Framing

News coverage after the 9/11 attacks: Reason and deliberative democracy put to the test

* I wrote the following essay in the weeks following the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, drawing on insights gained during the first year of graduate school. I published a version of the essay at the Cornell Daily Sun and… Continue Reading →

2019/08/20

Strategic philanthropy in the post cap-and-trade years: Summary of new paper on U.S. foundation funding

In a paper published this week, I review the history of U.S. philanthropic strategy relative to climate change, before assessing the important 5-year period following the defeat of the 2010 cap and trade bill and leading up to the 2016 elections…. Continue Reading →

2018/05/21

Evolution in the college classroom: Facilitating conversations about science and religion

Sept. 1, 2017 — For most American college students, their first serious encounter with the theory of evolution may come as part of an introductory biology course. As surprising as this might sound, the unfortunate reality is that in many… Continue Reading →

2017/09/01 0

Preface to the Oxford Encyclopedia of Climate Change Communication

July 19, 2017 — Because of the complexity and urgency of climate change, efforts to understand the problem’s social, cultural, and political dimensions must stretch beyond the environmental sciences and economics to be truly multi-disciplinary. To this end, over the past… Continue Reading →

2017/07/19 0

Don’t fear a Franken public: The surprising reasons why we should label genetically modified foods

May 1, 2016—In January 2016, Campbell Soup generated headlines by announcing that it would voluntarily label its products containing genetically modified (GM) corn, soy, beets, and other crops. Like most food industry leaders, about three quarters of Campbell Soup products… Continue Reading →

2016/05/01 0

Will the health dangers of climate change get people to care? The science says: maybe

April 7, 2016 —Climate change is a major public health threat, already making existing problems like asthma, exposure to extreme heat, food poisoning, and infectious disease more severe, and posing new risks from climate change-related disasters, including death or injury. Those… Continue Reading →

2016/04/07 0

Shifting the conversation about climate change: Strategies to build public demand for action

March 1, 2016 —Late last year at the United Nations climate change summit in Paris, world leaders reached a historic accord committing their countries to lowering greenhouse gas emissions over the next two decades and beyond. The combined commitments by countries… Continue Reading →

2016/03/01 0

Pope Francis climate advocate: Reframing the debate

January 15, 2015 —Warning of “unprecedented destruction of the ecosystem,” Pope Francis in an encyclical to be released this week (and already leaked) calls for aggressive action to combat climate change and other environmental problems. In the special papal letter addressed… Continue Reading →

2015/06/15 0

Engaging in science policy controversies: Insights from the U.S. debate over climate change

August 4, 2014 —Nearly forty years ago, sociologist Dorothy Nelkin commissioned a series of case studies examining the nature of controversies over science and technology (1978; 1984; 1992). In the decades since, research inspired by these original studies has identified a generalizable… Continue Reading →

2014/08/04

Knowledge into action: Framing the debates over climate change and poverty

Dec. 1 2009 — In February, 2008, I appeared on a panel about news coverage of climate change at the meetings of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). Close to 300 attendees packed the convention hall, including… Continue Reading →

2009/12/01

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