Communicating Climate Change Be The Expert In The Living Room Bob Lindmeier Chief Meteorologist WKOW-TV, Madison WI Member of the American Meteorological Society Member of the AMS Station Scientist Committee AMS Seal Of Approval Photo: NASA

Climate Silence Photo: NASA

Climate Silence Photo: NASA

Climate Silence Photo: NASA

Our strength as TV Mets is in communicating complex concepts in easy to understand terms. Our main job is to be the “nice friendly person” folks invite into their homes - BUT… Given the number of Americans that are skeptical, we need to get the proper science out to the public. We just have to be careful not to mix too much PHYSICAL science with POLITICAL science.

We are as close to a scientist as Americans will ever get We are as close to a scientist as Americans will ever get! We can help educate our viewers!

We are as close to a scientist as Americans will ever get We are as close to a scientist as Americans will ever get! We already help educate our viewers! One of the more beautiful sights we can sometime see are what scientists call “sun dogs.” HOW THEY FORM These meteorological phenomena occur when sunlight defects through ice crystals in a process called refraction. This occurs…..

We are as close to a scientist as Americans will ever get We are as close to a scientist as Americans will ever get! We must help educate our viewers!

Public Trust On The Topic Of Global Warming Photo: NASA Leiserowitz et al. 2015

Broadcast Meteorologists Are Uniquely Positioned To Educate The Public About Climate Change 1. We are trusted sources who have extraordinary access to the public 2. We tend to be highly talented and well-engaged science communicators. Photo: NASA 3. We are very active and access new and effective communication platforms not often reached by climate scientists.

TV Weathercasters Views On Climate Change Appear To Be Evolving Rapidly More than 90% believe climate change is happening and approximately 80% that human-caused climate change is happening. 62% believe that climate has changed in their communities over the past 50 years. Nearly 60% are at least somewhat interested in reporting on air about projected climate change impacts. 77% are interested in reporting on a range of local impacts. Nearly half indicated that they have reported on the local impacts of climate change on social media. Photo: NASA Maibach, E., Perkins, D., Timm, K., Myers, T., Woods Plackt, B., et al. (2017), A 2017 National Survey of Broadcast Meteorologists Initial Findings. George Mason University, Fairfax, VA: Center for Climate Change Communication

Barriers Faced By Broadcast Meteorologists Reporting On Climate Change Lack of time to prepare material. Lack of presentation time in their broadcasts. Not enough knowledge about climate science. Not comfortable broadcasting about climate change. Resistance from management. Fear that viewers will complain. Fear they will lose their jobs. Photo: NASA

American Meteorological Society’s Statement on Climate Change There is unequivocal evidence the Earth’s lower atmosphere, ocean, and land surface are warming, sea level is rising: and snow cover, mountain glaciers, and Arctic sea ice are shrinking. The dominant cause of the warming since the 1950s is human activities. This scientific finding is based on a large and persuasive body of research. Photo: NASA

Data from US Environmental Protection Agency Data from US Environmental Protection Agency. Graphic from Climate Central.