October 2021

Let's Talk About Eco-Ableism

Photo courtesy of Pixabay. 

Not far from my sit spot, seemingly nestled away from the rest of the busy and raucous world of a city (that, indeed, never truly sleeps) is a wondrous and large plot of green space. This discovery—gift, really! —means that I have the ability to, with the help of the ol’ pied-mobile, venture into nearby nature and escape from the urban environment my home is huddled in. This translates to me, like Lucy Pevensie in C.S. Lewis’ The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe, slipping into a green and enchanted world that, for a time, can give the impression of being completely separate and untouched from urban development. Winding trails, rugged stairways, and quaint bridges provide the perfect backdrop to unwind and slow my pace—to just simply breathe.

However, lately—and thanks to some recent course readings—I have been looking around my sit spot (and walking trail) through a new lens. Firstly, I note how fortunate I am to be able to have these shared experiences with the more-than-human world, and second, I have come to understand that these trails and locations are not always accessible to all members of my new community.

Indeed, from my sitting spot I see leaves scattering the ground like a handful a skittles. On the one hand, it is beautiful, but on the other, it is a terrible tripping hazard that is only amplified for someone the requires devices to help them travel. I also see a sidewalk that is in need of repair, jagged sections of pavement and upturned ground make the road uneven. 

As previously mentioned, the pathways along my walking tail are not designed for the use of such devices either, as they are incredibly narrow and uneven. So, where I have admittedly viewed paved roads as being a disruption of the natural world, others would view this as improved accessibility. And so, who am I, to fight or argue against making a world more equitable and accessible for all?

Not to Get Personal, but...

Just recently, I accompanied two of my family members on an outing to the local shopping centre. Both have mobility difficulties (short term/long term) that require them to use wheelchairs for extended distances (in deference to them, I will not share their personal stories). What I noticed (and have noticed) is that my local environment is incredibly inaccessible to some members of society. From spatial factors in stores and restaurants and illegible topography of signs and menus, to the height of counters at tills and blaring ambient music, it takes very little time to see how most settings and situations are geared toward non-disabled people. For example, when someone lives with chronic pain, every single groove in an aesthetically pleasing tiled floor becomes, for them, an agonizing journey that must be endured to complete day-to-day tasks. So, from my experience (or the experiences from those around me), I can agree that a lack of accessibility affects people in my community. It affects a disabled person’s ability to, not only, complete necessary tasks within their lives (and subsequently within a society geared towards non-disabled people), but also to interact with the more-than-human world.

I am not only privileged to be able to make space to discuss and ponder these issues, but I am also privileged by the fact that my relationship to the more-than-human world was developed by my access to these green spaces. An access that is not afforded to everyone in my community. 

Use Your Words, and Use Them Well!

Elizabeth Wright’s (2020) article, “Climate change, disability, and eco-ableism: Why we need to be inclusive to save the planet” was incredibly enlightening on how important it is to consider all perspectives when talking about eco or climate justice. Furthermore, eco-ableism (“ableism” from “environmental activists who fail to take into account those that are less able or privileged then them” (Wright, 2020)), which is something that I am certainly guilty of, is yet another indication that causes, such as climate justice, should not be pigeonholed.

We cannot move forward in our journey towards sustainability until everyone has a seat at the table. Whether this involves adjusting the table or removing the table altogether, it is important to be open to any change that will make this world equitable and inclusive for all.

I am, unfortunately, unable to offer any solutions to these issues. All that I can do is make note of areas where I see room for improvement (within myself and my community). I can acknowledge, once again, my own privilege and open myself up for all or any changes that will make this world more accessible. I can, as a communicator, continue to highlight stories, like Wright’s (2020), in the public sphere. As climate scientist Katharine Hayhoe says, “the most important thing you can do to fight climate change [, and in this case, eco-ableism, is to] talk about it” (TED, 2019). And so I would like to encourage myself (as well as others) to do just that: Talk. Tell stories that matter. 

References

TED. (2019, January 11). The most important thing you can do to fight climate change: Talk about it | Katharine Hayhoe. [Video]. YouTube. https://youtu.be/-BvcToPZCLI

Wright, E. (2020). Climate Change, Disability, and Eco-Ableism: Why we need to be inclusive to save the planet. UX Collective.

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A Little Thing Called Framing

I’ve recently moved. In a similar fashion to Margaret Hale in North & South, I moved from the country to the city. Although many positives have been attached to this move, the one drawback is my separation from the nearby nature that I had grown accustomed to enjoying on a daily basis. In my original sit spot, I was surrounded by what I understood to be an oasis of the natural world. I woke every day to birds chirping. Now, however, in the city, I no longer wake up to bird song (unless you can consider the cacophonous chirping of sirens and crescendo of horns or over-zealous mufflers bird song). This has been a theme that I have reflected on in my new (and subsequently indoor) sit spot. I do, indeed, have my plants to keep me company as well as an expansive window with a view of ever-changing trees. Yet, no wildlife sounds. No birds.

The Long Spiral of Doubt

My thoughts—on the loss of these great natural experiences—does bring to mind the Conner et. al. (2016) paper, “Interpersonal communication about climate change: How messages change when communicated through simulated online social networks.” Specifically, the development content domain that relates “climate change to the economy and technology” (p. 465). I am reflecting on this loss of bird calls as a loss-frame. As a result of deforestation, poor city planning, and infringement on ecosystems, we are losing pieces of the natural world that are, in my opinion, sacred. Irreplaceable, in fact. In short, I am focusing on the negative effects of not mitigating climate change (p. 465). When my reflections take me down this line of thought, I am filled with a deep helplessness. I can never replace and fix what has been lost in such a way. Furthermore, will there be a time where no one wakes up to the sound of birdsong? How can I, one person, living in a consumer culture as a consumer (an enabler of an economy that seems to encourage this kind of rapid and un-mitigated growth and excess) do something about it? I am, thanks to my education, equipped with knowledge, yes, and awareness. Yet, how does this help? What can I actually do?

It is in the Hine et. al. (2015) paper, “Preaching to different choirs: How to motivate dismissive, uncommitted, and alarmed audiences to adapt to climate change?” that says that “messages framed in terms of negative outcomes and high uncertainty decreased participants’ intentions to engage in pro-environmental behavior” (p. 2). The negative associations I made between a lack of bird song quickly had me spiralling into uncertainty. Indeed, I believe that there are larger implications tied to how loss-frame messaging can discourage action. If someone is uncertain about a topic, hearing negative (or worse, incriminating messaging) may push them further away from making steps toward, in this case, climate action. That is why I believe it is necessary to have positive (or gain-frame) narratives. “Framing climate change outcomes in terms of gains (relative to losses) was [in a 2010 study) associated with increased perceived severity of climate change impacts” (Hine et. al., 2016, p. 2). People that were presented with gain-frame narratives feel a larger sense of agency to create positive change.

Flipping The Coin

Based on this narrative, I present to you another observation taken a few weeks after my initial observation. As I was in my new sit spot, with a veritable deluge happening outside my window. Trees battening down the hatches, a misty haze over the horizon, I was visited by not one, but five pigeons right outside my door. Each one plumper than the other, they preened on the banister of my balcony taking shelter from the said downpour. This moment filled me with such joy and contentment. As if the universe had heard and answered my silent plea; here I was, accompanied by nature in the most unexpected way. It was a reminder, to me, that—perhaps—all I need to do is listen a little bit more intently for those bird calls in the morning. Take more moments—like this one—to really look outside of myself. Because, nature is still there, all around me. It’s just challenging me to be more in tune. To continue advocating. All I needed, was a little gain to change my whole frame around.
References

Hine, W. D., Phillips, W. J., Cooksey, R., Reser, J. P., Nunn, P., Marks, A. D. G., Loi, N. M, Watt, E. S. (2015).  Preaching to different choicrs: How to motivate dismissive, uncommited, and alarmed audiences to adapt to climate change? Global Environmental Change, 36, 1-11. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2015.11.002

Conner, P., Harris, E., Guy, S., Fernando, J., Shank, D. B., Kurz, T., Bain, P. G., Kashima, Y. (2016). Interpersonal communication about climate change: How messages change when communicated through simulated online social networks. Climate Change, 136, 463-476. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10584-016-1643-z

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Let's Talk A Bit More "Blah, Blah, Blah": A Look At Greta Thunberg's Digital Climate Change Communication

In 2018, the Western world was rocked by the impassioned outcry of a 15-year-old youth from Sweden who called-out world leaders for their inaction towards the climate crisis. Greta Thunburg, with her “calm but impassioned speech” at the “UN climate change summit in Poland” minced no words when she addressed world leaders saying: “’You are not mature enough to tell it like [it] is…even that burden you leave to us children’” (Campeau, 2018, p. 1). Within a few minutes, Thunburg rebuked the time-old belief and tradition of bequeathing—in a similar fashion to leaving an inheritance—the problems of the world to the next generation. Since this moment, Thunberg has become a veritable social movement in and of herself. She is the voice, the face, and, in many ways, the very definition of climate activism and empowerment. In 2019, Greta was named Time Magazine’s Person of the Year for being one of the most influential people of 2018. At the time, the editor-in-chief of Time Magazine, Edward Felsenthal, said that “Thunberg has become the biggest voice on the biggest issue facing the planet—and the avatar of a broader generational shift in our culture that is playing out everywhere from the campuses of Hong Kong to the halls of Congress in Washington” (Flynn, 2019). Greta Thunberg has proven, through the simple act of example, that everyone—even a 15-year-old person from Sweden—has a voice and agency in this climate conversation.

In this article, I will be analyzing the effectiveness of Great Thunburg’s online presence—specifically an Instagram post—to interpret how online communication can be an effective mechanism for climate communication.

A Message to Political Leaders Everywhere

On September 28, 2021, Thunberg posted a speech she gave at a youth climate summit (YouthCOP) in Milan to her Instagram page. In this speech, she once again calls out world leaders for their lack of climate action over the last thirty-odd years claiming that their work and promises have amounted to “blah, blah, blah” (Greta Thunberg, 2021). In this address, she urges her audience (peers) to act—to definitively stand up for climate justice—by suggesting a bottom-up movement. The caption of the post is a quote from the speech, which reads: “We can no longer let the people in power decide what hope is. Hope is not passive. Hope is not bla bla bla. Hope is telling the truth. Hope is taking actions” (Greta Thunberg, 2021). Although publicly berating policy makers and world leaders for their inaction, this speech’s intended audience is the common people—her audience at YouthCOP—but also those with access to her Instagram account or other social medium.

Climate Communication Techniques

In order to understand the effectiveness of Greta’s digital communication, I have put together a list of three climate communication techniques to analyze Greta’s YouthCOP Instagram post (Greta Thunberg, 2021). These tools allow me to objectively go through this example of digital climate communication.

The tools I have chosen to focus on are:

Looking Beneath the Surface

Posting Greta Thunberg’s YouthCOP address to her Instagram page is, overall, an effective form of climate action communication. This is because it effectively utilizes the communication techniques of (1.) framing, (2.) interpersonal communication, and (3.) narrative.

The framing of her post—and subsequently her speech—is based around action. It is that climate change is closely tied to social justice, which includes public health and equity (Greta Thunberg, 2021). She is not accusing us—as a society—of being responsible for the current climate crisis. Instead, she blames the powers that be for their inaction. For their enabling of practices that have and continue to exacerbate the situation. To her intended audience, she has iterated that it is our right to fight for a clean and sustainable future. Furthermore, it is our responsibility to take action to ensure that future. This frame is successful because Thunburg is appealing to a larger audience by opening up the reality of climate change as more than just an environmental issue.

By choosing to post her speech on her Instagram page, and thus utilizing interpersonal communication, Thunburg is able to reach a wider audience. “When people do engage with the information that is provided to them [in this case, about climate change), they often have trouble interpreting it, or have difficulty remembering specifics” (Hodson, 2019, p. 3). By offering information in a social and informal platform (Instagram), a broader segment of society (those who may otherwise not engage with topics of climate justice) are given the opportunity to engage with climate communication topics. Her message is not pigeonholed to an audience attending YouthCOP—or requisite media coverages that adapt framing of their own. Posting on her own Instagram page allows her to maintain control over her message. This platform also invites an informal discourse to arise by followers. People can like, share, and otherwise engage with her messaging, which allows for the further dispersal of her communication.

Lastly, narrative is used throughout to weave Thunberg’s climate communication piece together. She “situates events in a certain place and a certain time,” which shifts the dialogue from abstract to tangible (Krauß & Bremer, 2020, p.3). The story starts thirty years ago at a time of excess, specifically with CO2 emissions, followed by many years of inaction and empty promises made by public leaders. She then brings the narrative to the present with her call to action—and not only for policymakers, but for all members of society—urging people to fight for their future in a multi-arching narrative. The end of this narrative ends with the promise of a sustainable and equitable future. Thunberg provides opportunity for her audience to connect with her speech on a personal level, explaining that we all have the ability to act. This is effective because it is proactive as well as personal. Each member of society has agency in the future of their story.

Taking A Moment To Be Contrary

Naturally, there are pitfalls to this informal form of communication. The YouthCOP speech was covered by several online journals. It is not only available through Thunburg’s Instagram account, but also via YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, CNN, The Guardian, Washington Post, and many other digital platforms and mediums (Carrington, 2021; Dewan, 2021). Essentially, this has become another piece of Greta’s communication to “go viral,” adding to the climate discourse of the online world. The viral nature of Greta’s communication pieces can be seen as a double-edged sword.

Although “going viral” creates more exposure and discourse around important topics, it also runs the risk of beginning to lack credibility and validity. Using a social platform opens a form of public discourse that involves no accountability on the part of the unofficial and most often invisible observer. Just within the instance of Great’s YouthCOp post, it has opened her up to public ridicule from a segment of the online world that does not agree with her messaging. For example, one comment reads: “Oh dear Greta, you are just an illusion and a being of a lie, the existence of which is only kept alive through the naivete of people” (Greta Thunberg, 2021). Furthermore, going viral in this fashion can, at times, skew the messaging. Meaning, people no longer talk about the topic of the speech (climate justice), but about the person giving the speech (Thunburg herself). This is what brings up the question of validity; although Thunburg’s name is now well-known in the public sphere, does her climate communication efforts become too sensationalized to be considered effective?

A Choose-You-Own-Adventure Story

Based on my analysis, Greta Thunberg has done a sensational job of generating a narrative in the public sphere around climate change. As climate scientist Katharine Hayhoe has said, “the most important thing you can do to fight climate change [is to] talk about it” (TED, 2019). This is exactly what Thunberg is doing, either through her Instagram account or the countless other endeavors she undertakes to encourage the general public to act. By using a combination of communication techniques, she has created a story of our future and allowed us—as a society—the opportunity to choose our own collective ending. It is just a matter of changing those “blah blah blah’s” to “rah-rah-rah’s.”

References

Campeau, M. (2018). Mavericks among us. Physical & Health Education Journal, 84(3), 1-2.

Conner, P., Harris, E., Guy, S., Fernando, J., Shank, D. B., Kurz, T. Bain, P. G., Kashima, Y. (2015). Interpersonal communication about climate change: How messages change when communicated through simulated online social networks. Climate Change, 136, 463-476. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10584-016-1643-z

Carrington, D. (2021). ‘Blah, blah, blah’: Greta Thunberg lambasts leaders over climate crisis. The Guardian.

Dewan, A. (2021). Greta Thunberg roasts world leaders for being ‘blah, blah, blah’ on climate action. CNN.

Flynn, K. (2019). Time person of the year: Climate crisis activist Greta Thunberg. CNN.

Greta Thunberg [@gretathunberg]. (2021, September 28). Speech at YouthCOP [Instagram
video]. Retrieved from https://www.instagram.com/tv/CUXUfZIsHBm/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

Hodson, J. (2019). An ecological model of climate marketing: A conceptual framework for understanding climate science related attitude and behavior change. Cogent Social Sciences (5), 1625101. https://doi.org/10.1080/23311886.2019.1625101 

Pezzullo, P. C. & Cox, R. (2018). Environmental communication and the public sphere. SAGE.

Krauß, W. & Bremer, S. (2020). The role of place-based narratives of change in climate risk
governance. Climate Risk Management, 28, 100221. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.crm.2020.100221

Stracqualursi, V. (2019). Trump again mocks teen climate activist Great Thunberg. CNN.

TED. (2019, January 11). The most important thing you can do to fight climate change: Talk
about it | Katharine Hayhoe. [Video]. YouTube. https://youtu.be/-BvcToPZCLI

Wibeck, V. (2014). Enhancing learning, communication and public engagements about climate change: Some lesson from recent literature. Environmental Education Research, 20(3), 387-411. https://doi.org/10.1080/13504622.2013.812720

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