This week at the Energy Symposium, Dr. Sol Hart, Associate Professor in both Communication and Media and the Program in the Environment at the University of Michigan, will present a talk entitled "Engaging the public on renewable energy and carbon dioxide removal."
Speaker bio: Sol Hart is an Associate Professor in both Communication and Media and the Program in the Environment at the University of Michigan. He specializes in strategic communication related to environmental, science, and risk issues. Professor Hart’s research includes understanding the role of the media in motivating and engaging the public and how to create effective messages that can cross ideological divides. Professor Hart’s research is supported by the National Science Foundation, the Environmental Protection Agency, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture. His research has been published in a number of peer reviewed journals, including Nature: Climate Change, Journal of Communication, Communication Research, Communication Yearbook, Science Communication, Public Understanding of Science, Medical Decision Making, Society and Natural Resources, and Environmental Communication..
Abstract: Dr. Hart will discuss research on effective strategies that can be used to communicate about mitigating climate change. This includes studies showing how media coverage on climate change has become increasingly politicized and polarized in recent years and the effects of using different communication strategies. He will present data showing that using solutions focused, as opposed to threat focused, imagery and language can be more effective in promoting renewable energy, and with some audiences it may be preferable to avoid discussing climate change. In addition, he will discuss how talking about carbon dioxide removal may create a moral hazard effect, in which individuals are less likely to support other action to address climate change. Finally, he will present recent data analyzing how emotional sentiment in facebook posts by environmental groups affects public engagement.
The UT Energy Symposium meets every Tuesday from 12:30 - 1:45 during the spring 2020 semester and is free and open to the public. No RSVP required.
Can’t attend in person? Sessions are recorded and available on the UT Energy Symposium webpage or the Energy Institute YouTube channel.