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 fall short of what many scientists say is needed to avoid the worst impacts of […]

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 to the world community, Pope Francis is expected to emphasize the deep moral imperative for […]

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 set of insights that inform our understanding of today’s leading controversies such as those over […]

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 journalists, scientists, and science policy advocates. The sense of urgency in the room was electric. […]