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

Tue Mar 23 22:15:51 UTC 2021

There is certainly a fine and difficult line to tread between complacency
and nihilism. On one hand, focusing only on restoration, etc. and the
positive aspect of the interventions completely dilutes the urgency with
which we need to address the underlying problem.  On the other hand,
anecdotally I have witnessed, over and over again, a complete climate or
coral nihilism, often among the very people that were their biggest
constituents or proponents decades ago here in the Keys.  For the
younger generations, that nihilism is expressed almost as apathy- the reefs
are already destroyed, let's just move on- or worse, 'look at how beautiful
these reefs are!'  So there has to be a balance of urgency with messaging
that there is capability to take real action.

This problem is exacerbated by the fact that people can increasingly choose
their own media, videos, articles, etc. and create their own micro-world in
which to reside.

A few things that I think could help are:
1) Always mention both the actionable and urgent side of this issue, every
time we discuss either.  That way, it is harder for people to eliminate one
side of the picture from their feeds. If a new climate or coral report
comes out that is frankly depressing, we need to link *in the same piece of
media* to ways people can get involved.  This includes prompting people to
push individually for collective, systemic change in addition to personal
change.
2) Use real analogies- house on fire, boat sinking, etc. and expand it to
include the specific topic discussed in a piece of media.  If we found a
new restoration technique, great, it's like someone found another bucket to
help bail the boat out- but we still need to patch the hole below the water
line.  Maybe this is just my personal experience, but this seems to do a
good job of conveying the urgency of the issue.

Climate change is a huge, huge issue and we seem to have trouble even
getting regional stressors under control, like water quality.  I know a lot
of people I talk to feel like these problems are too big for them to
tackle.  The challenge is getting them to do something when the shoulders
on both sides of the road are littered with a million excuses to stick with
inaction.

Curious as always to hear others' thoughts.

Dr. Rob Nowicki

Adjunct Scientist
Elizabeth Moore International Center for Coral Reef Research & Restoration
Mote Marine Laboratory
24244 Overseas Highway
Summerland Key, FL 33042

Office phone: (941)-504-4812

On Mon, Mar 22, 2021 at 11:47 AM Steve Mussman via Coral-List <
coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov> wrote:

>
> 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/
>
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