1. Global warming and sea level rise: Public discourse vs. the science of climate change Dr Harun Rashid Emeritus Professor Department of Geography and Earth Science University of Wisconsin— La Crosse, WI, USA

2. OBJECTIVES 1. To study newspaper roles in public discourse on global warming, climate change, and sea level rise 2. To review the coverage of Sustainability, Adaptation, and Mitigation (SAM) initiatives in newspaper discourse on ameliorative policies 3. To assess the nature and extent of media amplification of global warming and climate change in newspaper reports

3. RESEARCH METHODS Electronic resources: ProQuest and EBSCOHost Newspapers analyzed: 14 (6 US, 2 Canadian, 3 Australian, 1 NZ, 1 UK, 1 India) Reports analyzed: 40 (target: 200) Discourse analysis: Microsoft WORD count Total numbers of words analyzed: 30,000

4. Nature of discourseCoverage by all newspapers (Percent of the total text) Scientific elements18 Physical impacts11 Socioeconomic impacts13 Mitigation policies41 Public and media amplification17 Likert-scale rating of amplification1.39 S UMMARY OF D ISCOURSE A NALYSIS : Global warming and climate change

5. SCIENTIFIC ELEMENTS : Temperature trend lines

6. SCIENTIFIC ELEMENTS: IPCC data on temperature anomaly

7. SCIENTIFIC ELEMENTS: Increasing anthropogenic greenhouse gases

8. SCIENTIFIC ELEMENTS: Natural vs. anthropogenic greenhouse effect Astronomical factors Natural greenhouse gases: Water vapour Carbon dioxide Methane Anthropogenic greenhouse gases: Carbon dioxide Methane nitrous oxide CFCs Ozone (Ground level )

9. SCIENTIFIC ELEMENTS: Sunspot activities

10. SCIENTIFIC ELEMENTS: Solar flares

11. SCIENTIFIC ELEMENTS: Computer simulations

12. SCIENTIFIC ELEMENTS: Carbon dioxide pollution

13. SCIENTIFIC ELEMENTS: Polluting countries

14. PHYSICAL IMPACTS: Forest fire in the US West

15. PHYSICAL IMPACTS: Forest fire in the Okanagan Valley

16. PHYSICAL IMPACTS: Drought in Kenya

17. PHYSICAL IMPACTS: Floating icebergs

18. PHYSICAL IMPACTS: Collapsing Antarctic Ice Shelves

19. MITIGATION: Emission reductions

21. MITIGATION: Carbon sequestration

22. MITIGATION: Iron fertilization

23. MITIGATION: Iron fertilization sites

24. MITIGATION: Algal bloom due to iron fertilization

25. MITIGATION: Geo-engineering in the stratosphere

26. S UMMARY OF D ISCOURSE A NALYSIS : Impact of global warming on sea-level rise Nature of discourseCoverage by all newspapers (Percent of the total text) Scientific elements14 Physical impacts15 Social impacts8 Mitigation policies40 Media amplification23 Amplification: Likert Scale Rating2.58

27. SCIENTIFIC ELEMENTS: Recent sea level rise

28.  IPCC FIRST ASSESSMENT (1990): Sea level rise by 2100:  Conservative estimate: 1 m rise (+3 C)  Extreme scenario: 3 m rise (+5.5 C)  IPCC 4 th ASSESSMENT (2007): Sea level rise by 2100:  Conservative estimates: 0.18 to 0.59 m rise  Thermal expansion contributes 75% of sea level rise

29. PHYSICAL IMPACTS: Impacts of sea-level rise in Bangladesh IPCC estimate (UNEP Map): Nightmare scenario for Bangladesh: 15 million people displaced from 17,000 km 2 Sea level rise accelerated by land subsidence

30. PHYSICAL IMPACTS: Accelerated river-bank erosion in Bangladesh

31. PHYSICAL IMPACTS: Coastal erosion in Florida

32. PHYSICAL IMPACTS: Tuvalu Island being threatened by rising sea level

33. PHYSICAL IMPACTS: Tuvalu highway inundated by breaking waves

34. PHYSICAL IMPACTS: Male, capital of the Maldives at risk

35. MITIGATION: Coastal polders and forest expansion in Bangladesh

36. MITIGATION: Delta sedimentation

37. MITIGATION: Elevated foundations of homes

38. MITIGATION: Resettlement of climate refugees in Tuvalu

39. MITIGATION: Resettlement of climate refugees in Bangladesh

40. MITIGATION: Resettlement of displaced population from river-bank erosion in Bangladesh

41. CONCLUSION: THE WAY AHEAD Newspaper discourse on science communication Sustainable mitigation measures: SAM initiatives Adaptive management