[Coral-List] Ocean Optimism and communication concerning the global environmental crisis

[Sierra Rose Garcia]

Dear Steve, Peter, everyone who has replied regarding messaging around
coral restoration,

The messaging around coral restoration is something I've been thinking
about for several couple years. I actually applied for a couple grants
while working on my master's degree to do some analysis on this exact
topic, by posing brief surveys to tourists and students participating in a
coral restoration project to (quantitatively and qualitatively) gauge their
understanding of the threats facing coral reefs (and the role of carbon
emissions in particular) before, immediately after, and several months
after participating. I never got the grants, but in the preliminary
research I did while investigating the topic, there seemed to be a
tremendous gap in the literature on the ripple effects various
communication/education strategies for coral restoration programs can have.

I strongly suspect, as I'm sure many of you do, that the attention
restoration garners will adversely impact public understanding of coral
reef status and threats unless coral restoration scientists, managers, and
funders intentionally use their platforms to amplify accurate information.
I don't want to blast this whole mail list with an essay of all my thoughts
and observations on this topic, but I'm happy to chat more with anybody who
is interested in further discussing how we can frame coral conservation and
restoration in ways that effectively communicate the seriousness while
keeping people engaged.

Sierra Garcia


Date: Mon, 22 Mar 2021 13:37:41 -0400
> From: Steve Mussman <sealab at earthlink.net>
> To: Franziska Elmer via Coral-List <coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov>
> Cc: "=?utf-8?Q?coral-list=40coral.aoml.noaa.gov?="
>         <coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov>, Peter Sale <sale at uwindsor.ca>
> Subject: Re: [Coral-List] Ocean Optimism and communication concerning
>         the global environmental crisis
> Message-ID: <a1bd077f-b1dd-40c2-adf0-a7f0b895bc7f at iPhone>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8"
>
>
> Dear Franziska,
>
> I agree with you wholeheartedly, especially when you say that the societal
> takeaway from some restoration projects (through inadequate messaging) is
> that scientists have found a way save coral reefs so there is no need to
> transform. Therein lies the rub. I urge you to continue your efforts to
> change that paradigm. We need a Greta Thunberg dedicated to coral reefs.
>
> To Dennis I simply ask how can we expect more (from societies) when some
> of the leading experts on the planet are in effect promoting what amounts
> to triage as a cure? Wouldn?t we have a better chance of converting Homo
> stupidus into Homo intelligentus if the messaging consistently read
> something like this? We can?t keep treating our oceans like dumping
> grounds. We are working feverishly to restore coral reefs in an attempt to
> keep them alive, but if we don?t adequately address water quality issues,
> over-fishing and climate change we are likely to lose them . . . and losing
> them does not bode well for us.
>
> In a way I remain optimistic in that like Peter mentions in his blog, I
> can?t seem to wrap my head around a scenario in which we just stand by and
> lose them all. Something has to give and I must maintain the hope that
> before it is too late some form of enlightenment will replace complacency.
>
> Regards,
>
> Steve Mussman
>
> On 3/22/21, 10:21 AM, Franziska Elmer via Coral-List <
> coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov> wrote:
>
> Dear Steve and Peter and other coral reef listers,
>
> I am a stubborn optimist and still have hope that we can tackle the
> climate crisis. Maybe even to an extent that we continue to live in a world
> were coral reefs can still exist. However, the only way we can succeed with
> the tremendous task of transformation is for society and governments to
> treat climate change as an emergency and crisis as is done with COVID-19.
> As scientists we are the ones giving expert advice to society and
> governments. If our expert advice is "Yay, coral restoration works" then
> their take away is "reefs aren't doing well but the scientists have found a
> way to save them and we don't need to transform". We have not rung the
> alarm bells strong enough, or we rang them after the 2018 IPCC and then
> went back to our usual day to day tasks, which showed the world that to us
> this isnt an emergency either. We have to show the world that we as coral
> reef scientists are in an emergency state: the ecosystem we love is
> dissappearing in front of our eyes, our jobs will dissape
>
> ar with it. Many of our homes and communities are already impacted by
> climate change or have a large likelyhood to be in the future. We can't go
> on with business as usual, so if you aren't in an emergency state then
> please ask yourself "Am I denying the magnitude of the climate crisis and
> the transformation needed to prevent the worst outcomes?"
>
> So what can you do if you consider this an emergency and want the
> governments to act? You can do a lot, after all you are a scientists which
> comes with respect, easy access to media, good knowledge of the facts and
> often excellent public speaking skills. Let's use our super powers and help
> the rest of the world to wake up!
>
> Countries are making their new Paris targets right now. According to
> Christiana Figueres, the former UNFCCC Executive Secretary, these targets
> will be bolder and more ambitious the more companies make bold and
> ambitious targets and the more people are out on the streets protesting and
> engaging in non-violent civil disobedience. Please consider joining such
> actions or organizing them yourself as we need them for saving our coral
> reefs and every extra person who joins makes a difference.
>
> Six colleagues of mine and I are also hosting an event this Wednesday
> where we talk about our experiences with unleashing our scientist super
> powers and I would love for any of you who want to start their journey to
> join us and get inspired.
>
> Topic: The power of scientists - examples of how scientists help raise
> awareness for climate change.
>
> Time: Mar 24, 2021 04:00 PM Amsterdam, Berlin, Rome, Stockholm, Vienna
>
> Join Zoom Meeting
>
> https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89010314001?pwd=eHVVZVQzOS9LV1F4WmVOcWx2T3Rodz09
>
> Meeting ID: 890 1031 4001
>
> Passcode: 989422
>
> with love for the ocean and rage against the inactivity,
>
> Franziska Elmer , PhD
>
> https://franziskaelmer.weebly.com/


Sierra Garcia
Stanford University
B.Sci. 2018 | Earth Systems, Oceans and Climate
M.A. 2020 | Earth Systems, Environmental Communication