Date of Award

3-18-2015

Degree Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Honors Thesis

Department

Science, Technology and Society

First Advisor

Carol Reeves

Abstract

The purpose of my thesis will be to analyze how climate change translators address the double ethical bind, which includes how the communicators struggle and succeed in explaining environmental evidence while revealing the whole truth of the situation, which includes the doubts, caveats, and questions while still motivating the public to action (Russill, 2010, p. 63). To construct my thesis, I will first evaluate the key texts surrounding climate change communication in an integrated literature review that incorporates defining the role of climate change communicators, determining common restraints and problems communicators face, describing communication techniques, and illustrating the usefulness of frames and appeals. Utilizing the findings discussed in the literature review, I will conduct two case studies. The first is authored by a scientist, Texas Tech climatologist, Katherine Hayhoe, and Andrew Farley, a linguist professor at Texas Tech University. These authors use a discourse of goodwill to promote climate change activism in their religious audience who, despite the idea that Christians should care for God's work, may be denying the phenomenon that humans are contributing to climate change.

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