Comment

Comment by Anita Davis on November 29, 2012 at 5:27pm

I just want to remind folks about the upcoming Earth to Sky VI Communicating Climate Change Course February 2013,  at the National Conservation Training Center in Shepherdtown, WV. The course is free to NPS FWS and BLM employees and is open to all.

Registration deadline is December 5, so don't delay! To register for the course, please visit  DOI Learn

http://www.doi.gov/doilearn/index.cfm

Here is a copy of the course announcement with more details

Training_Announcement_ETS_new_2013.pdf

And please feel free to contact me directly if you have questions.

Comment by Aubrey Hall on November 22, 2012 at 12:28pm

Here's a repeat of my recent post in the Earth to Sky group for anyone looking for climate change communication information.

One is a summary of recommendations for better climate change communication based off of a variety of literary sources (compiled from the literature review for my thesis). This document includes a small sample of the resources I used for reference.Recommendations%20for%20Better%20Climate%20Change%20Communication.docx

The second document is a summary of the "6 Americas" segments and how to communicate to these groups. Please note that this was compiled by me, and in no way was approved or reviewd by the Yale/George Mason research team.6%20americas%20briefs%20-%20no%20paragraphs.docx

Comment by John A. Veverka on November 21, 2012 at 2:06pm

If you're interested in climate change you should check out the Climate Interpreter web site:  http://www.climateinterpreter.org/

Comment by John A. Veverka on November 21, 2012 at 1:16pm

InterpNEWS, our new international heritage interpretation e-magazine will have several articles on interpreting climate change in the Jan/Feb issue.  I also invite anyone interested in doing an article on climate change interpretation for InterpNEWS to let me know.  If you would like to receive the Jan/Feb InterpNEWS just send me your e-mail address and I will add you to the mailing list - it's FREE.  [email protected]

Comment by Aubrey Hall on November 19, 2012 at 1:07pm

Comment by Jennifer Colleen Frost on November 14, 2012 at 10:29am

Great closing comment, Rachel.  I usually address things in terms of understanding that there are no absolutes in life...nothing is entirely bad or entirely good.  Everything has pros and cons.  Often, what we think is mostly positive, proves to have big negative consequences in the future once we learn more about it or learn to look at it from a different perspective.  Conversely, big problems have been resolved or minimized in ways we didn't expect or even brought benefits of its own.

I remember reading Franz Kafka's "A Country Doctor." It makes no sense until you look at it from another perspective (understanding a bit about Kafka's philosophical hobbies helps a bit, too).  The story changed dramatically once the reader's lens changed.  I think a lot of issues follow this pattern, too.  Keeping this in mind has helped me to address very controversial issues and to help others gain a new respect for the "opposition."

In saying this, I don't mean to say that we should reject our own morals, but rather we should realize that other people's truths are true for them.  I believe we gain more ground when we steer away from trying to convert others to our way of thinking and instead invite them to borrow our "glasses" for a while.  But, we have to be willing to borrow theirs, too, and respect that no one has to keep the same prescription and that our prescription may not be right for their vision.

Comment by Rachel Galan on November 14, 2012 at 5:54am

I'm reading The Righteous Mind: Why Good People are Divided by Politics and Religion by Jonathan Haidt.  I'm looking forward to applying his research on moral intuition to the study of climate change and other controversial science topics. 

It will be interesting to compare Dr. Haidt's work with the information on "framing theory". Thanks for the link  to the Environmental Framing Consortium Theresa.

From Dr. Haidt..."If you really want to change someone's mind on a moral or political matter, you'll need to see things from that person's angle as well as your own. And if you do truly see it the other person's way- deeply and intuitively- you might even find your own mind opening in response. Empathy is an antidote to righteousness, although it's very difficult to empathize across a moral divide."

Comment by Theresa Coble on November 8, 2012 at 11:01pm

Thanks, Carol, for sharing this guide. I'll give it a look...Theresa

Comment by Carol Blaney on November 8, 2012 at 6:28pm

I just came across this guide to engaging on climate change. It was apparently used in political races around the country, so it's adversarial, rather than interpretive or dialogic. I'll be interested to hear what you think of it. A_Guide_For_Engaging_and_Winning_on_Climate.pdf