How journalists help readers understand climate change's local effects
- Journalists discussed localizing climate change stories at the Society of Environmental Journalists conference.
- Reporters based in Arizona, Wisconsin and Florida shared region-specific climate concerns, like heat, winter traditions and hurricanes.
- Attribution science helps quantify climate change's impact on weather events, making the crisis more tangible.
Climate change affects the entire world, but its impacts vary widely from region to region.
In Arizona, rising temperatures are among the top concerns for residents.
Joan Meiners, a climate reporter for The Arizona Republic, said she connects national headlines about heatwaves to her local readers by highlighting the experiences of individuals — people who work outside, for instance, or who succumb to the heat and have to be cooled with ice bags.
“When there is a climate report, I am breaking it down for our readers and seeing what it might mean for Phoenix,” Meiners said.
In a candid panel at the Society of Environmental Journalists conference in Tempe, four journalists on April 25 described how they localize climate stories so they resonate with their audiences.
Madeline Heim, a reporter with the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, said that even though heat isn't as obvious in Wisconsin, global rising temperatures are still affecting local activities.
“There are effects of climate change happening in Wisconsin," Heim said. "I try to focus on traditions that we have that might be affected by climate change, specifically in the wintertime. The winter in Wisconsin is warming faster than any other season. There are lots of things that folks in cold-weather states like to do: ice fishing, skiing, ice skating. Those are all being affected by warming winters.”
Denise Hruby, a climate reporter with the Miami Herald, said her South Florida readers were facing some very different effects of climate change. Some of the top concerns along the coast are hurricanes and property damage, she said.
“There's more stories than we can possibly cover," Hruby said. "I often say it's the front lines of climate change. I feel like you can have so much impact when you report on climate change in a community that's already affected.”
Hruby said she works to bring home the threat of climate change to her readers by highlighting its potential effects on their biggest investments — real estate, especially properties along the coast.
“Trying to look at climate change stories really from the perspective of real estate and property is something that really resonates with people," Hruby said. "I can tell you a hurricane story all through the lens of how it affects people's properties, whether that's their houses or their condos. And the good/bad thing for Florida is also that there's no income tax, which means the state relies a lot on property taxes.”
Another way journalists can help people understand climate change is by using "attribution science," said Abbie Veitch, a weather and climate media specialist with Climate Central, a nonprofit that reports on Earth's changing climate.
“At its core, attribution science is about using data and statistical methods to quantify if, how, and to what extent climate change has impacted weather events," Veitch said.
Attribution science can help demonstrate that a particular weather event would have been virtually impossible in a world without climate change, she said.
“Attribution science and studies are evolving as we speak. It's getting better and better each day," said Rachel Ramirez, a freelance journalist. "They're not done for every extreme weather event, but they help bring home the realities of the direct and immediate damage of the climate crisis, and what they are doing to people's lives.”
Sedona Hartley is a senior at the University of Arizona and is part of a student newsroom led by The Arizona Republic.
Coverage of the Society of Environmental Journalists conference is supported by Arizona State University’s Cronkite School of Journalism, the University of Arizona, the Nina Mason Pulliam Charitable Trust and the Arizona Media Association.
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