Evangelical Scientist Katharine Hayhoe takes on Climate Skeptics with 'Global Weirding' Web Series

Evangelical Scientist Katharine Hayhoe takes on Climate Skeptics with ‘Global Weirding’ Web Series

Evangelical Scientist Katharine Hayhoe takes on Climate Skeptics with 'Global Weirding' Web Series
via video screenshot
Global Weirding: A new web series by an evangelical Christian tackling climate change issues.

The President-elect, Donald Trump, believes climate change is a hoax advanced by countries such as China.

Dr. Katharine Hayhoe, a climate scientist who also happens to be a white evangelical Christian living in Texas believes her unique position and strategy of approaching climate change will help turn the tide of skeptics.

Evangelical Scientist Katharine Hayhoe takes on Climate Skeptics with ‘Global Weirding’ Web Series.[/tweetthis]

Dr. Hayhoe is a climate scientist at Texas Tech University and is the wife of a pastor. Evangelical Christians in the United States currently comprise about 30 percent of the population and an overwhelming majority of this demographic does not believe in climate change being caused by human intervention.

Dr. Hayhoe has launched a web series and has been active on social media with her unique strategy to take on climate change skeptics and deniers.

While the scientist is not an eminent personality or pioneer in championing for climate change like Al Gore or Bill Nye, she has emerged as a clear, well-spoken and well-liked science communicator in a unique position to meet climate skeptics in a way other scientists cannot. This is because she uses her faith and a conciliatory approach to debate with climate change skeptics. She finds this much more successful than adopting an adversarial or confrontational approach that will not yield results in the end. She remarks, “If you begin a conversation with, ‘You’re an idiot,’ that’s the end of the conversation.”

Her web series called Global Weirding as well as frequent posting on Twitter and Facebook and attending local churches and international conferences have led to a discernible change in Texas and in the country. Dr. Hayhoe has also recently appeared at the White House to discuss climate change with President Obama and Leonardo diCaprio.

Colleagues and fellow scientists such as Gavin Schmidt, a NASA climate scientist comment that Dr. Hayhoe’s faith is an important factor in granting her acceptance into the evangelical Christian community. This is because, “people can accept unwelcome truths much more readily if they come from within, rather than from outside, their community/family/group.”

Dr.Hayhoe had to work patiently with her husband, Andrew Farley for over a year to convince him climate change is real and that something needs to be done about it. Their journey in discovering the truth led to the publication of a book, A Climate for Change: Global Warming Facts for Faith-Based Decisions.

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