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�Messaging about Our Changing Ocean for a Broad Audience

�Dr. Liz Perotti (liz.perotti@noaa.gov) �

www.oceanacidification.noaa.gov

�

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Take a look at the earth. What is this small band above the earth? It’s our atmosphere. �Our atmosphere acts like a blanket around the earth that traps heat beneath it.

When we burn fossil fuels like gas and coal for energy for things we do everyday like driving our cars and using electricity, we add gasses that this heat-trapping blanket.

This blanket gets thibker and traps more heat and causes warming of our planet and disrupts our climate.

We’re already seeing rising sea levels, changes in storm patterns and heat waves, and changes to marine life like the Atlantic Sea Scallop and fish in the Mid-Atlantic that impact our ecosystems and people who depend on them.

Reducing emissions of these heat-trapping gasses like carbon dioxide is our most important solution. We can take practical, common sense steps now to protect our environment and livelihoods well into the future.

,

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What did we just do?

Used a metaphor and introduced it early
Corrected common misconceptions
Provided a mechanism
Completed the explanatory chain
Put individuals into a community
Used a tested value

What else?

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Messaging about Climate – Ocean Impacts

The ocean as climate’s heart

The story you’re telling: Just as a heart circulates blood and regulates the body’s temperature, the ocean controls the circulation of heat and moisture throughout the climate system.

The ocean is a great sponge.

The story we’re telling: The ocean absorbs c02 from the atmosphere, helping the planet regulate it’s climate.

The ocean regulates the climate system the way your heart regulates the flow of blood throughout your body: conveys the centrality of the ocean within the climate system.

• As the heart of the climate’s circulatory system, the ocean maintains the earth’s temperatures: after making this analogy, fill in critical information about how the ocean functions like a circulatory system. (Specify how the ocean controls the earth’s climate by moving heat and moisture via currents and winds, and stabilizes the earth’s temperature by absorbing heat and transferring it to different parts of the climate system.)

• When we burn fossil fuels, our carbon dioxide emissions trap heat in our atmosphere. This heat puts stress on the ocean, damaging its ability to keep the climate stable: facilitates thinking about how the ocean can be harmed by human activities and frames the problem as one of energy use.

• As a result of this stress, sometimes the ocean pumps too much heat and moisture throughout the system, sometimes too little: provides an explanation of why there are differential effects of climate change in different parts of the world.

• A heart must be monitored and cared for to ensure overall health and functioning, and the best care is preventative care:

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Messaging about Ocean Acidification

The ocean is a great carbon sponge.

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Messaging about Ocean Acidification

Tackling chemistry talk

Chemical consequences – hydrogen ions as free agents

Small increases in acidity can have big consequences

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“Ocean acidification makes it harder for some marine life to get the mineral building blocks they need to build and maintain their shells and skeletons.”

OA is an energy problem

Species face many stresses from our changing ocean

“Other stresses like warming temperature, pollution and low oxygen can make it harder for marine life to deal with OA.”

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Meet people where they are�
Connect to a trusted value

Protection
Responsible management�

Talk about actions

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Resources for You

In Development – New Communications Best Practices for OA Guide

Seeking contributors and reviewers – contact Liz Perotti

New - search our website for comms and outreach resources

Multimedia
Best practices
Media types
Search specific audiences

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Heat-trapping blanket