Transatlantic Perceptions of Climate Change: The Role of the Arts and Media


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On October 18 and 19, 2010, the Frederick S. Pardee Center for the Study of the Longer-Range Future, the Goethe-Institut Boston and the Institute for Advanced Study in the Humanities Essen (KWI) organized a symposium on Transatlantic Perceptions of Climate Change: The Role of the Arts and Media at at Boston University. The symposium addressed how the arts and the media influence the public perception of climate change on both sides of the Atlantic.

PANEL 1: Transatlantic Perceptions of Climate Change: The Role of the Arts and Media

Adil Najam, Andrew Revkin, Stefan Rahmstorf and Igor Vamos discuss transatlantic perception of climate change.
Adil Najam, Andrew Revkin, Stefan Rahmstorf and Igor Vamos discuss transatlantic perception of climate change.

Held on Oct 18,Monday, evening, this session was moderated by Professor Adil Najam, Director of the Pardee Center.

Andrew Revkin, Senior Fellow at the Pace Academy for Applied Environmental Studies, and blogwriter for the New York Times’ “Dot Earth, ” acknowledged the importance of climate information, but questioned whether the public would act even with perfect information. He said climate change strategies should target existing realities in public opinion, noting the need to focus on positive stories, such as energy technology, rather than negative gloom and doom narratives

Igor Vamos (alias Mike Bonanno), Associate Professor of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and member of the Yes Men, said climate change has become an umbrella topic for the environmental and social justice movements. On the basis of his experience impersonating business executives and international officers, he said he believed there is a “switch” to change public perception on climate change. The trick is to find it. He defined the challenge as transcending the limitations imposed by the cultures we have created.

Stefan Rahmstorf, Professor Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, Potsdam University citing the case of Germany and renewable energy, noted how different socioeconomic realities impact the public discourse on both sides of the Atlantic. He emphasized that scientists all over the world speak the same language and are not affected by cultural backgrounds. He said Europe has a more positive attitude than the US about what can be done to change energy consumption patterns.