海角大神

Behind the Monitor's is a question: How do we address a warming world? Or, more bluntly: What does a solution look like?

海角大神 was in many ways founded to help search for and accelerate solutions. Not by unilaterally promoting one program or policy, but rather by diving into where thought is breaking new ground 鈥� fueling the virtuous cycle that leads to new solutions.

So what does this look like with something so all-encompassing? Recently, we鈥檝e been wondering if it would be helpful to underline the urgency by more often using the phrases 鈥渃limate crisis鈥� or 鈥渃limate emergency.鈥澛�

Other publications have taken such an approach, and for good reason. As scientists gain confidence in connecting the dots between devastating weather events and climate change, there has been a shift in thinking. The global conversation has gained a striking new sense of urgency.

Yet there is also the question of how newspapers best communicate information. There is no one 鈥渞ight鈥� answer. Different news organizations have different lenses. This kaleidoscope of lenses enriches the landscape. Journalism must not be one size fits all.聽

But as part of our internal discussion, I found the comments of our senior climate reporter, Stephanie Hanes, both insightful and quintessentially Monitor. For her, the question was less about a specific phrase and more about an approach to journalism.聽

鈥淚 agree that the impacts of climate change will touch almost every human 鈥� dramatically and subtly 鈥� and will transform lifestyles, politics, economies, technologies, and cultures,鈥� she told me in an email exchange. 鈥淐limate change will cause major grappling over the values that are already at the center of our coverage.鈥澛�

In that way, 鈥渃limate emergency鈥� or 鈥渃limate crisis鈥� might be totally appropriate in some situations. 鈥淏ut I might argue that those terms tend to 鈥榯urn up the volume鈥� without adding a tone of context; I suspect they don鈥檛 convince people who are doubtful, and they probably build anxiety and fear for those who already feel urgency,鈥� she adds.

There鈥檚 also the fact that, with what we鈥檝e already put in the atmosphere, some warming is inevitable. Is it helpful to describe a nonending situation as a crisis? Does that take away crucial nuance 鈥� removing our ability to effectively distinguish more acute and serious climate challenges?聽

None of these questions can be answered with a simple yes or no. And a primary purpose of Monitor coverage 鈥� given our lens 鈥� must be on where the opportunities for change lie. 鈥淚鈥檇 love to find stories that help expand readers鈥� creativity and sense of 鈥榳hat鈥檚 out there鈥� 鈥� especially those that show mindset transformations that cross expected cultural and political demographics,鈥� Stephanie says. In other words, if solutions require a shift in thought (and they do), we should be at the forefront of that change 鈥� for climate scientists, businesses, the energy industry, and readers. 聽

鈥淥n the ground, under the rhetoric, what 鈥榗limate change鈥� means is super nuanced 鈥� even if the science isn鈥檛,鈥� Stephanie adds. 鈥淪o how we act and respond is of course going to be super complex. ... I think the big question here is how to cover it.鈥澛�