John Marshall: 3 strategies for effectively talking about climate change | TED Countdown

Transcriber:

翻译人员: Yan Yan 校对人员: Cissy Yun

I often have this strange thought

我经常有个奇异的想法：

that aliens come down to Earth to check us out.

如果外星人来地球拜访我们，

They beam up a hundred scientists and they ask them,

把一百位科学家吸入飞船问道：

"What's going on on your planet?"

“你的星球怎么了？”

And the aliens quickly learn something:

它们很快会发现

that all of these scientists have concluded

所有科学家的结论都是

that pollution from our industrial activity is irreversibly heating the earth

工业活动的污染 正在不可逆转得加热地球，

in a way that will make it very hard for us to live here safely.

将使人类难以安全生存。

Then they do the same thing,

当外星人同样地

but this time they beam up another 100 people,

把一百位普通市民吸入飞船，

and they're not scientists, they're regular people like us.

而他们不是科学家， 是与你我一样的普通市民，

它们用五根手指就能记录

They could count on one hand

how many of those people would even mention climate change.

提起气候变化的人数。

Two or three dozen of them may never have even heard the term.

也许会有二，三十人 甚至不曾听过这个词。

And among the Americans in the group,

其中的美国人,

only one in four would be highly concerned about the issue.

每四人中只有一人 会担忧此事。

The aliens, I think, would be shocked.

我认为外星人会感到非常震惊。

"Why don't people know what's happening or how bad it is?

“为何人类对气候变化 其严重性毫无头绪？”

Someone should tell them!"

“应该有人告诉他们!”

The absurdity of the situation is so clear and so real.

这种荒谬是如此地清晰和真实。

What we have here is a failure to communicate.

面对气候变化， 我们的沟通非常失败。

My job is to educate people about climate change.

我的工作是教育大家有关气候变化。

So I look at the concepts, the messages, the images and the terms,

因此我搜查了相关的 概念、信息、图像和术语，

and I test them with millions of people.

再将它们测试于数百万人。

I'd like to tell you what I'm learning.

我想告诉你们 我的发现。

For so many people,

对很多人来说，

climate change seems abstract, distant, too big to imagine.

气象变化是抽象、遥远的， 大得无法想像。

The words we often use to describe it --

我们经常用来形容它的词汇，如：

emissions, CO2, methane, net zero, anthropogenic --

排放量，二氧化碳， 甲烷，净零，人为--

are, simply put, confusing.

简单来说，这些术语令人困惑。

Not that many people wake up in the morning and say,

没有多少人会清晨起床说：

"It's a great day for some decarbonisation."

“今天是脱碳化的好日子。”

These words become obstacles rather than gateways to understanding,

这些词汇并不能让我们 了解气候变化，

他们阻碍我们，更别说关心了。

let alone caring.

The way to fix this failure to communicate

解决这个沟通失败的方法

is to start not by talking about the issue,

不是从探讨问题开始，

but to start with people, to think first about individuals,

而是从人开始， 先从个人开始思考，

the people who have millions of other things on their mind,

那些脑子里有成千上万其他事情的人，

a million worries and challenges and hopes and aspirations.

成千上万的担忧、 挑战、希望和抱负。

气候变化是人类有史以来 面临的最大威胁之一，

Climate change is one of the biggest threats humanity has ever faced,

and we won't face it,

如果人们不在乎，

not to the degree that's necessary,

我们则没法正视问题,

if people don't care.

无法面对它。

The people-first approach to climate communications

为气候信息通报 实施以人为本的方法

需要三个简单条件：

demands three simple things.

The first one is plain, obvious and universal language.

第一是简单明了的共同语言。

One thing for sure people don't readily get --

可以肯定的是， 人们不会轻易了解

carbon emissions, net zero --

二氧化碳排放或净零，

are most terms that can be found in a science book.

这些在科学书中可以找到的术语。

And frankly, to the uninitiated, much of it doesn't really sound that bad.

坦率地说，对外行人来说， 这些词听起来并没那么糟

"Two degrees warmer in 50 years,"

比如说：“50 年内升温两度”，

or it sounds so bad, you can't even get your head around it --

或是听起太过糟糕 让人们摸不着头脑，

"1.2 trillion tons of ice."

比如“1.2 万亿吨冰。”

Confusion and hopelessness are the enemies of understanding.

迷惑和绝望是对 了解一件事情的敌人。

一个好的语言测试是， 当你听到此事时，脑海中会想起什么？

A good test for language is, what pops into your head when you hear it.

If you hear a term like "climate change," what pops into your head?

如果你听到 ”气候变化“ 这一术语， 你会想到什么？

Well, for most people, the answer is "not much."

对大多数人来说， 答案是 “想不到什么”。

The language isn't vivid.

这语言不生动。

What we need is vivid language that everyone gets.

我们需要的是每个人 都能明白的生动语言。

It's remarkable how many people actually confuse climate change

值得注意的是，好多人实际上

将气候变化与臭氧层空洞 混为一谈.

with the ozone hole.

十个美国人中， 有超过四人

More than four in 10 Americans

认为全球变暖是由 臭氧层空洞导致的。

think the ozone hole actually causes global warming.

And so many of them remember and understand

而其中非常多人对臭氧层耗竭

so much about ozone depletion.

有着很多的了解和记忆。

Why is that?

为什么？

Because it's a hole, it's a layer.

因为它是个洞，是一层臭氧。

People can see it, imagine it, relate to it.

人们可以看到它， 想像它，与它产生直接关联。

It uses simple metaphor that's an instant get.

它是个简单的比喻， 让人茅塞顿开。

Here's a little story that gets a similar "aha"

我们来个对气候变化

带出类似 “噢！” 的故事。

for climate change.

Humans have been on Earth for about 300,000 years,

人类在地球上活了大约 30 万年，

but we've only started polluting like this in about the last 60.

但我们从 60 年前 才开始如此污染地球。

Our pollution stays in the air for thousands of years,

我们造成的污染在 空气中停留了数千年，

creating a thickening blanket that traps heat in the atmosphere.

形成一层厚厚的毯子， 将热量困在大气层里。

That heat causes stronger hurricanes,

热量导致更强大的暴风雨、

bigger fires, more frequent floods

更大的火灾、更频繁的洪水、

and the extinction of thousands of species.

和数千物种的灭绝。

But there's good news.

但是有个好消息。

To stop the pollution blanket,

为了停止污染毯子，

we just have to stop polluting.

我们只需要停止污染。

This "pollution blanket" framing is one of the most effective we've tested

这个 “污染毯子” 的框架经测试

是让人们了解气候变化问题 最有效的的方法之一。

at getting people to understand the issue.

It's visual, it's vivid,

它具有视觉和生动力，

and when people hear the message, they become significantly more engaged.

当人们听到这个消息后 会变得更加投入。

They get it.

他们明白了。

There are so many other regular speak words and concepts

有很多其他日常词语和概念

是与人们息息相关的。

that stick with people.

Instead of "warming,"

与其用 “变暖”，

try "overheating."

不如尝试 “过热”。

Instead of "climate," talk about "extreme weather."

与其用 “气候”， 不如说 “极端天气”。

When mentioning "clean energy,"

当提到 “清洁能源“，

you might say "cheap energy" as well, as it's rapidly becoming cheap.

你也可以说 “廉价能源”， 因为它正迅速变得便宜。

The word "irreversible" really gets people's attention,

“不可逆转” 这个词汇 非常引人注目，

as the pollution certainly is.

因为污染肯定也如此。

And if you absolutely must talk about temperature increases

如果你绝对要谈论温度升高

and you live in the US,

而你是住在美国的话，

heck, use Fahrenheit for goodness sake.

看在老天爷的份上， 请用华氏度！

It doubles the severity.

它能使严重性加倍。

“你孩子人生中的 9 华氏度” 听起来很严重。

"Nine degrees during your kid's lifetime" sounds pretty serious.

“0.5 摄氏度才能满足巴黎协定” 则听起来非常微不足道。

"One point five degrees Celsius to meet the Paris Accord" is pretty ignorable.

This is about going beyond arcane policy language

这是关于超越少数人 能明白的政策语言

into language that we all intuitively get.

将它们转化为 人们凭直觉就能懂的语言。

That's the first step: understanding.

这就是第一步：认知。

But understanding without relevance is rudderless.

但没有相关性的认知是迷茫的。

So the second key then

因此，第二个关键

is to make climate feel like something that matters to you,

是将气候变化变成

to your life, individually and personally.

对你个人生活特别重要的一件事。

Nobody has an epiphany about policy proposals.

没有人会对政策建议产生顿悟。

Awakenings are personal.

觉醒是个人的。

They have local relevance.

它们具有地方相关性。

They're about your life and your concerns.

它们是关于你的生活和你的顾虑。

As an example, we presented two messages to a few thousand people in Florida.

举个例子，我们将以下两条信息 展示给几千位在佛罗里达的居民。

One asked them "to demand that we get to zero emissions to stop climate change."

其中一个要求他们 “诉求实现零排放，以阻止气候变化。”

Another simply said, "Stop my flooding."

另一条则简单地写道: “阻止我们所受的洪灾“。

The latter message was over four times more effective in getting their attention.

后者信息得到了人们四倍以上的关注。

Local flooding was so much more relevant than global warming.

比起全球变暖， 当地洪灾与居民更相关。

What's needed isn't better policy descriptions,

我们需要的 不是更好的政策说明，

but rather deeper, more personal connections.

而是更深、更多的个人联系。

Here's another example.

我再给个例子。

We work with a team of remarkable women climate scientists

我们与一群杰出的女性气候科学家合作，

to help elevate their voice as messengers.

以帮助放大她们 作为信使的声音。

They've dedicated their careers to studying the issue,

她们致力于研究气候这个问题：

developing complex computational models to understand the Arctic processes,

研发复杂的计算模型 来了解北极的进程；

and climbing into planes to measure nitrogen in wildfire smoke.

还会乘飞机测量野火烟雾中的氮。

他们可以告诉你 所有你需要知道的科学知识，

They could tell you everything you need to know about the science,

但当问他们 为什么研究气候变化时，

but what we asked them about was why they study it.

And they told us about their daughters and their sons,

他们谈到了自己的儿女，

about wanting to keep the world safe and healthy and vibrant

谈到了想要把一个安全、 健康和蓬勃生机的世界

for their children.

留给他们的孩子。

当我们和其他父母 分享这些个人故事时，

And when we shared these personal stories with other parents,

they started to care far more deeply about climate change

相比盯着全球气温图表，

than they did from staring at charts of global temperatures.

他们会因此更关心气候变化，

大家会看到 父母为了孩子

People see a parent who's dedicated their life

to creating a better world for their child.

贡献了一生来制造 更美好的世界。

Every parent can relate to that.

这是每位父母都可以关联到的。

It matters to me.

这对我很重要。

The right messages are those that connect climate change to personal identity.

正确的信息可以把 气候变化和个人身份链接起来。

Our life -- not future lives,

我们的生活， 不是未来的人们。

not the world -- our community,

不是全世界， 而是我们的社区。

not necessarily environmentalism -- our values,

不一定是环保主义， 而是我们的价值观。

and not just children -- our child.

而不只是孩子们， 是我们的孩子。

最后，解决气候变化 沟通之谜的第三个关键是

Finally, the third key to the climate communications puzzle

to show that climate change is an issue for people like me:

表明气候变化对 像我这样的人来说是一个问题：

Humans are social animals,

人类是社交动物，

and that's true for how we form our beliefs, too.

我们形成观念的方式也是如此。

You can present the exact same message to many people,

你可以把相同的信息 展示给众人，

but when it comes from someone with a similar accent or background,

但当这些信息来自 有着相同口音和背景的人时，

we see double-digit increases in message effectiveness.

我们发现信息的有效性 有两位数的增长。

Here's an unexpected messenger who really lands the point.

还有一位出乎意料的信使， 他真正抓住了重点。

A guy we call Florida man.

我们称他为“佛州哥”。

He's a resident of North Florida who got into a little trouble with the law

他是佛罗里达北部的居民, 在购买啤酒的时候

因把鳄鱼带进便利店

after taking an alligator into a convenience store

when he was on a beer run.

在法律上惹了点小麻烦

他不是最明显的气候变化使者，

Not exactly the most obvious climate change messenger

但当他在网络广告 以自己的方式

yet when he appeared in an internet ad describing in his own way

how he's worried about his way of life,

表达他对自己生活的担忧时，

it significantly increased climate concern among young conservative men in Florida.

佛罗里达州年轻保守的男性 对气候的关注显着增加了。

Most people don't see themselves as "environmentalists" per se,

大多数人不会把自己视为 “环保主义者”，

and they see climate change as an "environmentalist issue."

他们也会将气候变化视为 “环保主义者的问题”。

But messages that break away from those narrow identity markers

但当这些信息 脱离狭隘身份标记时，

make the issue relatable.

它会使问题具有相关性。

They give people a reason to care.

它让人们有了在乎的理由。

So the core idea is that instead of explaining the issue at people,

所以核心思想是， 与其向人们解释问题，

it's essential to bring people into the issue,

不如将人们带入问题中，

so that they say, "I get it.

让他们说：“我明白了。”

It matters to me.

“这对我很重要。”

It matters to people like me."

“对像我这样的人来说很重要。”

Then and only then are we primed to take action.

只有在那时， 我们才可以准备好采取行动。

If the intelligent aliens in my story were also intelligent at communications,

如果我故事里聪慧的外星人 在沟通方面也很聪明，

they would say to us, "Hey, Earthlings, pay attention,

它们会告诉我们， “嘿，地球人，注意！

you're building up a massive blanket of pollution that's overheating your home.

你们正创造着一个极大的污染毯子 使你们的家过热。

And it's going to hurt the people and the things that you love.

它将伤害你的所爱的人与物。

You did this and you can fix it."

这是你导致的，但你可以修复它。”

We simply have to let our fellow eight billion inhabitants of our home know

我们只需要 让家中的八亿居民

正在发生的事情。

what's happening.

We have no choice.

我们没有选择。

And when we do,

但当我们有，

we'll achieve the public will necessary to take on this colossal

我们将达到必要的民意，

为我们的未来打下 这场巨大但必胜的战斗。

but winnable fight for our future.

Thank you.

谢谢。