to be based on the 2021 Lancet Countdown, an annual report on health and climate change and is the work “of 93 authors, including climate scientists, economists, public health experts and political scientists” (Bernstien, 2021, p. 2). Highlighting the scientific consensus in developing the Lancet report demonstrates to readers that there is a high level of agreement regarding the data. Surveys have shown that people are unaware of how many scientists agree with the data on climate change and that “highlighting consensus can be an effective means to counter misinformation and raise public awareness” (Lewandowsky, 2021, p. 1).

Another evidence-based climate change communication technique in the article is making it local. Most people are unaware of how climate change impacts them locally and think it is a serious problem but believe it is affecting other people in other places or people in the future (Maibach et al., 2011 & Bennett et al., 2021). As the Lancet Countdown is a technical report for the entire world, the article focuses on information specific to Canada to help Canadians understand local impacts and how they will be affected. The author used the example of the 2021 heat dome in British Columbia to discuss the effects of extreme heat, the 2021 impact of forest fire on Lytton, B.C. and the Lytton First Nations and the 2021 drought impact on farmers in Alberta and Saskatchewan. This lets readers understand that the impacts are already occurring in many places simultaneously within Canada.

The article’s title implies it will tell Canadians how climate change affects their health and therefore is an opportunity to frame climate change as a health issue. Given that health impacts everyone, the article should have a broad appeal and catch the attention of more Canadians than those specifically interested in environmental issues (Maibach et al., 2011). Discussing the health harms that occur from not acting on climate change and the health benefits realized from acting helps to answer the question of how climate change affects the individual (Maibach et al., 2011). Climate change is a complex issue, and it is difficult for people to understand what effects it will have on them. Helping people understand the health impacts the changing environment will have on them connects them to the more complex issue of climate change and that solutions to climate change can benefit their health (Maibach et al., 2011). Although some of the health impacts of extreme heat were described in the article, it did not provide any actions for the reader to take to reduce their risk and likely left them feeling overwhelmed and fearful.

Evidence shows that providing a fearful message and describing the challenge does not lead people to support climate action. They need the connections made to the solutions and the benefits from implementing solutions to remain engaged (Bennett et al., 2021). To keep audiences engaged and help them assimilate the fearful messaging about climate change impacts, Bennett et al. (2021) recommend using a message triangle “to deliver a story that sticks” (p. 2). A message triangle includes three elements; defining the challenge in clear, simple language, presenting the pathway or actions that can be taken to mitigate and adapt to the challenge, and describing the benefits derived from acting. Interestingly the article did not provide any information on pathways to alleviate the problem or the benefits that could be derived from implementing the pathways.

The fearful messages within the article include worsening health impacts, Canada’s failure to develop sufficient mitigation strategies, details of the 2021 deadly heat wave in B.C., impacts from wildfires on First Nations and frequent drought hurting farmers. These messages are likely to elicit fearful emotion in the audience, who consequently may react by rejecting or disengaging from the subject (Hine et al., 2016). Howarth et al. (2020) argue “frightening messages need be to be made personal and manageable and need to present clear solutions to remove the threat” (p. 322). Unfortunately, as noted above, solutions were not provided, not even links to stories about pathways and benefits, which could have provided the reader with some hope. To be fair, the Lancet report does not offer much in the way of pathways or benefits either. However, the Lancet Countdown Policy Brief for Canada does quote the IPCC report that “underscores every fraction of a degree of warming avoided provides critical protection”(Hackett et al., 2021, p. 2). It also promotes the co-benefits of increasing and preserving green space (Hackett et al., 2021). These points were not used in the article.

As noted previously, the Lancet Countdown report is a technical document and is not easily understood. Therefore, to make the story more relatable to the audience, the author of the CBC article used narrative and visual images. The narrative used in the article tells how the impacts of drought and diminishing crop yields affect Prairie farmers. The story is relayed by the director of climate crisis policy and action at the National Farmers Union. Using a local expert’s narrative brings credibility to the claims made by the science (Howarth et al., 2020). Also, “narratives help increase (the) connection between people and give meaning to certain issues, and they enable audiences to make sense of complex issues” (Howarth et al., 2020, p. 323). This was the most relatable part of the article due to the story being told from a local stakeholder’s perspective and the image of the farmer in his fields over two years.

Interestingly, although using images is an evidence-based climate change communication technique, research finds they must be used with care. For example, the farmer in his field, one year lush and green and the following year dry and sparse, does not demonstrate a long-term climate trend, as the Prairies have a history of these types of weather patterns, so it could be misleading (Lewandowsky, 2021). However, researchers also note the “depiction of credible, authentic human subjects have been found to evoke greater concern and motivation to act” (Wang et al., 2018, p. 6). Adding information in the caption about the long-term drought trend expected in the region could help to avoid confusion for those that only look at images and do not read the article. Another compelling image depicts extreme heat impacts by showing a man in shorts packing large water bottles as he walks through a cooling sprinkler. This picture evokes the seriousness of the climate impact on a real person straining to cope with the extreme situation. Such images connect with the reader emotionally and can result in readers feeling “greater concern and motivation to act” (Wang et al., 2018, p. 6).

There are also images in the article that climate communication researchers find are less effective such as a photo of the devastation after the Lytton fire and a picture of climate activist Greta Thunberg. Researchers have found that images of protesters or celebrities do not effectively engage audiences. They can be seen as distant or removed from the audience’s experience and may only resonate with other activists (Wang et al., 2018). The image of Greta may have been included to appeal to younger followers who also need to be engaged. Images of devastation, such as the Lytton, B.C. fire picture, have similar effects as fearful messages and must be accompanied by mitigating actions or solutions (Wang et al., 2018). Researchers have found that “images of distant climate impacts produced flatter emotional responses among those on the political right than the left, whereas solutions images produced positive emotions for both sides” (Wang et al., 2018, p. 8). The CBC article did not provide any solutions images or stories; therefore, the images would be considered ineffective based on climate change communication research. In contrast, the two images of people and the narrative about the drought are examples of effectively using evidence-based climate change communication techniques to deliver the message.

The CBC article was supposed to tell readers how climate change affects Canadian health but only talked about the health impacts of extreme heat and ended up straying from a health focus to talking about the growth of emissions, the impact of wildfire on Indigenous people, and the frequency of drought in the Prairies. The result is a fearful message without any solutions provided or mention of benefits from adopting solutions. Researchers have found that using fear to communicate about climate change is ineffective. As discussed above, “presenting frightening content about threats like climate change elicits fear control processing which leads audiences to disengage or reject threatening messages in an attempt to manage fears” (Hine et al., 2016). Researchers have found that providing applicable and relatable advice about managing the threat “leads people to seek out additional information and develop strategies to reduce or eliminate the threat”(Hine et al., 2016). Hopefully, all climate change communication aims to motivate people to take action to reduce the threat.

Had the article stayed with the intended premise stated in the title and focused on what Canadians need to know about health, there might have been an opportunity to write about some of the climate mitigation solutions and associated health benefits. What the article did do, was focus on many fearful impacts and issues related to climate change. This misses the opportunity to let the readers know what they need to do to prevent their demise or reduce the mental health impacts, such as increasing green space to reduce the heat island effect. This is a solution mentioned in the Canadian policy document supporting the Lancet Countdown report (Hackett et al., 2021). Increasing green space can positively impact people’s mental health, and when a solution is offered that also has benefits, it can lead to more engagement on the topic (Maibach et al., 2011). What the article did well from a climate change communication perspective was highlighting the scientific consensus (Lewandowsky, 2021), localizing the issues (Maibach et al., 2011), and using narrative, albeit the narrative did not talk about health (Howarth et al., 2020). Following a framework such as a message triangle (i.e., challenges, solutions, benefits) has research to support its effectiveness so that climate change communication can motivate the audience (Bennett et al., 2021). In the future, the CBC “Our Changing Planet” initiative, the Lancet Countdown Report and the Canadian Policy report derived from it must consider evidence-based climate change communication to create impactful messages that Canadians will heed.

References

Bennett, A., Hatch, C.,& Pike, C. (2021). Climate Messaging that Works, Climate Narrative Initiative, Climate Access. https://climateaccess.org/sites/default/files/Climate%20Messaging%20that%20Works%20-%20Talking%20Energy%20Transition%20and%20Climate%20Change%20in%20Canada.pdf

Bernstien, J. (2021, October 20). What Canadians need to know about how climate change is affecting their health. Science, CBC News. https://www.cbc.ca/news/science/climate-change-health-impacts-lancet-report-2021-1.6217768

Branch, L. S. (2020, July 1). Canada Broadcasting Act. Justice Department, Government of Canada. https://laws.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/B-9.01/

CBC/Radio Canada. (2021). Annual Report. CBC/Radio Canada https://cbc.radio-canada.ca/en/impact-and-accountability/finances/annual-reports/ar-2020-2021/measuring-our-performance/our-performance-mandate-vision

CBC/Radio Canada (n.d.). Mandate. CBC/Radio Canada. Retrieved July 3, 2022, from https://cbc.radio-canada.ca/en/vision/mandate

Fenlon, B. (2021, October 18). The planet is changing. So will our journalism. Editor’s Blog. CBC News. https://www.cbc.ca/news/science/climate-change-health-impacts-lancet-report-2021-1.6217768

Hackett, F., Petrin-Desrosiers, C., McGregor, D., Buse, C., Howard, C., Chisholm, A., & Carter, A. (2021). Canada 2021—Lancet Countdown Policy Brief.pdf. (n.d.). Retrieved July 4, 2022, from https://www.dropbox.com/s/kz2yinmxsagzcc2/Canada%202021%20-%20Lancet%20Countdown%20Policy%20Brief.pdf?dl=0

Hine, D. W., Phillips, W. J., Cooksey, R., Reser, J. P., Nunn, P., Marks, A. D. G., Loi, N. M., & Watt, S. E. (2016). Preaching to different choirs: How to motivate dismissive, uncommitted, and alarmed audiences to adapt to climate change? Global Environmental Change, 36, 1–11. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2015.11.002

Howarth, C., Parsons, L., & Thew, H. (2020). Effectively Communicating Climate Science beyond Academia: Harnessing the Heterogeneity of Climate Knowledge. One Earth 2(4), 320-324. https:/doi.org/10.1016/j.oneear.2020.04.01

Lewandowsky, S. (2021). Climate Change Disinformation and How to Combat It. Annual Review of Public Health, 42(1), 1–21. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-publhealth-090419-102409

Maibach, E., Matthew, N.,& Weather, M., (2011) Conveying the Human Implications of Climate Change – A Climate Change Communication Primer for Public Health Professionals. Fairfax, VA: George Mason University Center for Climate Change Communication.

Media Technology Monitor. (2018). Canadian Viewing Profiles, MTM Media Technology Monitor. appendix-c-mtm-canadian-viewing-profiles.pdf (radio-canada.ca)

Romanello, M., McGushin, A., Di Napoli, C., Drummond, P., Hughes, N., Jamart, L., Kennard, H., Lampard, P., Solano Rodriguez, B., Arnell, N., Ayeb-Karlsson, S., Belesova, K., Cai, W., Campbell-Lendrum, D., Capstick, S., Chambers, J., Chu, L., Ciampi, L., Dalin, C., … Hamilton, I. (2021). The 2021 report of the Lancet Countdown on health and climate change: Code red for a healthy future. The Lancet, 398(10311), 1619–1662. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(21)01787-6

Wang, S., Corner, A., Chapman, D., & Markowitz, E. (2018). Public engagement with climate imagery in a changing digital landscape. WIREs Climate Change, 9(2), e509. https://doi.org/10.1002/wcc.509

Climate Change Communication Content Analysis of a CBC Article Read More »

Critical Reflection on Climate Communication

Leave a Comment / Academic Writing, CALS 501, CALS 502 / Deanna

Climate change is a complex, pervasive and unprecedented challenge facing all living beings and ecosystems (IPCC, 2022). During MACAL 502 Climate Communications course, I have found that communicating about climate change is as challenging as achieving emissions reduction targets and attaining the necessary adaptation of mindsets, society, and infrastructure. At the very least, I have learnt that providing alarming scientific facts about future events will not spur sufficient action and can cause psychological paralysis, distancing, indifference, or apathy. In addition, and worse, there has been a concentrated, well-funded effort to oppose the science and emissions reduction efforts by those who fear that emissions reduction will impede the growth of their industry (Lewandowsky, 2021; Treen, 2020). If this is not enough of a challenge, different audiences react differently to the information provided and how it is communicated (Hine, 2016). As Howarth et al. (2020) point out, “The choices people make will be guided by government regulations, social practices, and individual decisions, all of which will be shaped by the availability of information and how it is communicated”(p. 320). Fortunately, the science of climate change communications has been developed in a relatively short time and offers insights into what has worked and what might work going forward (Moser, 2016). I am grateful to have been introduced to this body of work that can help me be more effective in my communications. Now, as I write or talk about climate change, I am thinking about the emotions fearful messages create in myself and others, as well as the worldviews and values of the audience, and looking for optimal ways to deliver a message that can effectively motivate positive action.

As I struggle to maintain my sense of hope with the slowness and tepidness of government actions, I have learnt that the perceived lack of action and the complexity of the issue can impact individuals’ willingness (or motivation) to act and increase fear, anxiety, and apathy (Moser, 2016; O’Neill & Nicholson-Cole, 2009). This was brought home to me when I mentioned climate change in a recent conversation with my daughter. She asked why I always talk about climate change, a topic she finds “so depressing”. As a young person, she is not alone in this feeling. A Lancet Medical Journal survey of 10,000 youth on climate anxiety found that 75% think the future is frightening, and 50% felt several negative emotions, including powerlessness and hopelessness (Hickman et al., 2021). In their discussion of the failure of government and those in power to act, the authors are scathing, claiming that “[s]ubjecting young people to climate anxiety and moral injury can be regarded as cruel, inhuman, degrading or even torturous” (Hickman et al., 2021, p. 9). This is also important to consider when delivering climate news. Climate communications researchers found that framing climate change sensationally when communicating with students increased perceptions of risk compared to those reading neutral information (Schuldt et al., 2018). Sensational messages also elicited “stronger negative emotions toward climate change” (Schuldt et al., 2018, p.61). As noted, fearful messages can cause psychological distancing; however, this can be minimized by including a pathway or solution for the audience to deal with the threat (Howarth et al., 2020). I also need to recognize my reaction to fearful or sensational messages as well as the reaction of others so that I can be empathic to the audience and reframe the message to include a pathway forward whenever possible.

Paths forwards can include encouraging audiences to be aware of their mindset. Mary AnnaÏse Heglar’s blog post, Home is Always Worth It (2019), captures her feelings of shock and hopelessness when confronted with bleak and dire proclamations for the future. However, she quite pragmatically points out that we have “no time for nihilism” and that “we can recognize that hopelessness does not mean helplessness”(Heglar, 2019). Similarly, Hannah Richie, in her article Stop Telling Kids They’ll Die From Climate Change notes that she needed a change in mindset (Richie, 2021). She reframes her thinking by acknowledging that the world is slowly moving to lower carbon options and that “we need a new message for climate change … that drives action through optimism” (Richie, 2021). Although I recognize the necessity to acknowledge the feelings of hopelessness, I want to find ways to motivate climate action. To this end, I have looked for ways to include solutions, pathways, and benefits from implementing the solutions in my communications. Thinking about the benefit triangle (Figure 1) has been practical and helpful in achieving this.

Figure 1

Benefit Triangle

Note. The Benefit Triangle is a helpful tool. From: (Bennett, 2021, p. 2).

In Climate Messaging that Works, Bennett et al. (2021) found that when communicating about a challenge, it is effective to connect solutions and benefits with the challenge being communicated. Hence the Benefit Triangle. The authors note that the benefit triangle “allows you to keep things simple amidst all the noise — to connect the dots between what people care about and what can be done” (Bennett et al., 2021, p. 2). The next time the topic of climate change came up between my daughter and me, it was in a conversation about flooding from a local river. I mentioned the municipality’s commitment to restoring the riverbanks as a means of adaptation. This nature-based solution allows nature to provide the infrastructure and many other benefits for the environment instead of a single-purpose retaining wall. This time the message was received with interest. She could see the benefit of this pathway as it improved an essential and valued watershed.

Bennett et al. advise climate communicators to “[h]one in on the benefits of climate action most relevant to audiences by talking about what will improve for their lives … or other things they care about”(p. 3). Taking this to heart, I recently developed the blog post, Nanaimo citizen’s climate action story gallery, which showcased friends and family taking positive climate action measures. The post also incorporated images and audio and was written to assist those with visual impairments and cognitive challenges. Actions featured in the blog ranged from starting a seed library to cycling for transportation to installing heat pumps and solar systems. While the actions reflect the individuals’ interests, ages, and access to capital, each action contributes to emissions reduction, health and well-being and community building. Using narrative was a new and previously untried approach for me. I found that doing the research and writing was a positive personal experience and, to my surprise, gave me hope.

MACAL 502 included readings about Indigenous Knowledge Keepers, which has stretched my thinking, world view and understanding in new and improved ways. Understanding or at least having an inkling of Indigenous knowledge offers an insightful approach to climate change communications and validates my innate connection to nature. Through this learning, I have come to understand that climate change is a symptom of colonialism and capitalism that has separated humans from being connected to nature (Kimmerer, 2013; Whyte, 2017). In writing about the Indigenous Knowledge Keepers who attended the Onjisay Aki International Climate Summit, Cameron et al. (2021) share the Elders’ insights regarding climate change. The Elders at the summit suggested that solving greenhouse gas emissions with technical fixes will not work without going deeper and finding the underlying cause of the problem(Cameron et al., 2021). Understanding the underlying causes resonates with me as a way to understand why those in power and many others are threatened and dismissive of climate action.

The Elders identified the core of the problem as self-centred human values such as greed, arrogance, and domination, which lead to destructive behaviours and actions such as extraction and exploitation (Cameron et al., 2021). Ultimately these actions result in climate change, biodiversity loss and other impacts on the ecosystem. Although these consequences are devastating, the Knowledge Keepers generously offer a way forward that includes “Indigenous peoples reclaim[ing] positions of leadership to help guide humanity in returning to a way of life in balance with the Earth’s limit and laws”( p. 8). We can look at the root cause of climate change as “a deeply human story about the relationality between humans and the planet” (p. 16). As Robin Kimmerer (2013) notes, “we are deluged by information regarding our destruction of the world and hear almost nothing about how to nurture it” (p. 327). Therefore, as a white settler who is sometimes overwhelmed by the grief and magnitude of the climate change message, I can remind myself of the necessity to tell stories with nurturing in mind and look for opportunities to communicate about reconciliation, reconnection with nature and living in reciprocity with the natural environment.

I am grateful for having had the opportunity to delve into the research and science of climate change communications. Studying climate change communications may be a science but applying it is an art. I say this because to be effective I need to understand people’s emotional responses, values and mindsets and appeal to them to consider other ways of seeing or being in the world. I may have intuitively understood some of this in the past, but now I can look to climate change communications science for tools and research to help me be effective. Going forward, I will use the benefit triangle, increase my narrative and storytelling skills, promote a deeper connection to nature and look to the wisdom of the Indigenous peoples. In addition, my future writings will include using message frames, careful use of imagery and icons and maybe other forms of media beyond the blog.

Reference

Cameron, L., Courchene, D., Ijaz, S., & Mauro, I. (2021). ‘A change of heart’: Indigenous perspectives from the Onjisay Aki Summit on climate change. Climatic Change, 164(3), 43. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10584-021-03000-8

Heglar, M. A. (2019, September 17). Home is Always Worth It. Medium. https://medium.com/@maryheglar/home-is-always-worth-it-d2821634dcd9

Hickman, C., Marks, E., Pihkala, P., Clayton, S., Lewandowski, R. E., Mayall, E. E., Wray, B., Mellor, C., & van Susteren, L. (2021). Climate anxiety in children and young people and their beliefs about government responses to climate change: A global survey. The Lancet Planetary Health, 5(12), e863–e873. https://doi.org/10.1016/S2542-5196(21)00278-3

Hine, D. W., Phillips, W. J., Cooksey, R., Reser, J. P., Nunn, P., Marks, A. D. G., Loi, N. M., & Watt, S. E. (2016). Preaching to different choirs: How to motivate dismissive, uncommitted, and alarmed audiences to adapt to climate change? Global Environmental Change, pp. 36, 1–11. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2015.11.002

IPCC, (2022). Summary for Policymakers [H.-O. Pörtner, D.C. Roberts, E.S. Poloczanska, K. Mintenbeck, M. Tignor, A. Alegría, M. Craig, S. Langsdorf, S. Löschke, V. Möller, A. Okem (eds.)]. In: Climate Change 2022: Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability. Contribution of Working Group II to the Sixth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change [H.-O. Pörtner, D.C. Roberts, M. Tignor, E.S. Poloczanska, K. Mintenbeck, A. Alegría, M. Craig, S. Langsdorf, S. Löschke, V. Möller, A. Okem, B. Rama (eds.)]. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK and New York, NY, USA, pp. 3–33, doi:10.1017/9781009325844.001.

Kimmerer, R.W. (2013). Braiding Sweetgrass. Milkweed Editions. https://milkweed.org/book/braiding-sweetgrass

Lewandowsky, S. (2021). Climate Change Disinformation and How to Combat It. Annual Review of Public Health, 42(1), 1–21. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-publhealth-090419-102409

Moser, S. C. (2016). Reflections on climate change communication research and practice in the second decade of the 21st century: What more is there to say? WIREs Climate Change, 7(3), 345–369. https://doi.org/10.1002/wcc.403

Ritchie, H. (n.d.). Stop Telling Kids They’ll Die From Climate Change. Wired. Retrieved September 19, 2022, from https://www.wired.com/story/stop-telling-kids-theyll-die-from-climate-change/

Schuldt, J.P., Krasny, M.E., & Armstrong, A.K. (2018). Communicating Climate Change: A Guide for Educators. Ithaca: Cornell University Press., http://doi.org/10.1353/book.68536.

Treen, K. M. d’I., Williams, H. T. P., & O’Neill, S. J. (2020). Online misinformation about climate change. WIREs Climate Change, 11(5), e665. https://doi.org/10.1002/wcc.665

Whyte, K. (2017). Indigenous Climate Change Studies: Indigenizing Futures, Decolonizing the Anthropocene. English Language Notes, 55(1–2), pp. 153–162. https://doi.org/10.1215/00138282-55.1-2.153

Critical Reflection on Climate Communication Read More »

Imagining my Green Neighbourhood Twenty Years From Now

Leave a Comment / CALS 502, Story Gallery / Deanna

Today, June 21, 2042, it has been ten years since my household achieved net zero carbon emissions. Even better, many of my neighbours have done the same thing or are close to doing so. Impressively, that is eight years before Canada will achieve the same target. I say “will” because the federal and provincial governments finally quit messing around and started taking serious steps to achieve the targets they set in the 2020s. This has moved Canada from being a climate change laggard to a leader in reducing emissions (Zimonjic, 2021).

Twenty years ago, people might have asked what it means to be net zero? But as most people now know, it means quitting emitting. That is, no more fossil fuel burning for household heat or transportation, and eliminating, as often as possible, products that require fossil fuels for their production. Also, it means no more methane-producing garbage or eating animals that create high emissions (Milman, 2021). Cow burps producing methane are just part of the problem.

How to get rid of emissions

For any emissions I create in a year, or when I build or renovate, I offset them with the excess clean electricity I put into the grid (more on that later) and what is growing in my yard. If more offsets are required to achieve net zero for the year, that is achieved by planting trees (Allen, 2021). As it stands now, there is no room left in my yard for trees. It is full! Fortunately, many First Nations have been able to sell carbon offsets because of the sequestered carbon in the forests they manage (Coastal First Nations, 2010). This helps us get to net zero and provides the First Nations with revenue from conservation.

Bushes and trees going out at Bonnell Creek near Nanaimo — Growing Forests Back Through Planting to Offset Emissions

As pleased as I am to be net zero, I could not have done this alone. Nor would I have wanted to. Achieving a goal like this is only meaningful and possible if others work toward the same purpose. That includes my neighbours, governments, corporations, and even the power-hungry plutocrats (Monbiot, 2022). When the neighbourhood decided to do this as a collective, we had more influence in getting help from the politicians and local businesses. Other neighbourhoods were also inspired and started their own green collectives. Renters got landlords to support tree planting and community gardens so that they could also benefit from the shade and access to fresh food.

At first, it was a challenge to change our homes and transportation methods, as well as to think about what we buy and how it is disposed of. Thankfully forward-thinking governments provided policies and incentives to help. Good governments that work for the people do make a difference. We all took advantage of and benefited from the federal government’s Greener Homes program, the provincial government’s CleanBC program, and the City of Nanaimo’s 2022 ReImagine Nanaimo City Plan. Over time the governments built on these plans to help citizens transition to greener living.

Greening the neighbourhood made us healthier

We found that greenhouse gas emissions were like a nasty virus that kept cropping up in different things and was often part of the mix of pollutants harmful to our health and planet (Chaisson, 2019). As it was when our neighbourhood collective started on the path to net zero, we did not know how much our health would benefit from our efforts (Kingsley, 2019). According to government statistics, our neighbourhood has fewer mental health problems, higher physical fitness rates, better cognitive function, and less overall sickness. We are happy, get along with each other and most importantly, look out for each other. Apparently, this has helped us to live longer.

Not surprisingly, these neighbourhood statistics have caught the interest of researchers. Unfortunately, other communities have seen a decline in health. Most are the ones that continued with the old high emissions lifestyle (National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, 2022) and relied on the fossil fuel industries’ claims about technology to remove the emissions from the atmosphere. Sadly, the health and social problems overwhelm their health care, mental health, and social support systems. Our neighbourhood’s healthy lifestyle has the researchers calling our neighbourhood the Green Zone. That is a nod to the Blue Zones communities researchers studied in the early 2000s, where people live healthily and happily beyond 100 years of age (Buettner & Skemp, 2016). They want to find out what we have done so it can be replicated in other neighbourhoods.

A photo of a wheelbarrow full of harvested orange pumpkins and yellow and green squash. Golden yellow rudbeckia flowers in the background. — Can Growing Pumpkins in the Front Yard Grow Community?

Plants and gardens are more than pretty to look at

What got the collective started, I think, was growing pumpkins in the front yard. Aside from being a great way to keep the soil cool with all the foliage and providing food for fall and winter, growing pumpkins is a great conversation starter. Neighbours and passersby would stop and ask about the pumpkins, and toddlers would pat them. They then started to notice the blueberry hedge and the garlic tucked in amongst the lavender and asters. Other keen neighbourhood gardeners ditched their grass lawns for shrubs, pollinator flowers, fruit and nut trees, edible plants, and berries. Soon the bees were buzzing and birds flocking to the welcoming environment. To the delight of all there were surpluses resulting in a neighbourhood veggie stand and a seed saver library. People loved the fresh, healthy food and benefited from getting their hands in the soil. Researchers have shown what gardeners have always known: it makes us happier (Tenenbaum, 2020). Gardening also helps to reduce depression, anxiety, and body mass index (Soga et al., 2017), just one more contributing factor to our Green Zone.

A photo of blueberries growing on the bush amongst garlic, rhubarb and many front yard perennials and shrubs. — Sunny Front Yards Can Grow Food

Micro Forests for cooling, storing carbon, and clean air

When we started to get serious about emissions reductions, many of us used parts or all our yards to create micro forests using the Miyawaki Method, which was developed in Japan. The idea is to create optimal conditions to grow mature biodiverse micro forests quickly. This provided incredible climatic benefits to the neighbourhood, sequestering more carbon than trees planted alone, thereby helping us achieve net zero (Chelsea Green Publishing, 2022). We also benefited from the cooling effect forests provide during hot weather, improved soil health from developing an underground fungal network, and habitat for birds and pollinators (Chelsea Green Publishing, 2022). Micro forests also help to filter the air from pollutants that blow in from distant forest fires. Our yards have become thriving green spaces. But up until recently, all the greenery stopped at people’s driveways and the paved street.

Paved streets too hot to live by

Before making changes, the streets got very hot during the extended high heat events (warping and cracking the asphalt pavement), and the storm drainage could not keep up with the long and intense rainstorms. BC Hydro’s overhead wires and poles also were aging rapidly from the extreme weather. The City of Nanaimo introduced a program to use green infrastructure to help soak up stormwater and prevent flooding due to the increased rain (City of Nanaimo, 2022). When the city redid our neighbourhood streets, they replaced failed paved surfaces and overhead services with a smooth, impervious surface but only the center strip. Below-ground services, rain gardens and permeable paving make up either side. Wheeled vehicles (motorized or people-powered) and those needing a smooth surface to wheel walkers or use tactile devices for navigation shared the centre strip. Where cars used to park along the side of the street was replaced with permeable paving with low-growing native plants in the spaces.

Paving that absorbs rain

Permeable paving allows rain to absorb into the soil below and provides a cushion for walking from the low-growing vegetation. Rain gardens were added to the curb to help further slow the rush of surface rainwater down the street. This also helped to filter and decrease the rush of stormwater into the Millstone river, hopefully helping the spawning salmon. We find that stormwater soaking into the ground through the permeable paving and the moisture absorbed by the rain gardens helps to recharge the groundwater and reduce some of the impacts during extended drought periods keeping water available for trees and deep-rooted plants (Capital Regional District, n.d.).

Rain gardens and permeable paving are different esthetic, and some neighbours were not sure about this. But all welcomed the further greening from the additional trees and native plants, thereby helping to cool the street. Now walking or rolling up the road on a hot day is as pleasurable as stepping into the cool forest protecting us from the extreme heat.

A photo of a female pedestrian wearing a cream hat and red daypack on a multi-use path, looking ahead at the trees arching over and plants growing on both sides of the path. — A Cool Inviting Commuter Path on a Residential Street

Tax credits to get rid of paved driveways

The permeable pavement was such a benefit the city started giving tax credits to residents to replace their paved driveways with porous green surfaces (more carbon sequestration). Some neighbours found they did not need a multi-car driveway and went even further by putting in natural ponds and rain gardens to help store water and provide protection from drought. It is pleasing to look at, and one of the neighbours lets the kids swim in their pond. Others put in a small area of permeable paving and added tiny homes to what was once their large driveway, which has helped create diverse housing for our community.

Intergenerational living makes our neighbourhood vibrant

The ReImagine City Plan from 2022 focused on growing within the city limits rather than expanding outward. But the city still needed places for people to live as the population increased—this required planning flexibility for the layout and types of buildings on a typical city lot. People have created suites within their homes, built two homes on one lot, or added tiny dwellings up to two per lot. What this has done in my neighbourhood is allow for intergenerational living.

Aging parents or young adults live in smaller dwellings or accessible suites. In my case, it is all three. Many of my neighbours have their young adult children in tiny homes. Since most of us also want to generate as much food and energy from our properties as possible, most of the dwelling’s surfaces are either green and growing or covered in solar panels.

The extra people living within the neighbourhood have made for a supportive, lively community. The street, once the domain of the gas-fired car, now supports socialization (one neighbour has even set up a coffee kiosk for delicious plant-based baking and drinks), exercise (who wouldn’t want to walk around and visit the gardens, the vegetable stand, or the adjacent park?), and multiple modes of transportation (all have the right of way over the cars which keeps car speeds lower and safer).

Transit, active transportation and EVs transformed how we get around

Transit has become so convenient and much less troublesome than owning a car. People have turned their vehicles in for active transportation, including walking, running, mobility aids, e-bikes, electric kick scooters, and electric skateboards. Depending on the nature of the trip, they can bring their active transport device on the bus with them or store them in the secure storage lockers provided at the bus stops. Self-driving electric vehicle car share apps have allowed people to put their parked EV cars up for others to use when they are not using them. The car drives on its own to pick up the passengers.

EV car share apps are essential for people who cannot participate in active transportation and still need to get around but do not own a car. BC Transit also has cars available on the apps for similar purposes. It is a convenient service as the car picks you up at the appointed time and drops you off at the door of wherever you need to go. There is no need to find parking. The vehicle will wait for you if it is a quick in and out trip. The rest of us have lost weight, feel much happier and enjoy better health from moving our bodies to get around. Plus, the city has exceeded its target to reduce car trips and has all sorts of extra space freed up from where all the cars used to park to build homes, neighbourhood markets, community gardens or micro forests.

Solar panels on everyone’s home

As mentioned above, our neighbourhood produces most of its energy requirements with solar panels on the roof or walls of the various dwellings on their property. We took advantage of the federal government’s interest-free loans and incentives starting in 2022 to install solar on our roofs. Then BC Hydro removed the restriction that we could not produce more power than we used in a year if we had battery storage so that the grid could draw on it when needed. This helped BC Hydro to avoid having to use fossil fuel-fired generation when hydro generation could not meet demand and meant we could offset our unavoidable emissions. Battery backup also helps during power outages. Spent EV car batteries have a second life as our backup battery storage systems, thereby minimizing the environmental impact of storage (Hive Power, 2022).

Recently other neighbours installed a new generation of panels that produce electricity from solar, rain and wind (Zheng et al., 2015). I might add some of those soon as well. Once we started saving money on our energy bills, that helped, along with incentives to pay for additional upgrades. For my house, we added insulation to the roof and attic to get protection from the searing hot sun and the sometimes cold winters. The great thing about solar panels, aside from the free electricity, is they shade the roof’s surface and extend its life span. All this clean energy has reduced the air pollution from gas-fired appliances and gas-powered cars. Many of us noticed a reduction in respiratory illnesses from cleaner air (National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, 2022). Unfortunately, wildfire smoke still moves into the area, which always happens during the hottest weather.

Heat pumps really help

When this happens, all we can do is shelter inside our homes that thanks to the government programs, have helped us all move to heat pumps and high-efficiency filtration on the air supply system, so we are comfortable and safe. Our trees and green growing yards also help. As the micro forests and mature forested parks filter the air, some of us will don our air cleaning respirators to still get out for shorter walks.

What I have noticed about the heat pump is that it is much quieter than my old high-efficiency gas furnace, and my house is always at a comfortable temperature. The air cleaning filter has meant fewer asthma attacks for most of us that suffer (thanks to the various respiratory pandemics of the 2020s and out-of-control wildfire smoke, many more people have problems breathing) and less use of the rescue puffer (Bottrell, 2019). The household energy costs are significantly reduced, and clean energy was an essential step to being net zero.

***

I open my eyes and blink. The sun is already hot and streaming in through the dusty glass. I take my first conscious breath of the morning and detect the smell of forest fire smoke that has been lingering in the air for days. I blink a few more times, frown, and my heart sinks as I quickly try to force myself back to sleep and capture a few more minutes of the lovely green dream. That was a more elaborate dream than usual. Maybe to counteract the grim heat dome and forest fire season that has replaced what we used to call summer. It is not all terrible, but it is challenging. Especially now that there are shortages and an increasing threat of conquest (the Americans want Canada’s water).

I will have to tell my granddaughter, Ruby, about the dream at breakfast. She loves to listen to stories and is a wise soul currently learning Hul’q’umin’um’, an opportunity gifted to all school children from the Snuneymuxw First Nation. She will ask why we didn’t achieve our goals (Monbiot, 2022). Why couldn’t we stop our need for more, more, more? We have all been forced to do with less now but have caused much more damage to ourselves and the environment. It was like being told we had stage 3 liver and lung cancer and continued smoking, drinking, and refusing treatment. What made people want to live foolishly beyond the planet’s capacity to provide for them? I will gaze out the window at the old oak that shades our yard and sigh and say well, Ruby, that is another story.

***

Bibliography and Sources

Allen, M. (2021). Does planting trees in your yard help fight climate change? The Garden Continuum. https://www.thegardencontinuum.com/blog/does-planting-trees-in-your-yard-help-fight-climate-change

Bottrell, J. (2019, July 31.). Are Air Conditioners Good for Asthma? Asthma.Net. https://asthma.net/living/air-conditioning-help

BC Center for Disease Control (2017). Fact sheet: Supporting equity through the built environment. http://www.bccdc.ca/resource-gallery/Documents/Educational%20Materials/EH/BCCDC_equity-fact-sheet_web.pdf

Buettner, D., & Skemp, S. (2016). Blue Zones. American Journal of Lifestyle Medicine, 10(5), 318–321. https://doi.org/10.1177/1559827616637066

Capital Regional District. (n.d.). What is a Rain Garden? https://www.crd.bc.ca/education/stormwater-wastewater-septic/green-stormwater-infrastructure/rain-gardens

Chaisson, C. (2021, February 19.). Fossil Fuel Air Pollution Kills One in Five People. NRDC. https://www.nrdc.org/stories/fossil-fuel-air-pollution-kills-one-five-people

Chelsea Green Publishing. (2022). Imagining a Mini-Forest’s Potential: The Miyawaki Method [Review of the book Mini-Forest Revolution, by H. Lewis]. https://www.chelseagreen.com/2022/the-miyawaki-method/

City of Nanaimo (2022, May). City Plan – Nanaimo Reimagined, Executive Summary. https://www.nanaimo.ca/docs/projects/city-plan—executive-summary—2022.06.03.pdf

City of Nanaimo (2022, May). City Plan – Nanaimo Reimagined. https://pub-nanaimo.escribemeetings.com/FileStream.ashx?DocumentId=42277

Coastal First Nations. (2010). Forest Carbon Credits – Economic Revenue for Forest Conservation. https://coastalfirstnations.ca/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/CFN-Carbon-Credit-info-brochure-.pdf

Gavurova, B., Rigelsky, M., & Ivankova, V. (2021). Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Health in the Countries of the European Union. Frontiers in Public Health, 9. https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2021.756652

Hive Power. (2022, February 14). Is Repurposing EV Batteries for Grid Energy Storage a Sustainable Plan? https://www.hivepower.tech//blog/is-recycling-ev-batteries-for-grid-energy-storage-a-sustainable-plan

Hunter, R. F., Cleland, C., Cleary, A., Droomers, M., Wheeler, B. W., Sinnett, D., Nieuwenhuijsen, M. J., & Braubach, M. (2019). Environmental, health, wellbeing, social and equity effects of urban green space interventions: A meta-narrative evidence synthesis. Environment International, 130, 104923. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envint.2019.104923

Kingsley, M. & EcoHealth Ontario. (2019). Commentary – Climate change, health and green space co-benefits. Health Promotion and Chronic Disease Prevention in Canada: Research, Policy and Practice, 39(4), 131-135. https://doi.org/10.24095/hpcdp.39.4.0

Lee, M., Li, B., Maxwell, S. & Shulman, T. (2021). A Zero Waste Agenda for BC. Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives BC and Zero Waste BC. https://policyalternatives.ca/sites/default/files/uploads/publications/BC%20Office/2021/10/ccpa-bc_Zero-Waste_2021_full.pdf

Lusk, A. C., da Silva Filho, D. F., & Dobbert, L. (2020). Pedestrian and cyclist preferences for tree locations by sidewalks and cycle tracks and associated benefits: Worldwide implications from a study in Boston, MA. Cities, 106, 102111. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cities.2018.06.024

Milman, O. (2021, September 13). Meat accounts for nearly 60% of all greenhouse gases from food production, study finds. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/sep/13/meat-greenhouses-gases-food-production-study

Monbiot, G. (2022, July 6). It’s democracy v plutocracy – this is the endgame for our planet. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/jul/06/power-wealthy-earth-politics-democracy-plutocracy

National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences. (2022). Air Pollution and Your Health. https://www.niehs.nih.gov/health/topics/agents/air-pollution/index.cfm

Soga, M., Gaston, K. J., & Yamaura, Y. (2017). Gardening is beneficial for health: A meta-analysis. Preventive Medicine Reports, 5, 92–99. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pmedr.2016.11.007

Tenenbaum, L. (2020, January 29). Digging In The Dirt Really Does Make People Happier. Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/sites/lauratenenbaum/2020/01/29/digging-in-the-dirt-really-does-make-people-happier/

Zheng, L., Cheng, G., Chen, J., Lin, L., Wang, J., Liu, Y., Li, H., & Wang, Z. L. (2015). A Hybridized Power Panel to Simultaneously Generate Electricity from Sunlight, Raindrops, and Wind around the Clock. Advanced Energy Materials, 5(21), 1501152. https://doi.org/10.1002/aenm.201501152

Zimonjic, P. (2021, November 25). Canada’s climate change efforts going from “failure to failure,” says commissioner’s report | CBC News. CBC. https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/environment-commissioner-report-failure-to-failure-1.6262523

Imagining my Green Neighbourhood Twenty Years From Now Read More »

Climate Communications Content Backed by Research

Leave a Comment / Academic Writing, CALS 502 / Deanna

Overview

The forward-looking narrative Imaging my Green Neighbourhood Twenty Years From Now (Fourt, 2022) envisioned what changes might occur and the health and well-being benefits that might be derived if recent government climate actions are implemented and acted on. The recently approved (July 4, 2022) City of Nanaimo Plan intended to guide the city’s development for the next 24 years was the primary focus of the narrative. The plan’s vision is a resilient green Nanaimo wrapping around and encircling all four of the other goals in the plan (City of Nanaimo, 2022). Community health and well-being are one of the goals a green Nanaimo encircles (City of Nanaimo, 2022). The remaining three goals are equitable access and mobility, reconciliation and inclusion, and a thriving, resilient economy that contributes to health and well-being (Hunter et al., 2019). As a citizen, I wondered what those goals would mean for my neighbourhood. I used the forward-looking narrative to shift from abstract technical concepts outlined in the plan to explore how solutions might be applied and the benefits that would be achieved. Reading the narrative may help citizens envision how the plan could benefit them and their neighbourhood (Hinyard & Kreuter, 2007; Moezzi et al., 2017). Knowing how they will directly benefit may help generate continued support for the long-range plan (Maibach et al., 2011).

I developed the Nanaimo Citizens Climate Action Story Gallery as an alternative to the forward-looking narrative and a different means for people to understand some of the solutions available to them. The story gallery includes short narratives and photos of real people taking action to implement climate change solutions in the community. Research shows that images affect the viewer differently than a narrative and may help readers and viewers connect with the actions described in the narrative (Altinay, 2017). Using images to support the climate action stories is intended to elicit positive emotions, deepen knowledge and provide easy-to-understand pathways for action (Hinyard & Kreuter, 2007; Schroth et al., 2014; Wang et al., 2018). It also assists people with different cognitive abilities in understanding concepts (Altinay, 2017; Merkle, 2019; O’Neill, 2019). Calling this a story gallery means it can become a place to collect and share photo stories of other people’s actions on an ongoing basis.

Access to the narrative and solutions image gallery is enhanced for those with visual impairment and cognitive challenges. For example, images have alt-text for those that use assistive technology for reading. A Practical Handbook on Accessible Graphic Design recommends that “describing the communication intent” (Rallo et al. 2019, p. 38) rather than a literal description is more informative for those accessing alt-text. The handbook also recommends brevity for the alt-text. Readability is enhanced by using an optimal typeface and font size. Spacing, line length, alignment and formatting were also considered. Typefaces such as Calibri or Helvetica must be at a minimum point size of 12 points or larger to enhance legibility. For the visually impaired, the handbook recommends line spacing be “125 to 150% of the font size” (Rallo et al. 2019, p. 29). The space between paragraphs should be 50% greater than that between the lines without indenting. Keeping line length between 45 to 90 characters ensures readability. Too short of a line increases cognitive load, and too long of a line is difficult for those with neck mobility issues. Hyphenated words will be avoided as this can cause confusion for screen readers and increase cognitive load. Further, the text will be kept to smaller, manageable blocks to avoid overwhelming the reader. Headings and anchors will be used to facilitate easy navigation within the piece.

The following is a link to the Nanaimo Citizens Climate Action Story Gallery

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

Arthurs-Brennan, M. (2022, January 14). 15 benefits of cycling: Why cycling is great for fitness, legs and mind. Cyclingweekly.Com. https://www.cyclingweekly.com/news/latest-news/benefits-of-cycling-334144

BC Care Providers Association (2022, July 22). Ensure safety of seniors ahead of the upcoming heat in B.C. https://bccare.ca/2022/07/ensure-safety-of-seniors-ahead-of-the-upcoming-heat-in-b-c/

City of Nanaimo (2022, May). City Plan – Nanaimo Reimagined, Executive Summary. https://www.nanaimo.ca/docs/projects/city-plan—executive-summary—2022.06.03.pdf

City of Nanaimo (2022, May). City Plan – Nanaimo Reimagined. https://pub-nanaimo.escribemeetings.com/FileStream.ashx?DocumentId=42277

Fourt, D. (2022). Imaging my Green Neighbourhood Twenty Years From Now [Student paper]. Royal Roads University.

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. https://doi.org/10.1177/1090198106291963

Merkle, B. G. (2019). Writing Science: Best Practices for the Images that Accompany Your Writing. The Bulletin of the Ecological Society of America, 100(2), e01536. https://doi.org/10.1002/bes2.1536

Moezzi, M., Janda, K. B., & Rotmann, S. (2017). Using stories, narratives, and storytelling in energy and climate change research. Energy Research & Social Science, 31, 1–10. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.erss.2017.06.034

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Schroth, O., Angel, J., Sheppard, S., & Dulic, A. (2014). Visual Climate Change Communication: From Iconography to Locally Framed 3D Visualization. Environmental Communication, 8(4), 413–432. https://doi.org/10.1080/17524032.2014.906478

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Nanaimo Citizens Climate Action Story Gallery

1 Comment / CALS 502, Story Gallery / Deanna

Welcome to the Nanaimo Citizens Climate Action Story Gallery. Here is a place to tell real stories about real people taking climate action. The climate is changing, and the choices we make in our lives have impacts on the environment. Those choices can also affect how much the climate will continue to change and how well we will endure the resulting extreme weather events. Citizens taking action now are helping the environment and reducing their climate impacts. They are benefiting from better health, saving money and supporting their community.

See page 2 for a story on bicycle commuting, page 3 on installing a heat pump and air filter, page 4 on installing solar panels, and page 5 on starting a seed library. The stories represent a range of options and are told by people of various ages. They are my friends and family, and I am grateful for their willingness to participate in the Climate Action Story Gallery.

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