EXTREME WEATHER AND CLIMATE CHANGE: HOW CAN WE ADDRESS UNCERTAINTY?
Cook Campus CenterCo-sponsored by Climate and Environmental Change Initiative
Katrina. Irene. Droughts in Texas and the Horn of Africa. Floods in the Midwest, Thailand and Pakistan. What’s next?
Does the progression of climate change portend future bouts of ‘extreme weather’? Predicting the timing of such events remains an uncertain business. How, then, should scientists communicate such risks to a skeptical public? How are members of the public likely to assess these risks? And how can policymakers make plans for adaptation, mitigation and development in the face of this uncertainty? Four distinguished panelists addressed these and related questions in a series of short presentations followed by a dynamic panel and public discussion.
Integrating Science and Communication - Baruch Fischhoff, Howard Heinz University Professor of Social and Decision Sciences and Engineering and Public Policy Carnegie Mellon UniversityYou may find some of the following articles by Dr. Fischhoff a good introduction to his work on communicating science.
- Fischhoff, B. (2007) Non-persuasive communication about matters of greatest urgency: Climate change. Envrionmental Science and Technology, 41 7204-7208
- Fischhoff, B. (2011) Applying the science of communication to the communication of science. Climatic Change, 108 701-705.
- Fischhoff, B., & Kadvany, J. (2011). Risk: A very short introduction. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
- Fischhoff, B., Brewer, N., & Downs, J.S. (eds.). (2011). Communicating risks and benefits: An evidence-based user’s guide. Washington, DC: Food and Drug Administration.
- Pidgeon, N., & Fischhoff, B. (2011). The role of social and decision sciences in communicating uncertain climate risks. Nature Climate Change, 1(1), 35-41.
If you want to learn more about communicating science, consider this symposium with Dr. Fischhoff in May.
Communicating climate change - material from Cara Pike of Climate AccessCara Pike presented at the interactive evening session for students on communicating climate change.
Tip sheet on talking about climate science
Climate Communication and Behavior Change - written by Cara Pike, Bob Doppelt, and Meredith Herr for Climate Leadership Initiative (2010)
On the "teachable moments" of extreme weather - article from Joe Witte John Wallace (2012) Weather - and Climate - Related Extreme Events: Teachable Moments. Eos 3(11) p.120-121
Gabriel Vecchi, Research Oceanographer, Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Joe Witte, George Mason University, Center for Climate Change Communication, broadcast meteorologist, formerly Chief Meteorologist at NBC TV Network
Richard Moss, Senior Staff Scientist with the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory Joint Global Change Research Institute at the University of Maryland and Visiting Senior Research Scientist at Maryland's Earth Systems Science Interdisciplinary Center
Discussants from Rutgers University:
Rutgers students interacted with our panelists in a special evening session on communicating climate change co-sponsored by Project Civility and a number of other organizations.