How to Talk About Climate Change

Can we find common ground to talk about Climate Change, the effects of which are affecting everyone? Find some resources on this page:

• Katharine Hayhoe’s TED Talk (The most important thing you can do to fight climate change: talk about it)

• Training sessions for having effective climate change conversations

• Renee Lertzman’s TED Talk (How To Turn Climate Anxiety into Action)

• Katharine Wilkinson’s TED Talk (How Empowering Women and Girls Can Help Stop Global Warming)

• Book Study of Saving Us by Katharine Hayhoe

Effective Climate Change Conversations Training

This! Is What We Did offers a free 3-week virtual class (one 1.5 hour session each week) on how to have effective climate change conversations. If you agree with Katharine Hayhoe that the most important thing you can do to fight climate change is to talk about it, then this is the class for you! They offer these classes regularly. Click here for more details. Barb took the class, you can contact her if you have questions (bjmunn57@gmail.com)

Saving Us by Katharine Hayhoe

Are you feeling hopeless, discouraged, or completely turned off by the rancor and fear surrounding Climate Change? WE recommend that you read Saving Us by Katharine Hayhoe, and consider how to live into real hope and healing for both us and the Earth. Mission Earth did a 3-part Book Study of the Saving Us in the Spring of 2022. Scroll down to see what we covered in each session.

Session 1 - Bridging the Divide

During this session we concentrated on how to bridge political divides on the issue of Climate Change by reading through Section 1 (The Problem and the Solution) and Section 2 (Why Facts Matter and Why They are Not Enough) of the book (the selections that spoke to us within pages 5-42 and 46-86) Click here for a pdf of the Session 1 breakdown (showing the chapters within each section and the subheadings within each chapter).

We opened with a quote from the book (p.32):

“Stop for a second and take a breath. That came from our planet. Then think about how every single resource we use in our lives is provided by the Earth, from the water we drink and the food we consume to the materials we use to build our houses and our clothes and our phones. All of those resources are gifts from our home, planet Earth.”

We discussed a number of issues from the book starting with how american’s opinions on climate change fall within these six groups (p.7):

Alarmed, Concerned, Cautious, Disengaged, Doubtful, Dismissive —> Where do you fit?

Katharine Hayhoe found that only 7% of Americans were truly dismissive (and their opinions are impossible to sway). However, the good news is that it is possible to have meaningful conversations with the remaining 93% of the population! And, according to Hayhoe, talking about climate change is one of the most effective things that we can do.

Katharine says:

“while knowing the facts is important, using them to create anxiety, fear and guilt only creates apathy, anger and resistance. Instead, conversations should begin with shared values and experiences, love and compassion.”

In order for such conversations to be meaningful, we must first know who we are ourselves so that we can connect who we are to why we care about climate change. In addition, it is important to know who you are talking to - what do you have in common that can be the beginning of a conversation about climate change? AND, be sure to lead with both compassion and curiosity. In other words, be a generous listener - seek to understand what is true for the other person.

Katharine Hayhoe emphasizes that these conversations should not be weighed down by facts and figures, rather they should come from the heart - what do you have in common with the other person, and how is that related to the impacts of climate change -

• Do you like to hike?

• Has your home insurance been canceled?

• How are you doing with all the smoke during fire season?

• I’m thinking of changing my landscaping to xeriscaping - do you know anyone who as done that? etc. etc.

Session 2 - We Can Fix It!

During this session concentrated on Section 4 (We Can Fix It!) along with just a few excerpts from Section 3 (The Threat Multiplier). We read the selections that spoke to us within pages 90-92, 106-107, 126-128, and 131-191: click here for a pdf of the Session 2 breakdown (showing the chapters within each section and the subheadings within each chapter).

Scroll down for a summary of what we talked about. If you want the full version - watch the video this video:

We opened with a quote from Katharine Wilkinson’s Ted Talk, which is referred to in the book:

“In my experience, to have eyes wide open is to hold a broken heart every day. It's a grief that I rarely speak, though my work calls on the power of voice. I remind myself that the heart can simply break, or it can break open. A broken-open heart is awake and alive and calls for action. … It is a magnificent thing to be alive in a moment that matters so much. This earth, our home, is calling for us to be bold, reminding us we are all in this together -- women, men, people of all gender identities, all beings. We are life force, one earth, one chance. Let's seize it.”

Katharine Hayhoe discussed a concept called psychological distance on p.92. This is the idea that the farther an issue is from us, either geographically or culturally, the more abstract it is.  Thus “genuine concern, the kind that motivates long term action, usually has to be based on something close to home.” There are many reasons we care about climate change, what, personally, is your primary motivator? Here is a list of what motivated the participants in Session 2:

• species extinction

• fire and smoke

• local issues, such as wildfire and drought

• our children’s future

• living with wildfire season - bug out bags, canceled fire insurance, impacts of smoke and fire on summer activities (hanging out the laundry, hiking expeditions, kayaking, etc.)

• more and more days of extreme heat up here (100+)

• hotter nights make it more difficult to cool down our houses

• climate refugees - people moving from the area due to these impacts

Katharine Hayhoe says that “much of the resistance to climate change is really a rejection of what people perceive to be unpleasant or unpalatable solutions is known as solution aversion.” (p.134) Many fear the solutions, believing that they are a threat to personal freedom, their quality of life, and the health of the economy. Do you suffer from solution aversion? Comments from the discussion include:

• You can’t just feel guilty and expect things to change - you have to be part of the solution (otherwise you are part of the problem)

• Many are averse to massive government intervention - but, this is truly what is needed to effect rapid change

• On the other hand, a grass roots movement is needed to persuade politicians to intervene. This starts with the conversations that Katharine advocates, and will action at the local level. As Teddy Roosevelt said, “Do what you can with what you have, where your are.”

Session 3 - You Can Make a Difference!

During this session we hoped to concentrate on Section 5 (You Can Make a Difference!), reading selections within pages 195-245: click here for a pdf of the Session 3 breakdown (showing the chapters within each section and the subheadings within each chapter).