During the recent American Public Media event at the 2009 Public Radio Program Directors conference, Marketplace Money host Tess Vigeland led a panel discussion on the growing urgency for action on climate change. Topics included: What are the specific climate problems the world is facing? Where do science, business and government stand on these issues? And most importantly, how to engage listeners in this critical discussion? Panelists included APM Marketplace reporter Sam Eaton; the Executive Editor of the online magazine World Changing, Alex Steffen; and 4C Director, Ed Maibach. To view the video, click here.
February 9, 2009
The special issue of Science Communication on action strategies for communicating climate change is now available. 4C Director, Ed Maibach, along with Susanna Hornig Priest served as guest editors. For more information, click here.
January 8, 2009
2009 Climate Change Communicator of the Year: Bud Ward
In November 2008, the Center for Climate Change Communication (4C) solicited nominations for Climate Change Communicator of the Year. We received nominations for four individuals and one corporation: Pulitzer Prize winning journalist Thomas L. Friedman; environmental author, advocate and organizer Bill McKibben; environmental journalist Bud Ward; climate change legislation author Senator John Warner (R, VA); and Chevron (specifically for their “Will You Join Us?” campaign).
An open vote was held in December to select a winner. Voters included several hundred people who receive e-news updates from our website and other people who learned about the vote through notices posted on various climate change blogs.
We are delighted to announce that the winner – as selected by popular vote among the community of people interested in climate change communication – was Bud Ward. Bud is an independent environmental journalist and journalism educator, and a founding member of the Society of Environmental Journalists (http://www.sej.org). He is also editor of the Yale Forum on Climate Change & the Media (http://www.yaleclimatemediaforum.org/index.php.).
Bud recently published Communicating on Climate Change: An Essential Resource for Journalists, Scientists, and Educators, a book that resulted from a series of pioneering workshops he organized over the last four years involving dialogue between leading climate scientists and journalists and editors. This book is available free online at: http://www.metcalfinstitute.org/Communicating_ClimateChange.htm.
With Robert Henson of the National Center for Atmospheric Research, Bud co-authored a set of 15 Q&A’s specifically designed to meet the needs of the broadcast meteorology and weathercaster community for scientifically credible and timely information on climate science. These are available online at: http://www.earthgauge.net/climate-q-a.
Ed Maibach, director of 4C, will present the award to Ward on February 13 at the American Association for the Advancement of Science annual meeting in Chicago.
We congratulate Bud – and all of the stellar nominees – for their important contributions in helping society understand and respond to climate change.
November 18, 2008
Population Media Center, in partnership with the Writers Guild of America West, the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, Women in Film, and The Environmental Media Association, hosted a one day summit, "Changing Climate ... Changing People" in Los Angeles. The Summit gave attention to the health and security consequences of climate change and the role that population growth plays in accelerating the climate crisis. Writers and producers of numerous American television shows attended the Summit. Ed Maibach released a groundbreaking audience segmentation analysis titled Global Warming's "Six Americas" during one of the presentations.To view the event, click here.
A majority of local public health department directors surveyed perceive climate change to be a problem in their jurisdiction, but only a small minority have been able to make climate change adaptation or prevention a top priority for their health department according to a peer-reviewed journal article released today. 4C Director Ed Maibach and Affiliate Researcher Amy Chadwick are lead authors of "Climate change and local public health in the United States: Preparedness, programs and perceptions of local public health department directors." Click here for the article, and here for the press release.
April 24, 2008
While almost 80% of public health department leaders believe that climate change will impact the health of people in their jurisdictions over the next few decades, few have yet been able to make it a top priority, according to a new national survey co-sponsored by the Center for Climate Change Communication. Click here to read report.
April 8, 2008
With NOAA and NASA, 4C co-sponsored a workshop on assessing public attitudes on climate change at NOAA's headquarters in Silver Spring, MD. Leading climate change public opinion researchers met to discuss lessons learned to date, important directions for the future, and implications for communication programs. Click here for the meeting summary report.
March 29, 2008
A blueprint for action to ameliorate the impacts of climate change on health was released by the American Public Health Association in preparation for April's National Public Health Week. Center Director Ed Maibach, a member of APHA's advisory board for the initiative, spoke to members of the press this morning to promote the event along with APHA executive director Georges Benjamin and former U.S. Surgeon General David Satcher. For more information, see APHA's website as well as a news article from USA Today.
With the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 4C co-hosted a workshop titled "The Public Response to Climate Change: Effective Health Communication and Marketing." The primary objective of the workshop was to develop a communication and marketing framework with which to support the climate change prevention and adaptation strategies of the public health community.
December 18, 2007
Center Director Ed Maibach issued a call for papers for a special edition of the International Journal of Sustainability Communication on climate change communication that he is guest editing. The submission deadline is March 25. Click here for more information.
August 21, 2007
On Tuesday, August 21, 4C hosted its inaugural open house for members of the Mason family. It was a great success with faculty, staff and students from many departments and colleges attending the event. The open house featured a lecture titled "Harnessing the Influence of Opinion Leaders to Accelerate the Diffusion of Climate Change Innovations" given by Do Kyun Kim, PhD, center affiliate researcher and lecturer at Northeastern University.
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