Climate Change Graphics & Video

So lonely, misunderstood…

Posted on November 27, 2012 by Tom Smerling

What a great example of how to breath life into an abstract topic—renewable energy—by turning it into a human character.    Add bits of emotional drama, surprise and slightly-risque humor. . . and the story becomes irresistible!

This award-winning ad by the power company Epuron and the German Ministry for the Environment (BMU) went viral a few years ago,  and has taken on a life of its own,  recently reaching 4+ million hits on YouTube.    A good story always draws a crowd.

This ad was shown at the Climate Reality leadership training in SF last August to illustrate effective communication.

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Climate Change Graphics & Video

Weathergirl goes rogue! LOL

Posted on September 5, 2012 by Tom Smerling

Weathergirl loses it.       OMG!

Continue reading →

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'Unusual Suspects'

Only tree-huggers believe in climate change? Guess again…

Posted on September 4, 2012 by Tom Smerling

Another excellent clip from “How to talk to an Ostrich, a series of short takes by PBS’s Earth the Operators’ Manual.

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Climate Communication Narratives

Book-Burning Party: Change the story, then change the world.

Posted on August 27, 2012 by Tom Smerling

Last week at the Climate Reality Leadership Training in San Francisco, storytelling guru Andy Goodman led a spellbinding session on the importance of “changing the story.”    Goodman described research that confirmed what many of us have experienced:  in a public debate, a misleading but vivid anecdote can trump reams of data and logic.    (Anybody remember Ronald Reagan’s wildly exaggerated “Welfare Queen” imagery?)

So often, the only way to dislodge emotionally-charged disinformation is to tell a better, more compelling story.

To see this principle in action, check out this wonderful little clip from Goodman’s Free Range Thinking newsletter about a successful campaign in Troy MI that defeated the Tea Party and saved the city library.    Lots of lessons here!  Continue reading →

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