1. look at how the area has changed over time due to climate change.

john sutter, a documentary filmmaker and national geographic explorer, spoke at the 2021 planet forward virtual summit on his current project. sutter used the visual history of one area to tell the story of climate change. sutter showed how the prized catch-of-the-day fish from the 1960s were larger and nearly unrecognizable to the fish we see today, through comparisons of photographs and documents from over the years.

2. talk to the people directly affected by climate change.

al roker, “nbc’s today show” weather forecaster, uses his platform to travel the globe and amplify the voices of those directly affected by climate change. as a member of nbc’s climate unit, he interviews those experiencing changing landscapes and weather phenomena in their backyard. during the summit, roker highlighted the importance of having your environmental storytelling represent and reflect your diverse audience.

3. listen, explain and interpret the data for your audience.

phoenix mayor kate gallego battles the effects of rising temperatures 145 days of the year where her city faces temperatures in the triple digits. gallego’s goal is to shape climate-friendly policy while implementing safe and protective measures for her citizens to combat the heat. by collecting data on phoenix’s annual rising temperatures and creating projection models, gallego incorporates the information into a city-wide objective of making phoenix a “heat ready city.” by informing the public on what the data and the models indicate, phoenix residents can better prepare while phoenix city officials implement protective measures to help alleviate the threat of phoenix’s scorching temperatures.

4. feature voices from younger generations.

it is essentially common knowledge that the younger generations will bear witness to the worst climate change has to offer. for planet forward student contributors william walker and adora shortridge, they use their platforms to inspire hope and shed light on fresh ideas on methods of combating climate change. during their question and answer session with summit host, frank sesno and george washington university’s national geographic visiting professor of science communication lisa palmer, walker and shortridge discussed their research on playground temperatures in arizona. by highlighting younger voices and showing the impact they create, a more personal connection can be made with younger members of your audience.

5. connect climate change to current events and trends.

the final keynote conversation of the summit was with newly appointed environmental protection agency administrator michael s. regan. regan is the first black man to lead the department, and an alumnus of north carolina agricultural & technical state university and george washington university’s trachtenberg school of public policy and public administration. regan’s position at the environmental protection agency connects a story about climate change to politics, health and much more. if the goal is to make climate change more relevant to your audience, connect it to other issues and topics your audience may find relevant or interesting. ultimately, climate change affects everything.

1. find a way to make people think beyond a scope they have considered before. 

filmmaker john sutter explored the timeline of climate change and rethinking our environmental memory. sutter has a project called baseline: the climate crisis beyond a human lifetime. sutter exposed that our environmental memory is only two to eight years long; thus, it is difficult for us to judge if the climate has drastically changed during our own lifetimes.   

2. write about the discussions of environmental issues with our leaders.

discussing the environment with our local leaders who are at the forefront of protecting our environment through lawmaking gives interesting insight into our cities and communities’ climate issues. during the climate summit kate gallego, the mayor of phoenix, arizona, spoke about what phoenix is doing to become a heat-ready city. hearing her relevant perspective on the heat issues held a lot of weight because she is working first-hand against the ramifications of climate change.    

3. tell the story of how environmental issues affect our children.  

readers care about the youth. this became clear by the emphasis on the phoenix heat index issue on school playgrounds. the community cares about children, they are more vulnerable, and did not cause climate change but live with the consequences. no one wants to hear about children getting burned on their own playground equipment. 

4. interview someone who, from a scientific and personal perspective, has lived through environmental changes. 

at the summit, broadcaster al roker talked about how he has personally witnessed climate change in his years of reporting on the weather. further, john sutter utilizes the personal perspective of children worldwide that are being heavily affected by climate change to tell their story. 

5. write the story of young scientists or activists to add a youthful perspective and activism. 

planet forward student contributors adora shortridge and william walker spoke at the summit about studying heat issues, specifically in phoenix, arizona. their young perspective and eagerness about climate change sparked interest in the group to care about the problems they were discussing.

keynote: climate change beyond a human lifetime

there’s a problem inherent in the way we’re processing the climate crisis: we don’t live long enough to truly feel it. national geographic explorer and documentary filmmaker john sutter has launched an unprecedented project to chronicle the future. he’s working with children around the world to tell an entirely new story about the climate crisis — one that lasts longer than we do.

keynote conversation: talking climate and weather with one of the most trusted voices in america

legendary nbc broadcaster al roker is one of the most recognized figures in american life. on nbc’s today show he communicates important weather information to a wide and diverse audience. as a storyteller on nbc’s climate unit, he dives into the story of climate change, extreme weather, and solutions for our planet. in this conversation, learn more about compelling climate communication and reaching your audience. then, we make a special announcement about our new planet forward comcast sustainability storytelling fellowship program, and share the story told by our first fellow, francesca edralin from the george washington university. edralin shares the piece she worked on about the green bronx machine.

conversation: meet the mayor of america’s hottest city

in 2020, phoenix, arizona, experienced 145 days of 100-degree weather. the mayor of phoenix, kate gallego, describes new urban technologies that the city is implementing to battle the dangers of extreme heat.

then join planet forward student contributors adora shortridge and william walker from arizona state university, and gw’s national geographic visiting professor of science communication and author of “hot, hungry planet,” lisa palmer, for a q&a about their work looking into feasible and equitable heat-preparedness strategies for some of our most vulnerable citizens.

institutional impact: moving away from single-use plastics

george washington university recently announced it will phase out single-use plastics on campus. gw president thomas leblanc explains why, how, and what it means.

game time! let’s talk storyfest

students published their stories on planetforward.org all year — next we put their stories front and center with a panel of science and media experts. asu global futures laboratory’s steven beschloss, pbs (wnet) executive producer eugenia harvey, project drawdown’s matt scott, and gw professor dr. tara scully join us to showcase some of the exceptional storyfest entries for 2021. then, frank sesno revealed the six grand prize winners, each of whom will receive $500 and have 50 trees planted in their names in a national forest courtesy of our friends at one tree planted.

keynote conversation: meet the new epa administrator michael s. regan

finally, we capped our event with a thoughtful and inspiring discussion with the new epa administrator michael regan — the first black man and the first graduate of a historically black college and university to lead the epa in its 50-year history. regan said he will bring science into every decision, coordinate across government, work with states and localities — and made clear that environmental justice will be at the center of his mission.

please watch and listen, and be inspired. as regan said to us — it’s not too late. as humans, we are innovative. we are resilient. and we can do this — together.

thank you again for joining us at the 2021 planet forward virtual summit. until next year, we look forward to seeing you online, and let’s keep doing our part to 2022年卡塔尔世界杯官网 .

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see the full summit playlist on youtube.

speakers included new epa  administrator michael s. regan, nbc’s legendary broadcaster al roker, national geographic explorer and filmmaker john d. sutter, the mayor of phoenix — the hottest city in america — kate gallego, and gw’s own president thomas j. leblanc. student correspondents highlighted their work and we proudly announced the winners of the planet forward storyfest 2021 competition.

these interviews to come, shared here later this week.

in the meantime, read a summit summary in this story from gw today.