Science Poetry Promotes Public Perception: A Case of 21st-Century Environmental Communication

Zachary Burton

doi:10.19080/ijesnr.2019.17.555956

Abstract

Bridging the gap between cutting-edge scientific discovery and public understanding is critical in translating innovation into action. This is especially true of climate and environmental science communication, as climate change has become one of if not the most pressing issues of our modern era. Though the effect of traditional media outlets has previously been investigated, the effect of social media on influencing public perception of climate change has only recently been investigated. These initial results suggest a promising positive impact of social media use on climate change opinion and action. Here, I report ongoing efforts to lend a public voice to cutting-edge scientific research. I studied hundreds of recent peer-reviewed scientific articles, as well as older seminal publications, in both the field of climate and environmental science and in the field of space and planetary science.

Highlights

Climate change communication has become a salient topic in the past decades
Social media emerges as a critical component of climate change communication moving forward in the 21st century
I outline a portion of my own science- and communication-based efforts to inform public understanding of climate change through the widely-used medium of Twitter

Summary

Introduction

Climate change communication has become a salient topic in the past decades. In particular, there is a need to bridge the gap between research-based, near-unanimous scientific consensus on anthropogenic climate change and the faltering public understanding of the most basic facts surrounding climate change [1]. There is a need to bridge the gap between research-based, near-unanimous scientific consensus on anthropogenic climate change and the faltering public understanding of the most basic facts surrounding climate change [1]. Along with the great need for effective climate change communication comes risks inherent to mass communication [3], but, promisingly, reporting of basic scientific facts by traditional media outlets has in cases been shown to be overwhelmingly accurate [4].

Results

Conclusion