Weekend Reader: Communicating climate, a guided tour

Weekend Reader: Communicating climate, a guided tour

Covering climate change as a disaster scenario isn't a strategic mistake, it's a necessity.

Monday's NBC Nightly News led with the disastrous flash flood.


Following the traditional mangling of what a "thousand year flood" is, the reporter asked the county executive if something other than "bad luck" caused the second such flood in three years. There was no mention of climate, nor of the poor land use policies believed to be another factor. (Key moment is at 3:13 in this video.)

Enter good ol' Al Roker. Methodically, rapidly and good naturedly, the veteran meteorologist laid out the link between climate change and ungodly downpours on Thursday's NBC Today Show in less than 40 seconds. So it can be done.

Also this week, Harvard's Shorenstein Center ran a lengthy piece by veteran NPR correspondent and Shorenstein fellow Elizabeth Arnold. Amidst many useful points about news coverage of climate, Arnold makes the fundamental point that it's too gloomy to connect with news consumers.

Funny, I had always wondered why Schindler's List hadn't been re-cast for Broadway as a musical comedy. But seriously, folks.... Arnold prescribes a greater mix of solutions-oriented stories to leave readers, listeners, and viewers with a message of hope. Easy for an NPR veteran to say, but just try that over at NBC Nightly or cable news, where I toiled for 18 years.

Case in point: Media Matters for America, a left-of-center press watchdog nonprofit, estimated that Roseanne Barr's racist tweet got 16 times as much cable news attention as the news that Puerto Rico's death toll in Hurricane Maria may have been understated by a factor of 70. A factor of 70. And while there's no actual data on this, I'm guessing that Roseanne's linking racism to her taking Ambien got more news coverage than scientists linking climate change to weather disasters like Ellicott City.

These days -- particularly in these Trump days -- many of the key climate stories are political ones. I'll pre-assign a Peabody Award to any story that can turn Washington's climate politics to a positive, solutions-oriented piece. The bottom line as I see it, is that we're dealing with the classic symptoms of addiction, and the patient, hereinafter known as "us," doesn't yet know we have a problem.

Covering climate change as a disaster scenario isn't a strategic mistake, it's a necessity.

Having said that, there are a few valuable places that specialize in monitoring climate coverage, or in exploring how these issues are communicated by scientists, activists, and journalists.

Climate Feedback is a California-based group dedicated to critiquing mainstream press coverage of climate scientists. Its science-heavy staff and advisors pick apart news stories and opinion pieces for scientific accuracy, conspicuously picking apart a Wall Street Journal editorial that exclusively relied on climate-denying sources.

Media Matters for America is a news watchdog site whose political biases, and Democratic party loyalties, are clear. But they offer solid research and frequently rapid-response analysis, like the one above on Al Roker's flood coverage when coverage of climate change or other environmental issues hits or misses the mark.

Two academic outposts cover polling data and the receptiveness of audiences for climate news and information. The Yale Program on Climate Change Communication and the Center for Climate Change Communication often partner on projects. At the University of Colorado, the Media and Climate Change Observatory does monthly content counts on how heavily (or not) climate issues are being covered internationally.

Top Weekend News

Pope Francis plans to meet with business giants like BP and Black Rock on climate change. (Axios)

The New York Times has a deep dive on EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt's cozy relationship with a coal baron.

From PRI's Living On Earth, Steve Curwood talks with two authors of the study estimating a huge death toll in Puerto Rico from Hurricane Maria. The numbers are......complicated.

From Bob Berwyn at Inside Climate News: Some hurricane experts say it's time to create Category Six.

Opinion Pieces and Editorials

The New York Times editorializes on Trump's "climate foolishness."

Paul Krugman, The Times's Nobel Laureate economist, weighs in on "Coal, Cash and Bad Faith."

NPR's Scott Simon with an essay on why Roseanne and Samantha Bee got far more attention than the news on Puerto Rico's death toll.

This Week in Trump

The climate movement tries to outmaneuver President Trump. (LA Times)

Podcasts of Note

On the Commonwealth Club's Climate One podcast, Greg Dalton talks with three of California's top gubernatorial candidates.

From PRI's Living On Earth, EHN's Peter Dykstra and Steve Curwood take a look beyond the headlines at a tree-sitting Appalachian pipeline protest, and discuss Forest Service workers who are taking construction lessons from beavers.

From last August, but perfect for the start of Atlantic Hurricane season: The Weather Channel's Mike Bettes and Dr. Rick Knabb show what you'll need for a hurricane preparedness kit.

The Revelatormapped light pollution, and the huge new contributions from fracking operations. It's bad news for migratory birds.

Donald Trump
Credit: palinchak/Big Stock Photo

The clock is ticking on Trump's ability to challenge the hydrogen tax credit

Over 100 organizations are asking Congress to keep the credit.

President Donald Trump has the opportunity to challenge the Biden administration’s hydrogen tax credit rules under the Congressional Review Act, but the clock is ticking.

The act only allows for changes within 60 days of the rules’ publication. On March 4, time will run out.

Keep reading...Show less
Senator Whitehouse & climate change

Senator Whitehouse puts climate change on budget committee’s agenda

For more than a decade, Senator Sheldon Whitehouse gave daily warnings about the mounting threat of climate change. Now he has a powerful new perch.
Former US President Joe Biden speaks at a podium with a blue background and British and UN flags alongside him.
Credit: COP26/Flickr

FBI probes alleged fraud in Biden's $20 billion climate fund

The FBI is investigating contested accusations of fraud within the Biden administration's $20 billion Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund, questioning Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) employees about the program's oversight and fund allocation.

Spencer S. Hsu, Maxine Joselow, and Nicolás Rivero report for The Washington Post.

Keep reading...Show less
A view of a hurricane as seen from space, with the arm of satellite equipment.
Credit: NASA Johnson/Flickr

Global backlash after mass terminations at NOAA and National Weather Service

The Trump administration has initiated significant layoffs at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the National Weather Service, sparking widespread concern among scientists and environmental advocates.

Grace Toohey reports for the Los Angeles Times.

Keep reading...Show less
The U.S. capitol building in Washington, DC on a sunny day.

Trump accelerates fossil fuel expansion as Democrats push back

President Donald Trump’s declaration of a national energy emergency has fast-tracked oil and gas development by easing environmental regulations. Democrats are mounting legal challenges.

Michael Phillis and Jennifer McDermott report for The Associated Press.

Keep reading...Show less
Factory smoke coming out of smokestacks of an industrial building

House moves to block fee on methane emissions

The House voted 220-206 to overturn a Biden-era rule that enforces a fee on excess methane emissions from oil and gas companies, a move that may advance in the Senate but will require additional legislation to fully dismantle the program.

Rachel Frazin reports for The Hill.

Keep reading...Show less
Researchers on skates drag equipment across the ice.

U.S. layoffs in polar research spark concerns over global presence

The National Science Foundation (NSF) has cut staff in its Office of Polar Programs, raising concerns about the future of U.S. scientific research and strategic presence in Antarctica and the Arctic.

Raymond Zhong reports for The New York Times.

Keep reading...Show less
European flags with yellow stars in a circle on a blue background, outside the European Commission building.

Europe moves to ease corporate climate reporting rules

The European Commission has proposed loosening corporate sustainability reporting requirements, exempting most companies currently covered, in an effort to boost economic competitiveness.

Eshe Nelson reports for The New York Times.

Keep reading...Show less
From our Newsroom
wildfire retardants being sprayed by plane

New evidence links heavy metal pollution with wildfire retardants

“The chemical black box” that blankets wildfire-impacted areas is increasingly under scrutiny.

People  sitting in an outdoors table working on a big sign.

Op-ed: Why funding for the environmental justice movement must be anti-racist

We must prioritize minority-serving institutions, BIPOC-led organizations and researchers to lead environmental justice efforts.

joe biden

Biden finalizes long-awaited hydrogen tax credits ahead of Trump presidency

Responses to the new rules have been mixed, and environmental advocates worry that Trump could undermine them.

Op-ed: Toxic prisons teach us that environmental justice needs abolition

Op-ed: Toxic prisons teach us that environmental justice needs abolition

Prisons, jails and detention centers are placed in locations where environmental hazards such as toxic landfills, floods and extreme heat are the norm.

Agents of Change in Environmental Justice logo

LISTEN: Reflections on the first five years of the Agents of Change program

The leadership team talks about what they’ve learned — and what lies ahead.

Stay informed: sign up for The Daily Climate newsletter
Top news on climate impacts, solutions, politics, drivers. Delivered to your inbox week days.