Kate Yoder is the news editor at Grist.
Big Oil Spent $3.6 Billion to Clean Up its Image, and it’s Working
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.
January 3, 2020
Retreating from Rising Seas isn’t a Win or a Defeat — it’s Reality
“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.
September 4, 2019
8 Percent of Americans Recently Changed their Minds on Climate. What Gives?
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.
January 17, 2019
War of Words
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?
December 10, 2018
Florence Stirs Up a Debate about How we Talk about Hurricanes
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.
September 27, 2018
In Defense of Using ‘The New Normal’ to Describe Climate Change
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.
August 7, 2018