2018 Coastal Perspective Lecture Series
University of Connecticut
Avery Point
Tuesday, March 6th, 7:30 p.m.
“Climate Change in the American Mind: Communication Challenges & Opportunities”
By Jennifer R. Marlon, Ph.D
Research Scientist, Yale Program on Climate Change Communication Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies
Ever wonder what people from Wyoming think about climate change? From Atlanta, or Alaska? How different are the views of others from your own? The scientists have discovered that opinions can be broken down into six distinct groups. All of these groups have different views about the problem, its seriousness, and its consequences, and each responds differently to climate change solutions. In order to have a truly rewarding conversation, it is important to understand the views of those unlike your own and to consider how we might find common ground. This talk will focus less on the scientific details of climate change and more on the key ideas that we must engage as this topic becomes critical in the coming years.
Jennifer Marlon, Ph.D. is an Associate Research Scientist at Yale’s School of Forestry and Environmental Studies and the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication (YPCCC). She obtained my Ph.D. and M.S. in Geography from the University of Oregon. Dr. Marlon studies human-environment interactions – how geography, psychology, and social processes drive environmental changes, and how humans perceive and respond to those changes. Her current research focuses primarily on climate change communication and public perceptions of extreme weather events, such as hurricanes, droughts, and heat waves. She also studies long-term climate-fire interactions using paleoenvironmental data.
The Yale Program on Climate Change Communication in partnership with the George Mason Center for Climate Change Communication has surveyed over 18,000 of Americans during the past eight years in an effort to understand how different people perceive climate change. These scientists have discovered that opinions can be broken down into six distinct groups. All of these groups have different views about the problem, its seriousness, and its consequences, and each responds differently to climate change solutions. In order to have a truly rewarding conversation, it is important to understand the views of those unlike your own and to consider how we might find common ground. Please join us for a presentation that focuses less on the scientific details of climate change and more on the varying perceptions of this topic and how to engage these key ideas.
Lecture series is FREE and open to the public. Lectures begin at 7:30 p.m.
Please join us for our 22nd season. This annual lecture series attempts to span the breadth of human interactions with coastal waters, including speakers from the natural and social sciences. All lectures are held in the auditorium, which is located on the second floor of the Academic Building (disabled accessible). Enter through the Academic Building or through the Student Center. There is a limited-capacity elevator on the first floor of the Academic Building. Please call us with your questions, or concerns, on the limited-mobility access points to the auditorium at 860-405-9025, or email Noreen.blaschik@uconn.edu.
This series is sponsored by UCONN Avery Point, the Connecticut Sea Grant College Program, the Department of Marine Sciences, UCONN and the Maritime Studies Program, UCONN. For more information, a printable lecture flyer, or a campus map, visit our website at http://marinesciences.uconn.edu/lectures/ or email CoastalPerspectives@uconn.edu.
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For more information, contact: Noreen Favreau at 8604059025