Climate Scientists Should Write Stories, Not Just Journal Papers
Why I came to feel that freelance journalism, not academia, would better allow me to take effective climate action.
When was the last time you read a research paper from an academic journal? If you have actually read one, then you’re in the tiny minority. Most people are interested in stories. It’s the scientists who have stories to tell who hold the greatest audience and, in a time where scientists desperately need to be heard, they need to develop this skill.
“I think research is hugely important, but I don’t think research alone is enough to catalyse the urgent changes we need” — Dr Charlie Gardner, Tipping Points ep. 2
I reported a few stories from scientists who became activists in the podcast Tipping Points, which I made during my PhD. And it’s the stories of climate scientists that make the front page of newspapers, not their research papers. A recent Guardian front page headline ‘Scientists despair amid forecast of at least 2.5C temperature rise’ tells the story of how hundreds of world leading climate scientists “envisage a ‘semi-dystopian’ future, with famines, conflicts, and mass migration…
