WEBVTT
00:00:06.719 --> 00:00:09.359
Welcome to Talking Climate with Katherine Haho.
00:00:09.759 --> 00:00:17.359
Each episode, we explore how climate change is affecting the people, places, and things we love, and what we can do to make a difference.
00:00:17.600 --> 00:00:24.800
From science to solutions and stories that inspire, you're in the right place for real talk about real change.
00:00:25.120 --> 00:00:30.800
Last week was New York City Climate Week, which happens every year alongside the UN General Assembly.
00:00:31.039 --> 00:00:42.880
This means that for a few days, New York is covered in climate people, running down the street, piling into the subway, and filling every coffee shop and meeting place in Manhattan and beyond.
00:00:43.119 --> 00:01:01.600
Over the course of the week, I had a discussion with Senegalese chef Pierre Chom, who champions forgotten foods like Phonio, a drought-tolerant ancient miracle grain, that also happens to be delicious and nutritious and just the type of resilient crop we'll need more of on a warmer planet.
00:01:01.840 --> 00:01:13.359
I hosted a lunch with climate leaders, including David Suzuki, who continues to inspire at age 90, and assured me he is still working on climate resilience with local communities.
00:01:13.599 --> 00:01:20.480
I talked with the UN Sustainable Business Network about why climate action is key to economic stability.
00:01:20.719 --> 00:01:38.640
I met with British journalist Maeve Campbell, who produced a climate messaging campaign featuring OnlyFans models, Hear Me Out, and their web series, Headline Nudes, which aims to reach young adult men, a demographic that's proven stubbornly resistant to climate messaging.
00:01:38.799 --> 00:02:03.920
I hosted a panel with public health experts on how nature can be used to deliver climate solutions and heard from emergency medicine physician Renee Salas about an amazing community health initiative called the Cooperative that she's starting at Mass General Hospital in Boston to address the environmental factors driving health risks before people end up in the hospital rather than after.
00:02:04.159 --> 00:02:08.719
Many of the best solutions are so obvious, yet we aren't doing them.
00:02:08.960 --> 00:02:19.199
I saw corporate sustainability teams, tables of filmmakers, room fulls of medical doctors, and more people who care about climate change than I could count.
00:02:19.439 --> 00:02:27.120
All told, I managed to fit 25 talks, panels, meetings, and other events into my three days there.
00:02:27.360 --> 00:02:29.599
Here are some of the highlights.
00:02:32.080 --> 00:02:33.120
Good news.
00:02:33.439 --> 00:02:41.599
My week kicked off with a morning tea with George Marshall, who wrote one of the very first books on effective climate communication.
00:02:41.840 --> 00:02:46.639
Don't even think about it, why our brains are wired to ignore climate change.
00:02:46.800 --> 00:02:59.439
Back in 2014, George also co-founded Climate Outreach, the UK climate communication organization whose Talking Climate Handbook is required reading in all of my classes.
00:02:59.680 --> 00:03:05.360
This was the perfect beginning to a week where something big was finally starting to shift.
00:03:05.680 --> 00:03:11.680
More people than ever are realizing that the first step to climate action is talking about it.
00:03:12.000 --> 00:03:16.560
For so long, climate communication has been treated as an afterthought.
00:03:16.719 --> 00:03:23.439
We tell ourselves the facts are self-evident, that people will act once they understand the stakes.
00:03:23.680 --> 00:03:30.159
We assume the benefits of action are obvious, but they aren't if no one's heard them.
00:03:30.479 --> 00:03:38.479
This year, for the first time at Climate Week, there were more events on climate communication than I could possibly attend.
00:03:38.639 --> 00:03:44.800
From a Sesame Street event featuring Elmo to a masterclass on climate storytelling.
00:03:45.039 --> 00:03:48.960
The great New York Climate Week guide counted 48 in all.
00:03:49.199 --> 00:04:00.639
Even in the more traditional events on scaling clean technology or shaping climate policy, people kept bringing up the same worry that the narrative has been lost.
00:04:00.960 --> 00:04:05.599
I'd actually disagree, as I don't think there ever was one, to be honest.
00:04:05.840 --> 00:04:09.039
But the instinct underneath the worry is correct.
00:04:09.280 --> 00:04:10.479
We need one now.
00:04:10.639 --> 00:04:13.439
And building it starts with talking.
00:04:13.599 --> 00:04:22.000
As Sarah Peach of Yale Climate Connections puts it, talk is the fertile field in which cultural change begins.
00:04:22.319 --> 00:04:27.040
In its absence, it's impossible for a group of people to solve a problem.
00:04:27.600 --> 00:04:30.639
That's why talking about climate change isn't optional.
00:04:31.040 --> 00:04:32.160
It's essential.
00:04:39.279 --> 00:04:50.800
Research shows that what people think, even about science-based issues, is shaped less by facts and more by what thought leaders or other elites say.
00:04:51.279 --> 00:04:57.199
Social media has made this worse by basically weaponizing the spread of misinformation.
00:04:57.519 --> 00:05:06.000
Eight years ago, one study showed that false information on Twitter already traveled six times faster than the truth.
00:05:06.240 --> 00:05:08.240
The pandemic made it even worse.
00:05:08.480 --> 00:05:18.399
Another study found that a single person, the president of the United States, drove a full 38% of the online misinformation about COVID.
00:05:18.639 --> 00:05:44.319
So you can see why it's so concerning that the same president, speaking to the UN during climate week, repeated false claims he'd made about climate change, including that the planet is cooling when this year has a 93% chance of being the warmest on record, no one has died from climate change, it's responsible for 37% of extreme heat-related deaths alone.
00:05:44.560 --> 00:05:48.879
And scientists said, we'll all be dead in 12 years.
00:05:49.120 --> 00:05:53.120
We didn't, and I debunked that myth seven years ago.
00:05:53.360 --> 00:05:56.560
This is why communication matters so much.
00:05:56.879 --> 00:06:03.839
The loudest voice in the room often shapes what people believe, whether or not it tells the truth.
00:06:04.079 --> 00:06:12.879
And this is why my latest publication makes the argument for how important it is that cultural influencers speak out on climate.
00:06:31.680 --> 00:06:35.279
You just have to be a human living on planet Earth.
00:06:35.439 --> 00:06:37.199
And aren't we all that?
00:06:37.519 --> 00:06:49.199
One of my favorite meetings was in a Whole Foods cafe with a group of students from Dickinson College, where I did a residency in 2024, who were making their inaugural trip to Climate Week.
00:06:49.439 --> 00:06:57.839
We talked about how to bring everything they'd heard and learned, including the climate comedy night they attended, back to their community.
00:06:58.079 --> 00:07:04.000
You might not be part of a college or university or school, but you're part of some group.
00:07:04.319 --> 00:07:12.879
Wherever you work, live, recreate, or worship, you are a trusted messenger to everyone who knows you there.
00:07:13.120 --> 00:07:16.160
So this week, I want you to try this yourself.
00:07:16.480 --> 00:07:25.920
Identify a community you're a part of, then share something you've learned about why climate change matters and what climate solutions can do.
00:07:26.079 --> 00:07:27.360
And be brave.
00:07:27.519 --> 00:07:32.000
Try having that conversation with someone who has never heard you bring it up before.
00:07:32.319 --> 00:07:36.079
You are welcome to let me know how it goes.
00:07:41.439 --> 00:07:45.439
Thanks for listening to Talking Climate, narrated by Ann Cloud.
00:07:45.920 --> 00:07:50.240
Post-production and mix by John Crowley at Loudmouth Studio.
00:07:50.560 --> 00:07:58.800
For more resources, links, and actions you can take, check out the full newsletter at www.talkingclimate.ca.
00:07:59.439 --> 00:08:02.560
Until next time, keep talking climate.
00:00:06.719 --> 00:00:09.359
Welcome to Talking Climate with Katherine Haho.
00:00:09.759 --> 00:00:17.359
Each episode, we explore how climate change is affecting the people, places, and things we love, and what we can do to make a difference.
00:00:17.600 --> 00:00:24.800
From science to solutions and stories that inspire, you're in the right place for real talk about real change.
00:00:25.120 --> 00:00:30.800
Last week was New York City Climate Week, which happens every year alongside the UN General Assembly.
00:00:31.039 --> 00:00:42.880
This means that for a few days, New York is covered in climate people, running down the street, piling into the subway, and filling every coffee shop and meeting place in Manhattan and beyond.
00:00:43.119 --> 00:01:01.600
Over the course of the week, I had a discussion with Senegalese chef Pierre Chom, who champions forgotten foods like Phonio, a drought-tolerant ancient miracle grain, that also happens to be delicious and nutritious and just the type of resilient crop we'll need more of on a warmer planet.
00:01:01.840 --> 00:01:13.359
I hosted a lunch with climate leaders, including David Suzuki, who continues to inspire at age 90, and assured me he is still working on climate resilience with local communities.
00:01:13.599 --> 00:01:20.480
I talked with the UN Sustainable Business Network about why climate action is key to economic stability.
00:01:20.719 --> 00:01:38.640
I met with British journalist Maeve Campbell, who produced a climate messaging campaign featuring OnlyFans models, Hear Me Out, and their web series, Headline Nudes, which aims to reach young adult men, a demographic that's proven stubbornly resistant to climate messaging.
00:01:38.799 --> 00:02:03.920
I hosted a panel with public health experts on how nature can be used to deliver climate solutions and heard from emergency medicine physician Renee Salas about an amazing community health initiative called the Cooperative that she's starting at Mass General Hospital in Boston to address the environmental factors driving health risks before people end up in the hospital rather than after.
00:02:04.159 --> 00:02:08.719
Many of the best solutions are so obvious, yet we aren't doing them.
00:02:08.960 --> 00:02:19.199
I saw corporate sustainability teams, tables of filmmakers, room fulls of medical doctors, and more people who care about climate change than I could count.
00:02:19.439 --> 00:02:27.120
All told, I managed to fit 25 talks, panels, meetings, and other events into my three days there.
00:02:27.360 --> 00:02:29.599
Here are some of the highlights.
00:02:32.080 --> 00:02:33.120
Good news.
00:02:33.439 --> 00:02:41.599
My week kicked off with a morning tea with George Marshall, who wrote one of the very first books on effective climate communication.
00:02:41.840 --> 00:02:46.639
Don't even think about it, why our brains are wired to ignore climate change.
00:02:46.800 --> 00:02:59.439
Back in 2014, George also co-founded Climate Outreach, the UK climate communication organization whose Talking Climate Handbook is required reading in all of my classes.
00:02:59.680 --> 00:03:05.360
This was the perfect beginning to a week where something big was finally starting to shift.
00:03:05.680 --> 00:03:11.680
More people than ever are realizing that the first step to climate action is talking about it.
00:03:12.000 --> 00:03:16.560
For so long, climate communication has been treated as an afterthought.
00:03:16.719 --> 00:03:23.439
We tell ourselves the facts are self-evident, that people will act once they understand the stakes.
00:03:23.680 --> 00:03:30.159
We assume the benefits of action are obvious, but they aren't if no one's heard them.
00:03:30.479 --> 00:03:38.479
This year, for the first time at Climate Week, there were more events on climate communication than I could possibly attend.
00:03:38.639 --> 00:03:44.800
From a Sesame Street event featuring Elmo to a masterclass on climate storytelling.
00:03:45.039 --> 00:03:48.960
The great New York Climate Week guide counted 48 in all.
00:03:49.199 --> 00:04:00.639
Even in the more traditional events on scaling clean technology or shaping climate policy, people kept bringing up the same worry that the narrative has been lost.
00:04:00.960 --> 00:04:05.599
I'd actually disagree, as I don't think there ever was one, to be honest.
00:04:05.840 --> 00:04:09.039
But the instinct underneath the worry is correct.
00:04:09.280 --> 00:04:10.479
We need one now.
00:04:10.639 --> 00:04:13.439
And building it starts with talking.
00:04:13.599 --> 00:04:22.000
As Sarah Peach of Yale Climate Connections puts it, talk is the fertile field in which cultural change begins.
00:04:22.319 --> 00:04:27.040
In its absence, it's impossible for a group of people to solve a problem.
00:04:27.600 --> 00:04:30.639
That's why talking about climate change isn't optional.
00:04:31.040 --> 00:04:32.160
It's essential.
00:04:39.279 --> 00:04:50.800
Research shows that what people think, even about science-based issues, is shaped less by facts and more by what thought leaders or other elites say.
00:04:51.279 --> 00:04:57.199
Social media has made this worse by basically weaponizing the spread of misinformation.
00:04:57.519 --> 00:05:06.000
Eight years ago, one study showed that false information on Twitter already traveled six times faster than the truth.
00:05:06.240 --> 00:05:08.240
The pandemic made it even worse.
00:05:08.480 --> 00:05:18.399
Another study found that a single person, the president of the United States, drove a full 38% of the online misinformation about COVID.
00:05:18.639 --> 00:05:44.319
So you can see why it's so concerning that the same president, speaking to the UN during climate week, repeated false claims he'd made about climate change, including that the planet is cooling when this year has a 93% chance of being the warmest on record, no one has died from climate change, it's responsible for 37% of extreme heat-related deaths alone.
00:05:44.560 --> 00:05:48.879
And scientists said, we'll all be dead in 12 years.
00:05:49.120 --> 00:05:53.120
We didn't, and I debunked that myth seven years ago.
00:05:53.360 --> 00:05:56.560
This is why communication matters so much.
00:05:56.879 --> 00:06:03.839
The loudest voice in the room often shapes what people believe, whether or not it tells the truth.
00:06:04.079 --> 00:06:12.879
And this is why my latest publication makes the argument for how important it is that cultural influencers speak out on climate.
00:06:31.680 --> 00:06:35.279
You just have to be a human living on planet Earth.
00:06:35.439 --> 00:06:37.199
And aren't we all that?
00:06:37.519 --> 00:06:49.199
One of my favorite meetings was in a Whole Foods cafe with a group of students from Dickinson College, where I did a residency in 2024, who were making their inaugural trip to Climate Week.
00:06:49.439 --> 00:06:57.839
We talked about how to bring everything they'd heard and learned, including the climate comedy night they attended, back to their community.
00:06:58.079 --> 00:07:04.000
You might not be part of a college or university or school, but you're part of some group.
00:07:04.319 --> 00:07:12.879
Wherever you work, live, recreate, or worship, you are a trusted messenger to everyone who knows you there.
00:07:13.120 --> 00:07:16.160
So this week, I want you to try this yourself.
00:07:16.480 --> 00:07:25.920
Identify a community you're a part of, then share something you've learned about why climate change matters and what climate solutions can do.
00:07:26.079 --> 00:07:27.360
And be brave.
00:07:27.519 --> 00:07:32.000
Try having that conversation with someone who has never heard you bring it up before.
00:07:32.319 --> 00:07:36.079
You are welcome to let me know how it goes.
00:07:41.439 --> 00:07:45.439
Thanks for listening to Talking Climate, narrated by Ann Cloud.
00:07:45.920 --> 00:07:50.240
Post-production and mix by John Crowley at Loudmouth Studio.
00:07:50.560 --> 00:07:58.800
For more resources, links, and actions you can take, check out the full newsletter at www.talkingclimate.ca.
00:07:59.439 --> 00:08:02.560
Until next time, keep talking climate.
