theClimateers

Nine days ago, I turned up in Berlin, Germany, with about 180 pounds of my life in some kind of box or bag, ready to settle down here for a two-year master’s program in environmental management at the Free University of Berlin.

So here I am in Berlin, hanging out and waiting until classes start in about six weeks.  I’ve met several people now, at parties or casually strolling by in a park or in my apartment search, and it is almost like turning up as a freshman in college all over again: asking and answering the same questions such as “where are you from” and “what are you studying” like a broken record.

Of course, with my answers that I’m from the US and I’m studying environmental policy, I’ve received a mixed response.  One young lady at a dance club just laughed in my face, “US? Environmental policy? That exists over there?!” I actually love receiving this kind of doubtful response; it sets the stage for me to launch into a discussion about how the US and the world are both at a turning points right now in environmental policymaking – we, civil society members, therefore have a great opportunity to spur a lot of change, but only if we work at it.

To further highlight the direction that youth, in particular, are passionately pushing the US and the world on climate policy, I often bring up my involvement with the SustainUS Agents of Change delegation to Copenhagen.  Almost everyone I’ve spoken to here (all in the 20-30 age bracket) has at least known that the there were UN climate change talks coming up in Copenhagen.  So it seems the news (and the education system that teaches kids to follow the news) is doing something right, here in Germany.

As a testament to this, on Tuesday, I found out about an upcoming WWF action involving 1000 melting ice figures via the TV screens that display ads and news in the subway trains. WWF event organizers invited climate activists, tourists, and passers-by, to help place the 1000 ice figures, made by Brazilian artist Nele Azevedo, on the steps of the Konzerthaus in Berlin’s Gendarmenmarkt, a historic plaza in the middle of the city.  Then we sat and watched (and took many a photograph and video) as the little ice people, sitting on their hands, melted and disappeared.

The figures, about seven inches tall (while seated), were smaller than most people had expected.  Their small size and the sunny, 73 degree noon hour, however, meant that they had very little time to enjoy the beautiful September day.  The fast melt was intended to remind us that we are quickly running out of time to change course and avoid tripping over a climactic tipping point as Arctic ice melts.

The event itself drew a crowd of only a couple hundred people, but garnered a fair amount of media coverage, as it was picked up and distributed internationally by AP and Reuters. I found it quite noteworthy that this event was advertised in the subway train, which cycles through international headlines, sports & entertainment news, advertisements, and the occasional interesting upcoming event in Berlin.  Today, the melting ice figures made the leading photo on the front page of Berlin’s daily newspaper, which contained two other stories related to climate change in the front-section.

Meanwhile, a friend who does forestry work in Minnesota, mentioned yesterday that he thinks most people he knows in the US do not know even know about the upcoming climate change talks.  This got me thinking…

How do we get more front-page coverage of climate change in mainstream US media?  Or alternatively, how do we make sure Americans know about the weight of this moment and the importance of a strong, binding international agreement on CO2 emissions reductions in Copenhagen in December?

The task seems daunting, especially when you consider the “system” that you’re up against if you take on mainstream media as a whole, as I did initially given my different experiences thus far with the German media.  But a panic attack in the face of a Goliath is not very helpful.  The simple answer, for now, is to be as active as possible:

• Organize events to get in front of people, live and in person.
• Then, bombard the media press releases ahead of these events and follow up with letters to the editor.   As a PR/marketing specialist, I learned a fair bit about how to sell a story (note to self: future blog topic), but I also found out that reporters sometimes miss a key point or two; in an activist role, rather than a company PR position, we’ve got a bit more leeway to hammer home the story with more passion in op-eds.  Take advantage, but remember the one-two punch.
• And, finally, continue to throw new ideas around about how to answer these questions. As long as we’re still working with the media as we know it, we should consider how our actions can help mature the mainstream media into actively making climate news top stories on their own volition.  (Please feel free to go ahead and start the brainstorming now, in the comments.)

So, back to step one: getting involved in events and actions.  Thankfully a number of organizations are making this pretty easy by supplying the events, materials, and/or simply the inspiration.  Here are a couple to get you going:

• SustainUS’s Climate Countdown Campaign
• Age of Stupid’s international premiere on September 21-22
• 350.org’s International Day of Action on October 24 (and the lead-up to it!)