Communicating to a General Audience with Pandemic and Climate Change Analogs

Abstract:

Drawing from my experience giving 12 lecture-discussions online to a general audience, I show how our societal reaction to the viral pandemic provides powerful ties to the impacts of climate change. Examples: those with the least suffer the most; messing too much with the environment causes lots of problems; people “get” models; leaders can change their positions; we can follow simple measures; normal life can be disrupted when danger is acknowledged; we will expend very large sums of money to deal with impacts. Symptoms offer parallels of disease vs extreme weather events. Short-term responses include hospitalization vs rebuilding after a wildfire. Long-term cures contrast vaccines with cessation of the emission of greenhouse gases. Audiences react vigorously, citing their own personal experiences during the pandemic.