A New Climate Vocabulary

Climate Emergency Forum welcomes Herb Simmens, author and planetarian, to discuss his book, "A Climate Vocabulary of the Future," that emphasizes the need for accessible language and storytelling in the climate discourse.
This video was recorded on January 23rd, 2024, and published on February 11th, 2024, and represents the opinions of the discussion participants.
The dialogue spans a comprehensive discussion on climate change communication, focusing on the importance of clear language and effective messaging. Regina, the host, sets the stage by highlighting the significance of “A Climate Vocabulary of the Future” to facilitate understanding and engagement. Herb Simmons, the author of "A Climate Vocabulary of the Future," elaborates on his motivations and the content of his book, emphasizing the need for accessible language and storytelling in climate discourse.
The conversation extends to include Paul and Peter, who commend Herb's efforts in simplifying climate terminology and making complex concepts understandable. They stress the urgency of communicating the critical findings of climate science, such as the IPCC's warnings about the necessity of rapid emissions reduction to limit global warming. Paul underscores the power of words in conveying scientific knowledge & motivating action, referencing historical figures like Winston Churchill.
Peter emphasizes the importance of making climate science accessible, advocating for clear communication strategies such as using everyday language versions of scientific papers. The discussion touches on the role of organizations like the Potential Energy Coalition and Climate Emergency Action in disseminating climate information effectively.
Throughout the dialogue, there's a consensus on the need for a unified and persistent effort to communicate the urgency of climate action. Herb's book & the broader conversation underscore the crucial role of language in mobilizing public understanding & engagement in addressing the climate crisis. The participants express gratitude for Herb's contributions & reaffirm their commitment to advancing climate communication efforts.
Links:
- Herb Simmens
www.herbsimmens.com/
- A Climate Vocabulary of the Future, Second Edition
www.amazon.com/Climate-Vocabu...
- Eco Migration (CEF Video)
• Eco-Migration
- Weather whiplash events in Europe and North America assessed as continental-scale atmospheric regime shifts
agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.c...
- Solar geoengineering
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_g...
- Healthy Planet Action Coalition
www.healthyplanetaction.org/
- Tipping Points in the Climate Casino (CEF Video)
• Tipping Points in the ...
- Potential Energy Coalition
potentialenergycoalition.org/
- Action for the Climate Emergency
acespace.org/
Special Guest:
Herb Simmens - has been a pathbreaker much of his life. He was the youngest county administrator in the county in Atlantic County, the award winner creator of New Jersey’s long range smart growth master plan in 2000 as Executive Director of the New Jersey’s State Planning Commission, & the leader of one of the first consortiums of higher education institutions to fight climate change in the early 2000’s.
He’s also been a city manager, taught politics & urban planning at Stockton University & the New Jersey Institute of Technology, both in New Jersey, and owned & operated a wellness center in Washington, DC.
Herb has degrees from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania and the Woodrow Wilson School of Public & international Affairs from Princeton He’s also studied at the London School of Economics.
Regular Panelists:
Dr. Peter Carter - MD, Expert IPCC Reviewer & the director of the Climate Emergency Institute
Paul Beckwith - Climate Systems Scientist. Professor at the Univ. of Ottawa's Paleoclimatology Laboratory & at Carleton University
Regina Valdez - Program Director, Climate Reality Project, NYC. GreenFaith Fellow & LEED Green Associate
Video Production & Panelists:
Charles Gregoire - Electrical Engineer, Webmaster & IT prime for Facing Future & the Climate Emergency Forum; Climate Reality Leader
Heidi Brault - Co-producer. Website assistant, Organizer & convener, Metadata technician, COP29 team lead for the Climate Emergency Forum & Facing Future; BA (Psych.); Climate Reality Leader
Our Website:
climateemergencyforum.org/
#climatescience #climatecrisis #lexicon
Attributions:
Background Music:
- Title: Through the City II
- Author: Crowander
- Source: Free Music Archive
- License: CC BY-NC 4.0
Image and Video: climateemergencyforum.org/ass...

[@lancechapman3070]

Thank you for your fun with words and your hope through hard choices.

[@ClimateEmergencyForum]

Thank you!

[@heidibrault1313]

Thank you so much for your support.

[@onlineadvertisingnet]

Well Done!

[@singingway]

The Bureau of Linguistical Reality has been creating new words for a decade. Very powerful meanings.

[@brianwheeldon4643]

What a humble and insightful man Herb is. Thanks everyone

[@heidibrault1313]

Thank you so much for your support.

[@brianwheeldon4643]

No problem Heidi. I do think however the change necessary is revolutionary not reformist. It means change won't happen through persuasion and information exchange. Necessarily it will mean social confrontation and social struggle. The latter cannot be avoided. No matter how nicely, politely and with ever increasing clarity we tell those in power the system has to change nothing will happen. Our history is littered with examples. It's a matter of non-violence, timing, sequencing, and simultaneity of actions and events from the local to national to supranational that will determine outcomes. It includes culture and hence art, which has its place and timing, and is both supported and supports other material actions and coming together in a solidarity for living systems including humanity. I'm saying the root of the planetary emergency we are in is political, and we need a political stratgy to support our art and our writing. We will all from necessity have to understand and then make our decisions from community level through to planetary. We will need to decide what we want and what our purpose is during our time on this Earth. Thus far humanity has been allowing a few people to decide for selfish purpose.

[@benbashore8561]

Bravo! I am great full for your quality continuity in this territory ⬛️🔺🟡

[@publicdomain1103]

Such a smart and connected network of climate warriors. Mother Nature surely benefits from those who acknowledge physical processes and the contribution apex creature coupled with ignorance can feed the force of entropy.

[@voltrevolt8731]

Herb's book sounds great -- climate language is such a critical aspect of effectively informing the public. According to a 2023 Ipsos survey (I think maybe you covered this in a video?), people don't understand climate language, even though the majority of people are concerned about climate change. Around 60% of those surveyed also felt the government isn't providing enough information about how to combat climate change.

[@amberazurescale5617]

OK, but then one should use simple language with terms people already know instead of inventing new fancy terms that need a whole book for explanation.

[@marydinneen1382]

Thank you for all the work you do.

[@ClimateEmergencyForum]

Thanks for listening

[@heidibrault1313]

Thank you so much for your support.

[@vthilton]

Save Our Planet Now!

[@StarLakeFarm]

Great episode! My favourite climate scientists are Peter Wadhams, Jason Box and John Englander. They give great presentations. Maybe you can interview them.

[@robaalders9324]

Nature bats last

[@reverands571]

Yay, Paul !!! I'm a fan ...

[@haveaseatplease]

Hello Regina, thank you for another great video. A couple of weeks ago, I was reading the Climate Change risk analysis of 2024 published by Zurich/WEF; For me as a laymen, the report was much more comprehensible and clear than the last IPCC report. I have the impression that the report is much less a political compromise than the IPCC report. Did you got a change to look at the report, and if so, would it be interesting to make an item around it?

[@lancechapman3070]

Paul, your use of "abrupt irreversible climate change" particularly captured my interest.

[@LivingNow678]

Words that Guy mc Pherson is using from long time

[@FacingFuture]

great discussion!

[@ClimateEmergencyForum]

Thank-you.

[@Silks-]

Noble effort. Handy for the younger generation especially, but the rest of us aware folk alike. I'll get a copy for sure. Unfortunately I doubt it'll change the knuckle-draggers minds regarding our predicament. Not sure I'll get the book on being healed by natural light though, that would mean having to leave my hovel. The IPCC comment about being unable to stay below 2C above pre-industrial unless we rapidly reduce our fossil fuels, do we even have a hypothetical plan (hypothetical as in we ignore political resistance) in order to make enough of a reduction? I haven't heard any hopeful propositions yet. I understand it'll need to be a multifaceted approach, but it seems to me even combined, they pale in comparison to how much CO2 we'd have to reduce to stand a chance. There needs to be something much more radical, complete change of power/system, but the movement's currently far too small. You can get a sense of the zeitgeist about whose side the public's on currently, for example how much loathing people show the 'just stop oil' protestors for using small scale methods, compared to the huge support the current farmers protest has garnered in such a small amount of time when they're against fossil fuel reducing policies (and more but still). People/the media were mainly in furious agreement that blocking roads was a terrible idea and it's stopping people getting to hospital, work, etc. but when the farmers are doing on a magnitudally larger scale it everyone's outside cheering them on! (I can definitely see where the pro farmers are coming from on that issue btw, just making clear how little support a climate activist movement has) Climate denialism is so engrained in peoples minds I just can't see a movement other than the younger generation gain any meaningful traction.

[@chris4973]

Didn’t read your whole comment. Only enough to read your emotions. Please do hang in. It gets better. And worse… And yet, unless we hang in to witness, to come to an understanding, to face the reality of who we are and what we’ve done…. We have, each and every one of us, done ourselves poorly. I can look in the mirror, unabashedly. I know who I am and that for which I stand (and for which am willing to give my all). Am I proud of my every action? Are you of yours? What will be required moving forward are things Capitalism has drilled out of us: cooperation, mutual benefit, care for the ecosystem upon which we depend and, of which, we are but a piece. The study of ecology clearly shows what happens when populations, taking advantage of exceptional conditions overshoot their environmental niche due to said unusual circumstances. The population gros exponentially, then collapses. Welcome to us. Now.

[@norml.hugh-mann]

Well, we just don't have any examples in our species history that are scalable to the ecological overshoot we are watching occu now. I think all but the most conservative projects are even being funded to purposefully keep the public blinded to just how bad and how rapid collapse will happen. The powers that determine funding and even the very careers of researchers don't want to either panic the public or more importantly to them diminish the lifestyle, wealth, prestige, and power of those at the top of society that are invested in ONLY the status quo and WILL AND ARE burning It all down to keep the status quo.

[@personalkelly11]

good one.

[@ClimateEmergencyForum]

Thank you

[@heidibrault1313]

Thanks!

[@justinlancaster2854]

As a climate change scientist, it is frustrating to hear overstatement of the risks and threats, carelessness in proposing geoengineering proposals and puoedream discusdion that warming will be limited to 1.5 degrees C.

[@justinlancaster2854]

*pipedream

[@penquinseelandt6178]

Neesus...pretty fun...Pax Sine Bello...pengie...

[@drawyrral]

A rose by any other name...

[@dogberry20]

...can still give you tetanus.

[@treefrog3349]

My thought Exactly!!!

[@grahambibby1895]

No hope left. Why is guy mcpherson not invited ?

[@obsoleteoptics]

Too much stigma

[@PavelDatsyuk-ui4qv]

Cause hes close to being considered crazed

[@antonyjh1234]

Because four years from now and reality aren't always the same.

[@LivingNow678]

) maybe... Because he wrong his prediction about 2016 free arctic ice

[@LivingNow678]

​@@PavelDatsyuk-ui4qv G.mc P. today video

[@treefrog3349]

What's next? A climate disaster crossword puzzle book?

[@kirkha100]

Titanic deck chair rearrangement.

[@amberazurescale5617]

Tbh I don't get it. If there's an existing set of terms that few people understand, what's the use to invent a new whole set of more fancy terms that even less people understand? The existing terms are not that bad. On the other side the new terms Herb mentioned immediately created questionmarks in my head. Also, many ppl just don't want to talk about the subject, do they? New terms won't help that.

[@davidmacaart953]

I'm glad this conversation is happening, I've long been in opposition to the way climate collapse is framed & using multiple, quite frankly, shaky models to describe certain events & phenomenon. I'm no climate scientist but I do have a science degree & in order to break through the anti-science propaganda wall & corporate appropriation of strategy it must be framed in a way everyone can understand. Take for example Global Warming... in Scotland its hard to get upset about a warmer climate but something that everyone can observe no matter what level of education, age or class is deforestation's effect on ecology, species decline, flooding etc etc etc... Contamination of Water Tables, toxic agricultural processes etc. Concentrating on "Global Warming" is easily dismissed or adopted by right wing psyop/"Conspiracy Theories" in order to continue subsidies & investment in destructive industries.

[@georgehagstrom1461]

Oil driven economy.

[@chris4973]

If, as Orwell posited in his dystopian writings… “There is no swifter route to the corruption of thought than through the corruption of language” The sole remaining available option appears to be… create the necessary “Newspeak”! Suggestions?…

[@stephensampson9208]

Intellectual Camoflage of Inevitable Conseaqances

[@JimmyMarquardsen]

The AquaAge is coming, the sun's zooming in. Meltdown expected, the wheat is growing thin. Engines stop running, but I have no fear. 'Cause the hole world is drowning... and I am the river.

[@reverands571]

My thoughts: know your ABC's: Abrupt Biosphere Collapse We're in big trouble. Few will survive. I'm going mobile, being able to pursue livable climate by living in a sailboat. You should, too.

[@reverands571]

"Abrupt", means years, not centuries, by the way. More on a geologic-type timescale. We have evidence that the Greenland climate changed by 5°C in 10 years. That is very abrupt, and hopefully it won't get that fast, again. Of course, that was just a local change, not a Global average.

[@LivingNow678]

​@@reverands571 Sometimes abrupt means few days ... The majority of the world people don't see what it's on the way Good luck with your boat

[@LivingNow678]

​@@reverands571 From saturation the breakdown is simultaneous

[@LivingNow678]

​@@reverands571 Maybe they are just crazy ... Creative Society video 22 November 2022 'our survival is in unity'

[@LivingNow678]

​@@reverands571 CS mathematical model 2036 few minutes and Earth = Mars

[@richdiana3663]

Earth was nice while it lasted.

[@singingway]

Paul, when you have a guest, please let him speak, give him the time. 10:17-15:47. You probably didn't realize you were taking so much of the time.

[@richdiana3663]

I have a new title; Doomalist.

[@alderom1]

CLIMATE EMERGENCY

[@proudchristian77]

Its almost payday for ill behaviors, & actions ! , y all the iffy weather stuff , He controls it , its His planet , 💝💒👣👑

[@proudchristian77]

It's going to warm up some more too ! like woah ! Before Bible stuff can finnish its course ! 💝

[@Grey_Shadows]

I suggest not wearing sweaters lol