Climate roundtable: Experts talk science, communication, and economy.
The recent cold snap that sapped electricity production and froze pipes as far south as Texas was an example of how the sub-Arctic polar vortex behaves when it outmatches the otherwise confining jet stream. That was one of the more technical illustrations discussed at a virtual climate science roundtable on Friday when climate scientists and Kansas City hip-hop artist AY Young teamed for an hour-long event. (Click here to view the roundtable.)
The roundtable discussion also featured conversations about both job loss and potential job creation as a result of climate change; urban cooling projects in Kansas City and St. Louis; and the expected effects of the United States rejoining the Paris Climate Accord. The roundtable was presented by the Missouri Local Science Engagement Network. Dan English, LSEN program coordinator, and Jenny Bratburd, policy fellow for transportation, public safety, and energy with the Missouri Science & Technology Policy Initiative (MOST), were co-hosts.
As scientists discuss and debate extreme weather events are the product of climate change, there was consensus on the need for climate scientists to “improve our understanding and convey that knowledge to the public,” said Dr. Fengpeng Sun, a climate modeler at the University of Missouri-Kansas City.
An infusion of pop culture.
Meanwhile, it was hip-hop singer Young who broke down the primary reason that it’s difficult to communicate climate science information to the public.
“Nothing about this is cool,” said Young, who powers all his concerts via renewable energy from solar-charged batteries. “How do you make it cool? How do you make it dope?” He infuses the climate science message with pop culture as he advocates for the planet as one of the United Nations’ 17 Youth Ambassadors for sustainable development goals.
Beth Martin, a teaching professor in environmental studies and associate director of Washington University’s Climate Change Program, suggested that reframing the conversation about climate can make it more palatable.
“Climate change has become taboo. People are entrenched” either politically or philosophically, Martin said. “Climate resiliency is an easier conversation to have. How can we make our lives better? It’s the same conversation, just framing it in a different way.”
Doug Kluck, regional climate services director for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s central region, also agreed with Young that “localism” helps focus the climate conversation on a personal and community level.
“You shape your message to what your audience is interested in and cares about,” Kluck said.
Climate change comes to Missouri.
English said the discussion about climate change communications was “one of the most profound moments in the roundtable, adding that Young “brought us all down to Earth” by explaining that the climate message is not “dope,” or popular outside the educational realm of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM).
“Scientists who are passionate about increasing awareness of climate-related issues talk about quantifiable groups of people and different metrics to measure communication strategies, but we often wonder why messages don’t take root,” English added. Young “shows us how artists need to be part of a solution for any climate change strategy.”
English said he also gleaned other new facts from Pat Guinan, associate professor of climatology for atmospheric science with the University of Missouri Extension.
“Climate-related weather changes have only recently started to affect Missouri,” English said “The summers are getting longer and wetter. Dew points are creeping up in Missouri, fueled by increasing moisture coming up from the Gulf of Mexico. This is the reason why more severe rain events are occurring.”
Bratburd pointed out that the panel illuminated many facets of client change: international cooperation, environmental justice, communication, energy, climate modeling, impacts to farms, cities, and more.
“I also appreciated A.Y.’s comment on how climate change is not ‘cool’, and how connecting with peoples’ other interests in music and entertainment can help get people more interested in climate change solutions,” she said.
An eye on the economy.
Martin also emphasized that the economy and employment have crucial connections to climate discussions.
“As our economy transitions” from fossil fuels to renewable energy, “we are going to lose jobs,” she said. “It’s really important to acknowledge and honor there is a loss there.” That will create opportunities for workforce development training, as well as “really cool new jobs and opportunities,” she added.
It’s a topic that English has previously commented on with energetic optimism.
“There’s a really high concentration of smart people in Missouri,” he said. Combined with the state’s position in the middle of the country, there’s reason to believe Missouri can be “a leader in climate change mitigation.”
A climate change policy brief from MOST spells out many of the challenges and mitigation efforts currently planned or underway.
Missouri’s rich history as a geographically and culturally diverse state — ranging from rural agricultural regions to the urban population centers of Kansas City and St. Louis — presents unique challenges, as well as opportunities to engage in climate science, client change mitigation efforts, and potential emerging markets and technology.
