Edward Maibach
"TV Weathercasters as Climate Educators: Making the Global Local"
Sponsored by School of Communication and Byrd Polar Research Center
Since the first Climate Change in the American Mind survey (2008), investigators at George Mason and Yale Universities found that 2 out of 3 American adults trust TV weathercasters as a source of information about climate change. Upon learning this factoid, a senior TV meteorologist working in the Washington, D.C., media market phoned the lead investigator at Mason with a proposition: Let's work together to test the proposition that TV weathercasters can be effective climate educators.
That call led to three NSF grants (and philanthropic funding), and to a partnership involving universities (Mason, Yale, and Cornell), nonprofit organizations (Climate Central), professional societies (American Meteorological Society and National Weather Association), and government agencies (NOAA and NASA), and to considerable evidence that supports the proposition that America's TV weathercasters can indeed play an important role in educating the public about the local consequences of a global challenge.
Edward Maibach MPH, PhD (Communication, Stanford, 1990) is director of the Center for Climate Change Communication at George Mason University. He conducts research on public engagement in climate change, and co-chaired the Engagement and Communication Working Group for the 3rd National Climate Assessment. He previously served as associate director of the National Cancer Institute, worldwide director of social marketing at Porter Novelli, and chairman of the board for Kidsave International.
