Wednesday, July 18, 2018

"If I were you, that is a question I would have" - Quotes & Resources from Katharine Hayhoe, Climate Communicator Extraordinaire


Atmospheric scientist Dr. Katharine Hayhoe has long been recognized for her skills at climate science communication. This post is just a parking lot for some of her quotes, presentations, and articles for future reference.

On July 13, 2018, Dr. Hayhoe posted on Facebook a snippet from a new interview with her in the July 7, 2018, edition of New Scientist, illustrating her unique approach to addressing proponents of climate change myths:
New Scientist: It must be annoying to hear sunspots and solar cycles cited as evidence that climate change isn’t real, but you are always respectful in how you respond to these claims. Does that come naturally? 
Me: No! The response that comes most naturally to me is what comes naturally to a lot of us scientists: 
"Do you really imagine I’ve spent more than 20 years studying climate science and never heard that one before?!"
But the Bible says “the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self control”, and I consciously practise those things. It enables me to say, “I understand where you’re coming from. If I were you, that is a question I would have, and it deserves a respectful answer.”
I want to share not just my head with people, but also my heart. 
~
If you don't have a subscription to New Scientist, she posted a JPG of the article on her FB feed.

On July 12, 2018, Dr. Hayhoe gave a 40-minute presentation on the National Climate Assessment for NOAA (part of their 8-part Climate Science Special Report webinar series, which is part of the OneNOAA Science Seminars).

In that presentation, she quotes John Holdren, president of the American Association for the Advancement of Science:
We basically have three choices: mitigation, adaptation and suffering. We’re going to do some of each. The question is what the mix is going to be. 
At the end of the presentation she (and some other participants) posted a bevy of helpful links for people trying to improve outcomes from their climate communication efforts. Here are some:

Dr. Hayhoe's recent articles/presentations:
Groups that are doing good work on climate communication or the reframing of climate science:
On her professional webpage she refers people to the following websites (in addition to her Youtube channel, linked above) featuring videos of her talking about climate change:
Back in 2014 she gave an interview to Guernica ("God's Creation is Running a Fever"), where she said this quotable quote:
It’s a common perception that science and religion are mutually exclusive. But there are many scientists who would consider themselves to be spiritual people. Not only that, but in the case of climate change—a scientific issue with strong moral implications and difficult decisions to be made—it’s essential to connect the science to our values. And for many of us, our values come from our faith.
This and other quotable quotes can be found at Dr. Hayhoe's page on AZ Quotes.

1 comment:

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