People are getting tired of the same old story about global warming. Either it’s a catastrophe (alarm), or it’s nothing to worry about (denial). There’s little that’s inspiring, intriguing, or hopeful about this narrative. Instead it can be stale, polarizing, alienating—and perhaps worst of all, stuck in the technical weeds.
That’s why it’s time to apply lessons from the theory and practice of high quality science communication to this pressing issue. And in a new collaboration called thirst:Climate, Climate Desk Live is creating an event to feature talks on climate that are both innovative and thought-provoking. Talks that break the frame. The goal is nothing less than to force us to think differently about the planetary future into which we’re hurtling.
Created in collaboration with thirstDC—an interactive science creative agency--and ScienceOnline Climate (a special DC-based iteration of the highly successful annual ScienceOnline conference for web-savvy science communicators), this event will take place on August 15 in Washington, DC. The venue will be 1776, just blocks from the White House at 1333 15th St NW. Doors open at 6 pm, and talks start at 7:30pm.
All talks will be specially developed and curated in collaboration with thirstDC’s presentation trainers. The speakers will make us care about global warming by telling different kinds of stories than the ones we're used to hearing--and telling them in an unforgettable way, both visually and through narrative. Currently confirmed speakers are:
Kate Sheppard, Mother Jones magazine/The Climate Desk: “How to Convince Your Republican Dad About Global Warming”
Jamie Vernon, PhD, American Association for the Advancement of Science, Science & Technology Policy Fellow: “How to Get Rich Off of Global Warming”
Liz Burakowski, University of New Hamsphire, PhD student in climate/ice/cryosphere: “Snow and Climate: How Global Warming is Melting the Ski Industry”
Tom DiLiberto, Meteorologist and the first "America's Science Idol": “The Wild Weather of the Future: What we know, what we kinda know, and what we kinda don't know”
Melanie Tannenbaum, Scientific American Blogger & Social Psychologist: “This is Your Brain on Climate Change”
James West, Producer, Climate Desk, "I Met Our Worst Online Climate Troll (And Kind Of Liked Him)"
Hosting the event is the thirst Co-Founder and Creative Director, Eric Schulze, PhD, and NYT best-selling author, Chris Mooney.
About our venue:
1776 is a platform to reinvent America by connecting the hottest Start Ups from around the world with the assets of the most powerful city on Earth. In the heart of Washington, D.C., just a few blocks from the White House, 1776 is where startups tackling major national challenges in education, energy, health care, government, and all other highly regulated industries can engage to build the future of our economy. For more information, visit http://1776dc.com/ or follow at @1776dc.