One of the biggest problems in trying to communicate the urgency of addressing Climate Change is that most people think it will only happen far into the future and someplace else. Neither is true. Climate Change is hitting home now.

However much US partisan politics are split on the scientific consensus on Climate Change, 97% of climate scientists around the world agree that Climate Change is happening, and we are causing it.

“A synthesis of this research – a survey of surveys – concluded that the expert consensus on climate change is between 90 to 100%, with a number of studies converging on 97% agreement. Among peer-reviewed studies examining expert agreement on climate change, there is consensus on consensus.” (Page 2, “The Consensus Handbook, Why the scientific consensus on climate change is important”)

How do we get the public to understand and appreciate that Climate Change is happening now, here in Rochester and everywhere else (because it’s a planetary phenomenon)? We have several expert sources that describe how Climate Change is affecting our region, but how many folks know about these resources and have read them?



Much is being done by the media, climate scientists, and Climate Change communicators to figure out how to get the message out to the public about the high level of certainty anchoring climate science. At the same time, tremendous pushback on this science has experts doing handstands trying to find a way to get the true climate facts into our brains so we won’t deny it, dismiss it, ignore it, and continually find ways to get around this hurdle to a viable future.

Why does communicating climate science matter? Aren’t many of us already doing a lot to address this crisis? It matters because at the core of all the controversy, inconvenience, and concern about Climate Change is the science. Unlike many issues that confront humanity, Climate Change isn’t immediately apparent to the untrained eye. It’s going to take a world full of people to understand the fundamental science behind this crisis.

For example, how many people can explain how global warming works? Check out this popular website created by a scientist explaining this absolutely, undeniable property of our universe: How Global Warming Works “This site's information helps people understand global warming's scientific mechanism.” The site offers videos and written explanations in various lengths (from short to really, really short) and in several languages so that this fundamental principle behind Climate Change sticks in our minds.

(I know, when communicating Climate Change you are supposed to be respectful, interesting, brief, nonpartisan, hopeful, non-wonky, convenient, and just thrilled to be repeating the basics of this crisis one more freaking time. But, jeeze.)

If we don’t get everyone onboard with climate science, too many of us will continue to vote for climate deniers. We’ll fail to turn towards renewable energy and turn away from burning fossil fuels quickly enough. We’ll be blind to the changes already occurring in our backyards making it easier for us to continue business as usual. We’ll keeping thinking we can have our cake and eat it too—like thinking we can “Roll Back Rules Requiring Cars to Be Cleaner and More Efficient” but still have a healthy future.


Time passes.