Creating a New Climate for Change

People living in Kutubdia, Bangladesh, are losing land and homes to a rising and warming sea. This is the reality of climate change: there are people in 2018 feeling the effects of man–made pressures (e.g., carbon emissions, use of plastic materials) on the environment in their everyday lives. However, many people who live in places not affected as dramatically as Kutubdia still consider climate change a political issue, a future event or an exaggerated phenomenon. On the campus of Clemson University, far from rising sea levels, the Engaging the Public on Issues of Climate Change Creative Inquiry team is working to show that climate change is a human issue, that it is happening now and it is damaging lives as well as the environment.

The Creative Inquiry team wants to help anyone who visits their exhibit to understand how everyday routines can help or hurt the environment. Led by Michael Carlo, from the Department of Biological Sciences, the team is designing an exhibit that will greet visitors with pictures, text and interactive materials explaining climate change and suggesting ways that everyone can do their part in slowing it down.

Previous outreach efforts include handing out biodegradable and naturally antimicrobial toothbrushes to help students realize the impact of using and discarding plastic toothbrushes. They also gave out reusable shopping bags in order to demonstrate that neither paper nor plastic bags are a good choice at the store. These items accomplish more than simply promoting the Creative Inquiry project. Ultimately, they promote changing lifestyles and new thought processes around climate and the environment.

The group hopes that their exhibit will help change the public’s perception of climate change. They believe if people think about the effects of their actions on plants, animals and other people it will become a relevant topic for them. “The goal is to make a person care about the issue before you try to change their mind or change the way they see the issue,” Carlo said. The exhibit covers topics such as transportation, energy, products, diet, human health and the economic value of natural resources. It also features information on screens and panels with interactive displays that visitors can touch and hold.

In order to assess the impact of their outreach efforts, the students are conducting surveys of exhibit participants and using the survey data to write, and hopefully publish, a manuscript. The team’s research will explore different methods of engaging people in the issue of climate change. They will also explore how people talk and think about climate change before and after visiting their exhibit.

The team wants to encourage people to think about the effects of their everyday actions on the environment. However, they do not want to give people the impression that there is a perfect way to live in order to prevent climate change. Instead, they want to encourage people to think critically about their role in the world and to know that they are part of the environment. If people think of themselves as participants in the environment instead of as an outside force acting on it, they will better understand their part in preventing damage to the world around them. “It’s happening right here in South Carolina and right now,” Lydia Stroupe, senior environmental and natural resources major, said. “It’s something we have to address before it gets worse. Climate change affects everyone.”