CCR 78 What is an Effective Climate Change Story?

In this episode of Citizens Climate Radio we will consider stories that focus on the impacts of climate change. These include incidents of extreme weather, and stories of changes you have witnessed over time and the ways these changes affect you and everything and everyone you love. Plus you will hear one climate solution story from the future. 

Most importantly, you will hear an example of “the climate story pivot.” The pivot happens when you jump off of your story into the climate solution you are proposing.

An extreme weather story by Dr. Natasha DeJarnett

Dr. DeJarnett is an assistant professor in the Christina Lee Brown Environment Institute at the University of Louisville Division of Environmental Medicine. She researches the health impacts of extreme heat exposure and environmental health disparities. If you ever heard one of Dr. DeJarnett’s presentations, you know she is excellent at sharing data and highlighting the many ways we can protect our loved ones and communities. She is also a powerful storyteller. For this episode she tells us a dramatic story from when she was 12 years old.  

Poems about parenting and climate change by Lilace Mellin Guinard. 

As a parent, Lilace Mellin Guinard weaves in emotions that may be familiar to some listeners.  For The BTS Center in Portland, Maine, Lilace led a poetry workshop for climate change leaders. She recorded readings of her poetry, and Citizens Climate Radio host Peterson Toscano  added music and sound effects. You will hear Lilace read two poems, “After the Magi Depart'' and “Evergreen.” For people in North America who enjoy winter weather and feel a pang about the warming of warming winters, Lilace expresses both grief and determination. Each poem is a mini story of moments in the life of a parent and children. More importantly Lilace tells the deeper emotional stories many of us quietly experience.  

A story from the future by Allison Whitaker

Peterson collaborated with Allison Whitaker, one of the facilitators of the Intro to Climate Fiction Workshop offered by With Many Roots. She wrote a story immersed in a solution. Together they created a radio drama version of her story Forest at the End of the Lane. This story was inspired by a climate solution known as tree intercropping. According to Project Drawdown, tree intercropping is “a suite of agroforestry systems that deliberately grow trees together with annual crops in a given area at the same time. This solution replaces conventional annual crop production on degraded cropland.” Special Thanks to The Wildlife Conservation Research Unit for the awesome badger sounds. You can read more future solution stories like Allisons’ over at the Cli-Fi Imaginarium.

What you will learn in this episode: We can tell effective climate stories. 

The most common story is  the climate change impact story--A story that reveals the dangers of climate change induced extreme weather and other impacts on our lives and the world. Make your story compelling with specific details and emotions.

Once you tell your story, switch to the climate change pivot. This is when you connect your story to the climate work you are doing or a particular solution you are pursuing.

Finally, give them something to do. Suggest a meaningful and achievable next step. 

Next month we will do a deep dive into another type of climate change story--a story that reveals the impacts of climate change solutions. 

Do you want to learn more about climate storytelling and get some experience in a group? 

Join Peterson for a free on-line storytelling workshop January 17th 2023 8:00 PM Eastern. He will share activities and insights, and he will give feedback to participants about their stories. You will walk away with fresh inspiration in telling your compelling climate stories. It will be fun and informative. Click here to register for the training.

Resilience Corner

Tamara Staton is the Education and Resilience Coordinator for Citizens Climate Education, and in