Big Oil Spent $3.6 Billion to Clean Up its Image, and it’s Working
By Kate Yoder, Grist
If you’ve ever seen an ad featuring ExxonMobil scientists handling beakers of green goo, the algae that will supposedly fuel the future, you’ve been the target of an oil company’s advertisement. Exxon isn’t trying to sell you a product, exactly — but it is hoping to sell you on the idea that it’s committed to a greener future.
Retreating from Rising Seas isn’t a Win or a Defeat — it’s Reality
By Kate Yoder, Grist
“Managed retreat” is a controversial response to climate change. It’s the idea that communities and governments should be strategic about moving people away from areas that have become too waterlogged to live in safely.
8 Percent of Americans Recently Changed their Minds on Climate. What Gives?
By Kate Yoder, Grist
So if you’re trying to get someone to open their mind, you might consider the idea of a having tough, nuanced conversation … and actually hearing them out. Good, old-fashioned, respectful debate? I’d take that over a rage fest or shoutathon any day.
War of Words
By Kate Yoder, Grist
Coming from a pacifist background, and obsessed with linguistics, I’ve grown uneasy with the way war shapes our words. The thought struck me earlier this year: By pitting one group against another, do war metaphors undermine our ability to address the complex problem of climate change, the biggest global crisis we face?
Florence Stirs Up a Debate about How we Talk about Hurricanes
By Kate Yoder, Grist
The Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale does just what it’s supposed to: rank a storm based on its winds speeds. But the scale ignores other threats, like rainfall, storm surge, and the overall size of the storm.
In Defense of Using ‘The New Normal’ to Describe Climate Change
By Kate Yoder, Grist
When people invoke the “new normal,” Stamper says they’re not referring to an unchanging, static condition, but rather “a measure of uncertainty and worsening danger.” In other words, the cliche conveys exactly the message that climate scientists want to convey.
Favianna Rodriguez says Climate Change Imagery Lacks a Human Touch
By Kate Yoder, Grist
I would like to see less images specifically about the traditional view of nature. For years, for decades, for centuries, many of the spaces of nature just have not been accessible — or have been only accessible to a limited few, mostly elites, mostly white people. So to use imagery that doesn’t invite all of us to participate is a mistake.
Hurricane Maria Crushed Puerto Rico farms. This Activist Wants to Grow Resilience through Food.
By Kate Yoder, Grist
Obviously, we are still in the emergency relief situation, but food takes time to grow. And so we really, really need to see this as an immediate issue. How do we get farmers back to farming? How do we get a roof over their heads? How do we get them seeds? How do we get them tools? Because it takes a while to not only be happier, but to be more autonomous.