CONVEYING THE URGENCY OF CLIMATE CHANGE THROUGH EMOTION

BY ELLA HAMPSON

The realities of climate change often lead to feelings of great sadness for scientists and students who study it (1). Their tears are hidden behind polished papers and peer reviewed journal articles examining the next species to go extinct, the next fraction of a degree of global warming, the irreversible melting of icecaps and the disappearance of ecosystems that have existed since our ancestors first climbed out of the trees and began to walk on two feet into the grasslands. Scientists often find themselves in the ruins left by climate change as they watch what they’ve spent their entire careers studying suddenly disappear (2). Coral reefs are bleached, golden frogs disappear, passenger pigeons no longer darken sunset skies. Scientists witness extinction happening as they return to their field sites each season and find less and less of species that once thrived there (3). These emotions drive scientists to continue their work, but they are not always visible to those who need to take action around climate change. Emotionality has the power to drive action in ways that we haven’t yet seen. By connecting emotions to science in a more concrete way, we can increase the public’s understanding and connection to climate change and drive real action around it.

Folks have long wanted to make changes to the structures that are causing all of this pain, but we have been stuck doing the same things for too long without seeing the needed progress. The Earth Charter, a document that details the changes that we need to “build a sustainable global community”, was published in 2000 (4). The Earth Charter was compiled after the 1992 Earth Summit. The goal was to generate global consensus of what is needed to create a sustainable future for us all. In the 20 years that have passed since this document was written, not much as changed. The principles laid out in the Earth Charter are still relevant today, but action towards them has not been taken to the extent that is needed. Injustice and violence are rampant; wildfires and hurricanes grow bigger each year, and many countries continue to invest in fossil fuel economies.

ABOVE: A United States oil refinery

How do we envision a future built on the foundations of this present? In order to move forward productively, we need to engage with our emotions publicly, while also building community and dismantling the systems that have brought us to this point. The climate movement is being taken in a new direction by powerful young people who hold a vision of real change. Greta Thunberg, Mari Copeny (aka Little Miss Flint), Isra Hirsi, and others like them, show us that doing something different can be effective (5). Children are doing more powerful work for the wellbeing of the earth than adults in power. Continuing to do things the same way they have been done is clearly no longer working. Science can be emotional when it is removed from the western capitalist commodification of the natural world. As the voices calling for change shift, we need to shift our understanding of how emotions and science connect. The integration of emotions into science, as well as work at individual, community, and systemic levels, will lead to the changes we so desperately need.

ABOVE: Sign from a School Strike for Climate event

The science behind emotional calls to action is limited. A call to action signals for people to take steps towards something such as altering how they think and act about climate change. Emotional calls to action can be positive appeals, which lower peoples stress and anxiety around a subject, or negative appeals, which aim to make people feel more upset and stressed about a topic. At this point, we can’t really say whether positive or negative appeals are more effective, but we do know that emotional connectivity is important to spurring action (6). Facts and statistics about climate change often present ‘doom and gloom’ messaging which can cause people to feel overwhelmed to the point of inaction. There isn’t one all-inclusive call to action, instead we need to create a variety of messages that can reach a larger demographic of people. People in different regions with different cultural backgrounds relate to climate change differently. This poses a challenge for how we convey science to a wider audience. Encouraging the publication and discussion of emotions around climate change allows others to relate to us and increases motivation to act. Empathy has the power to invite people into constructive conversations about climate change. By reassessing the way we use emotions in science, we can begin to create more cohesive, action driven communities.

Since objectivity is never entirely possible, we should allow ourselves to include some subjective analysis in our papers. This doesn’t mean that science should stop training to maintain objectivity. Instead, it should attempt to create space for subjective thoughts and feelings. Every paper and article, in addition to detailing methodologies and results, should include a section exploring how the authors feel. We should make room for emotional connectivity within each paper. This will increase others’ understanding of what is being explored, especially when it comes to issues such as climate change that will drastically alter the world we all live in. This would also begin to break down barriers that prevent people from accessing and understanding scientific papers. It doesn’t mean that papers will lose their integrity; the methods, discussion and results sections can remain entirely as they are. By adding a section that conveys the emotions behind what is being studied, we can make research more applicable to the realities of the world we live in. We have the ability to dismantle harmful systems and structures. It is necessary to discuss ideas and emotions with peers and community members, to see what others are thinking and what is providing them with hope of a brighter future. Climate change is not easy to study, but it is necessary that we understand how the world is changing due to our actions. By bringing our emotions into science, we can convey the realities of climate change to a wider audience and increase action towards the changes that are needed.

ABOVE: Sign from a recent climate change protest