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Communicating on Climate Change: an Essential Resource for Journalists, Scientists, and Educators

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Communicating on Climate Change: an Essential Resource for Journalists, Scientists, and Educators Communicating on Climate Change: An Essential Resource for Journalists, Scientists, and Educators Bud Ward Edited by Sunshine Menezes COMMUNICATING ON CLIMATE CHANGE: AN ESSENTIAL RESOURCE FOR JOURNALISTS, SCIENTISTS, AND EDUCATORS Bud Ward edited by Sunshine Menezes A publication of the Metcalf Institute for Marine & Environmental Reporting University of Rhode Island Graduate School of Oceanography www.metcalfinstitute.org This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. 0433415. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foun- dation, the University of Rhode Island, or the Metcalf Institute for Marine & Environmental Reporting. ISBN 978-1-60725-447-8 Additional copies of this report are available from the Metcalf Institute for Marine & Environmental Reporting University of Rhode Island Graduate School of Oceanography 218 South Ferry Road Narragansett, RI 02882 (401) 874-6211 www.metcalfinstitute.org Printed in the United States of America © 2008 Metcalf Institute for Marine & Environmental Reporting All rights reserved. METCALF INSTMetcalfI TUTE FOR MAR I NE & ENV I RON M ENTAL REPORT I NG i FOREWORD The time has come for a sea change in the workshops, for recognizing and acting upon national approach to one of the world’s most the national imperative of an improved un- urgent scientific, public policy, environmen- derstanding between scientists and journal- tal, and public health issues: anthropogenic ists about climate change, and David Verardo, climate change. This new approach will re- Director of the National Science Foundation’s quire more than political will, though; it will Paleoclimate Program in the Division of At- require a huge leap in the American public’s mospheric Sciences, for acknowledging the understanding of climate change. importance of scientific communication and We have witnessed great advances in finding a way to support this project. our understanding of the science of climate Metcalf Institute intends for this book to change over the past twenty years, but it is be used as a resource by all parties who are only recently that we have seen a shift toward trying to more accurately and clearly relate more accessible and accurate public commu- the science of climate change and the myriad nication of this complex and sometimes over- impacts of this global phenomenon. It is our whelming topic. The responsibility for this hope that the following chapters will provide communication can be laid squarely upon guidance for communicating on many other the shoulders of two groups: scientists and science and environmental issues, too. journalists. As scientists and journalists become The Metcalf Institute for Marine and En- more knowledgeable about one another’s vironmental Reporting has published this re- professional cultures and standards, they will port in an effort to help those most involved more effectively fulfill their respective roles as in explaining climate change improve their communicators of information that affects all communication strategies – not only with the of us. With that outcome, we all win. public, but also with each other. The workshops described in the follow- ing chapters were a labor of love for everyone Sunshine Menezes, Ph.D. involved, but a few people deserve special Executive Director credit for the project’s success: Bud Ward and Metcalf Institute for Marine Tony Socci, the program managers for these and Environmental Reporting About the Metcalf Institute The Metcalf Institute for Marine and Environmental Reporting seeks to improve the clarity and accuracy of environmental reporting by pro- viding science immersion opportunities for journalists. Based in the Office of Marine Programs at the world-renowned University of Rhode Island Graduate School of Oceanography, Metcalf Institute programs reach across the fields of journalism and science, bringing early to mid-career reporters and senior news executives together with expert scientists, environmental managers, and policy makers. www.metcalfinstitute.org ii PREFACE This report is the product of a series of un- about public misunderstanding of climate precedented workshops that brought the na- change. By design, workshop managers and tion’s top climate scientists and leading sci- participants focused specifically on science ence and environmental journalists together issues related to climate change, and not on to discuss media coverage and communica- political or economic issues. tion of climate change science. The goal was neither to create headlines The workshops were managed by the Met- nor to make news but to improve the com- calf Institute for Marine and Environmental munication of climate change science. The Reporting, a nonprofit journalism organiza- workshops accordingly sought to increase tion based at the University of Rhode Island’s journalists’ understanding of the modus ope- Graduate School of Oceanography, in Narra- randi, mores and institutionalized culture gansett, Rhode Island. The principal funder of the science community while increasing of the workshops project and of this report climate scientists’ understanding of journal- is the Paleoclimate Program, Division of At- ism fundamentals and principles. A critical mospheric Sciences, National Science Foun- element in this approach involved an empha- dation. Initial financial support was also pro- sis on respecting and preserving the essential vided by grants from the U.S. Environmental independence and vigor both of independent Protection Agency’s Office of Air Programs, journalism and of the science community. and limited in-kind support was provided by The workshop series consisted initially the National Centers for Coastal and Ocean of five two-day meetings, each involving a Science (NCCOS), the scientific research arm different set of invited scientists and journal- of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric ists. Each successive workshop was designed Administration’s National Ocean Service to build on the rich discussions of those that (NOAA/NOS), in the U.S. Department of preceded it. In a few cases, a journalist or sci- Commerce; and by the National Aeronautics entist participated in more than one of the and Space Administration (NASA). David workshops. The first five workshops were Verardo, Ph.D., of the National Science Foun- held at and in cooperation with the following dation, is the person to whom the vast major- universities: ity of the credit should go for supporting this n University of Rhode Island; unique science/journalism project. n University of California, San Diego; Program oversight and implementation n University of Washington; were the responsibilities of Bud Ward on be- n Columbia University; and half of the Metcalf Institute, from the jour- n University of California, Berkeley. nalism perspective, and of Anthony “Tony” Socci, Ph.D., of the American Meteorological The sixth workshop in the NSF-funded se- Society, from the science perspective. ries—at the Woodrow Wilson International The program managers conceived these Center for Scholars in Washington, D.C.— workshops to address climate scientists’ and broke from the format of the first five in that journalists’ deep frustrations with how cli- it was designed as a public meeting aimed at mate change science information was being reporting on the lessons learned from the first communicated—or not communicated—to five workshops. The Wilson Center work- the general public, and over their concerns shop, held in August 2006, brought together iii scientists and journalists who had participat- American Association for the Advancement ed in one or more of the earlier workshops, of Sciences (AAAS), American Geophysical and it attracted a public audience of nearly Union (AGU), and American Meteorologi- 200 from across the science, journalism, and cal Society (AMS), two winners of the Nobel climate change policy communities. Prize for Chemistry—F. Sherwood Rowland In each of these six workshops, profes- of the University of California, Irvine, and sional staff associated with the host institu- Paul Crutzen, of the Scripps Institution of tions provided outstanding technical and Oceanography—also participated in the work- logistical support critical to ensuring the suc- shop dialogues. cess of the project. Some of those participating scientists The program managers invited individu- and journalists contributed exclusive com- al scientists and journalists to participate in mentaries and analyses for inclusion in this the workshops based on professional stand- book. But all of the participants contributed ing and reputation among their peers. They to the richness of the discussions. were chosen in part because they were gener- This book reflects the soul-searching and ally acknowledged to be leaders both within enlightening discussions involving climate sci- and beyond their respective fields. The scien- entists and journalists during a time both felt tists were selected because of their firsthand their chosen professions needed to better in- experiences in dealing with the media, and form the public about climate change issues. the journalists because of their extensive re- Their exchanges clearly led to an improved porting on climate science. Each workshop understanding of each other’s potentials and was conducted in an on-the-record but off- constraints in communicating the science deadline setting designed to foster
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