Is Climate Change Funny?
How humor could play an important part in climate action
Thought of the week
My friend texted me somewhat in a panic: “I posted a video with good intentions but it is being completely picked apart!! HELP!”
It was the spring of 2022 and a new study showing signs of microplastics in human blood had just come out. Shortly thereafter, memes on microplastics were everywhere.
My friend who’s traveled the world with 5Gyres to study microplastics, and who’s now educating on the topic in NYC, did not initially find it at all funny. So she made an Instagram reel commenting on these memes and the reel went viral. However, not with the kind of impact she expected.
She offered the possibility that microplastics are NOT funny and joking about it might downplay the urgency, but the audience disagreed. They seemed to think that humor was in fact necessary, a way to cope with the heavy topic, and so my friend, rather confused, reached out to me. Were they right?
Since both of us have been aware of microplastics and other environmental concerns for quite some time, it was strange to see these memes take off so quickly. Is this really how the world ought to react when news like this is finally out in the open? But then we couldn’t help but wonder, maybe humor wasn’t so bad after all? Maybe it could serve as the barrier remover we so desperately need?
It’s no secret that Hollywood’s first climate comedy was a home run — Don’t Look Up is Netflix’s second most-watched film depute — so maybe the world is ready for climate humor after all?
This article in the “Joy” issue of Grist takes a deeper look!
The biggest takeaway from the article is that, yes, humor may have a huge role to play in climate communication. It’s not a matter of making the issue seem less important or daunting, but about using as well-tested a technique as humor to break through the thick armors of predisposed values and beliefs.
Allow me to share some highlights from the article.
“Sara Yeo, a science communication researcher at the University of Utah, is considering a study to explore whether humor can make people receptive to information they disagree with. Her research already has shown that joking can make scientists and science communicators more likable and seem more credible.”
Many times, the pure uttering of the words ‘climate change’ can have people turn their backs and head in a different direction. Before you’ve even had a chance, your opportunity to have a meaningful impact is gone.
This remains an issue for climate communication and continues to thicken the barrier between alarmed scientists and everyday citizens. So how can we change that?
It starts with becoming likable. Sara again:
“The best way to persuade an audience to understand your position and act on it, she says, is to be likable. No one wants to listen to a bummer-sauce person.”
Not too surprisingly, humor can help make us more likable, but a funny joke doesn’t just help us let the guard down — it can play a vital part in triggering the will to do something about it too!
“Humor not only makes us feel good, it can help us process, relate to, and retain information. Studies have shown that climate-related comedy can help people feel more optimistic and more committed to taking action.”
Just make sure to skip the satire!
As a Swede, satire is sort of my thing, or at least it used to be. Once I moved to the United States, I learned the hard (and awkward) way that satire doesn’t always deliver here. When it comes to climate communication, you should shelf that satire as well.
“Climate communication often employs satire, but Yeo has found “that type of humor doesn’t appear, at least from my research, to be particularly effective in reaching groups that are outside of the sphere.” It may feel good to people in the know, but she believes more benign forms of humor — things like wordplay or anthropomorphism that don’t target anyone — have the potential to sway more people who are not yet in the climate camp.“
What are your thoughts? Could humor play a bigger role than we think in building bridges and inviting more people on board both climate awareness and action? I would love to hear your thoughts in the comments below!
This Week’s Book Tip
The Future We Choose was put in my hands right when I truly started to believe that a better future is possible. After reading the book, my belief in that better future was reinstated — but only if we act!
Written by two incredibly climate-knowledgable people who led negotiations for the United Nations during the historic Paris Agreement of 2015, this book is no back scratcher. It delivers strong and clear messages about the future we’re headed for if we don’t act, but it also paints a beautiful image of what future we could find ourselves in if we do.
This book will help you tickle that imagination and make you understand what radical optimism is all about!
Authors: Christiana Figueres and Tom Rivett-Carnac Publisher: Vintage Books
A Map That Will Make You Optimistic About Fighting Climate Change — Now We’re Talking!
How about a searchable map that shows estimated job and public health opportunities that come with transitioning away from fossil fuels? Getting us out of the climate crisis is not just about sacrificing things we love, it’s also about embracing better. The Climate Opportunity Map intends to show you how by displaying the positive side effect of acting on climate change!
Only featuring The United States right now so for my readers from other parts of the world, I’m sorry! But maybe an idea to create one in your country too?
Read the full article in Bloomberg Green
Climate Optimism This Week
The Climate Action Tracker — see how your country is doing according to the Paris Agreement!
It’s official, 5% of new cars sold in the US are electric!
California has pledged to stop selling gas-powered vehicles by 2035 and they're not alone. The state of New York is also phasing out sales of new gas-powered cars by 2035, as is Canada, Chile and the UK. Other countries like Greece, the Netherlands, and Ireland are aiming for 2030. (Learned in Katharine Hayhoe’s newsletter)
Nuclear waste becomes batteries that can last for thousands of years?
Grow food with salt water — with the help of seaweed!
Is Climate Change Funny?
I believe that humor is an absolutely necessary part of the work to get more people to take steps towards living more sustainable lives. In many difficult contexts, there are testimonies that humor has been a necessary part for people to feel like people and to retain their self-worth. Humor against superiority, against shortcomings and prohibitions has seeped into oppressive dictatorships and concentration camps. So why not use it to entice people to adopt a more sustainable lifestyle. One step at a time.