Talking about climate change #21

Sometimes it's better to laugh than to cry (4 minute read)

Welcome to The Turnstone. Here, I help people understand important issues such as climate change, water quality and conservation. I send my articles out every Sunday - if you’d like them emailed to you directly, you can sign up to my mailing list.

we’ve been given the best

pickup lines in history: are you

a greenhouse gas, baby? ‘Cause it’s getting hot here.

Amber Li

Climate change is serious. But that doesn’t mean all climate change communication has to be as well. Humour can be a powerful tool to help people look differently at an issue. It can convey important information in a memorable way. It can make people stop and think in a way that a serious presentation may not. It can put a smile on someone’s face – and how often does climate change do that?

If you want more information about the potential for humour to help with climate change communication, here are a few articles – each accompanied by videos which are well worth watching. The first article contains a fantastic sketch about the causes of deforestation. The second article includes a couple of great videos where comedians translate the words of climate scientists. The third article includes two videos – the sound on the first isn’t very clear, but check out the second, with Al Gore’s climate change pickup lines. They made me cringe, but they made me laugh too.

How comedians and activists are using humor to elevate climate science | Fix (grist.org)

Comedians use dark humour to translate scientists' warnings about climate change | CBC Radio

Leave 'em laughing instead of crying: Climate humor can break down barriers and find common ground (theconversation.com)

Green Humour on Substack

I’m so excited to feature the Substack newsletter Green Humour. I only found it last weekend and it really made my day. Green Humour features cartoons and comics on wildlife and the environment. They’re humorous, but some of them come with a real kick. The page of climate emojis here is one example. Yes, they’re funny, but they’re painfully to the point.

Climate Emojis for a Changing World - Green Humour (substack.com)

There’s also a much larger selection of fantastic climate change cartoons on Rohan’s website. This selection, in responses to last year’s COP27 climate summit, is a brilliant example. Again, these cartoons pack a punch.

Green Humour: Live Cartoons at COP27

Rohan also does wildlife cartoons, and has given me permission to reproduce this wonderful one here. It features a ruddy turnstone. I know it doesn’t have anything to do with climate change, but I just love it.

If you enjoy these cartoons – sign up to Rohan’s newsletter and get his cartoons emailed to you.

Green Humour | Substack

image credit: Green Humour

The best climate change reporter on television?

John Oliver insists he is just a comedian, but he has a compelling way of getting right to the truth. That’s why climate activist Emily Atkin called him “the best climate change reporter on television”. His explanation of why carbon offsets aren’t the solution to climate change is the clearest and best I’ve seen. And it will make you laugh.

Carbon Offsets: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (HBO) - YouTube

As a bonus, Oliver also looks at another issue I’m passionate about – water. Here’s his explanation of water use in the American west and the crisis facing the Colorado River.

Water: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (HBO) - YouTube

Bow Seat – artworks from young people

Bow Seat is an organisation which works at the intersection of ocean science and arts education. They hold an annual competition for young people, and last year’s competition had the theme: The Funny Thing About Climate Change. Entries included poems, short films, paintings and a one-man barbershop quartet. Yes, that does sound bizarre, but check it out – it’s amazing!

An Anti-Climatic Climactic Dogmatic – Petroleum Patrol Barbershop Quartet • Bow Seat Ocean Awareness Programs

You can see all the winners here.

2022 • Bow Seat Ocean Awareness Programs

Standup comics on about climate change

Proving that nothing is off-limits for comedy, here are a selection of videos where comedians take on climate change. The first two are from New Zealand, the third is a compilation of American comedians. The fourth link contains 18 clips, some of which are included elsewhere but they are well worth a look. No. 13, where someone who is cryogenically frozen is revived in 2284, is particularly good.

Alec Baldwin & Climate Change Weather Presenters: Tim Batt at Best Foods Comedy Gala 2023 - YouTube

Rhys Darby climate change poem

7 Minutes of Climate Change Jokes

18 times comedians joked about climate change » Yale Climate Connections

This month’s climate poem

This month’s poem is one of the winners from the Bow Seat competition, Amber Li from Virginia in the USA.

New Year • Bow Seat Ocean Awareness Programs

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