Have you heard the one about climate change? Neither has anyone else.
That’s because there's not much to joke about. But a journalist who writes on the topic will be in Blacksburg to give workshops on ’the lighter side’ of climate change. It's a way to get people comfortable, talking about an uncomfortable future for our climate.
Let’s face it, climate change is serious, scary, and often overwhelming. And what could be funny about that?
“A man in England who got fed up with all the dog poop in his neighborhood,” says Sara Peach, Senior Editor with Yale Climate Connections. “So, he invented a new kind of streetlamp that runs on dog poop.” Dog poop is funny. Sometimes. “And it also saves fossil fuels.”
Peach will give a talk in Blacksburg, titled, ‘What to expect when you’re expecting Climate Change.’ “It’s going to get a little silly, but then I’m going to challenge the audience to brainstorm other elements that are funny that they can take out to their friends and family as a conversation starter.”
Laughing about climate change is like dancing about architecture, it doesn’t make much sense. (This analogy is attributed to various people, including, Frank Zappa, Martin Mull, and more.) But once you get your endorphins up, wipe the laughter tear from your eyes, you might be more open to talking about a serious and somtimes contentious topic that people often avoid, to keep the peace.
Peach is a journalist by day and an amateur clarinet player by night. “So, what I’ve done, is taken NASA’s temperature records from 1880 to 2018 and I have matched that temperature record to something I can play on the clarinet.” The music rises higher as the temperature begins rising faster around 1975.
Peach will speak at Rising Silo Brewery · Blacksburg, Virginia 5:30pm September 26th
She will also lead a lunchtime workshop, September 27 at 12 p.m. at Virginia Tech, in the Steger Hall Conference Center, 1015 Life Science Circle.
Lunch will be provided at the Friday workshop; anyone planning attend is asked to please RSVP here.
Sara also writes an advice column called, “Ask Sara”
