by Gudrun Freese
13. August 2010 07:01
Despite ambitious campaigns to discredit climate change science and scientists, the reality of climate change is generally accepted. The window of opportunity for acting to avoid the worst consequences of climate change is somewhere between too late and 15 years, depending on what you factor in...which makes one of the most interesting questions now 'why aren't we doing enough about it?'
Seriously...why aren't we? What does it take to motivate behaviour change? Can the same dark arts that got us into consumerism get us out of it? How do we translate the cautious language of science into the motivating language of transformation?
We might have to use fun to break through green fatigue, denialism and the drudgery of political correctness. For some inspiration watch Piano Stairs - The Fun Theory on YouTube for a fun approach to getting more people to use the stairs. And Tom Chatfield, a gaming theorist wonders if we can use the rule structure of video games to motivate behaviour change.
A sign of the times, Earthscan's New & Forthcoming Climate Change Books for 2010 include a number of new books on communications:
How to Win Campaigns: Communications for Change – SECOND EDITION Chris Rose
Debating Climate Change: Pathways through Argument to Agreement Elizabeth L. Malone
Engaging the Public with Climate Change: Behaviour Change and Communication Edited By Lorraine Whitmarsh, Saffron O’Neill and Irene Lorenzoni
Please feel free to share our climate change flyer and the 20% discount code CC2010 - which can be used for pre-orders too - with your staff or networks. Review editors can contact me for review copies at gudrun.freese@earthscan.co.uk and course leaders can request review copies at www.earthscan.co.uk/inspection.
