Does Climate Change Have an "Image Problem"?
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Provided by: The Climate Question|Published on: November 8, 2022
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Scientist Reviewed This resource has been reviewed by SubjectToClimate's climate scientists and verified for scientific accuracy and up-to-date information. Learn about our review process →
Synopsis
- This insightful podcast episode discusses the importance of visual imagery and photography in telling the climate story in a way that connects with many different people and increases awareness and engagement.
Subjects: Science, Visual and Performing Arts
Authors: The Climate Question
Region: Global
Languages: English
Teaching Materials
Positives
- It helps students use their critical thinking skills and can stimulate a research project or art project.
- The host speaks with various climate photographers to get their perspectives and opinions.
Additional Prerequisites
- Students should be familiar with climate change and global warming.
- It ends at 25:10 and then an advertisement for another podcast follows.
Differentiation
- Students can look at the "Blue Marble" image mentioned in the podcast, read about it, and discuss what thoughts and feelings it evokes.
- Part 15:20-16:57 discusses the principles of photojournalism. Students could be given an assignment to analyze various climate visuals in photojournalism and present their findings.
- This podcast could be used in an art class discussing framing, composition, and subject matter.
- Students can be encouraged to take photos of their home or neighborhood over a span of 3-5 months and note any climate connections.
- Science classes can use this podcast when discussing communicating science to the public. Have students describe a complex scientific process they learn about in class in a way that is easy for the general public to understand.
- The podcast mentions social media algorithms and media presentations of climate change topics and imagery, which could be explored in social studies classes and computer science classes.
This 28-minute podcast features the principles of photojournalism - how photography can be used to engage people about the reality of climate change. Taking climate photos is extraordinary and difficult, depending on the location and the magnitude of the impact. This podcast also talks about the problems associated with visualizing and storytelling climate images and proposes images to be taken in a long-form to visualize the stories in-depth rather than a single image, and also re-imagining the visual language and features of climate change. This resource is recommended for teaching.
Teaching Tips
Standards
Resource Type and Format
Scientist Reviewed
This resource has been reviewed by SubjectToClimate's climate scientists and verified for scientific accuracy and up-to-date information. Our review process ensures that every resource in our library reflects the current state of climate science.
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