The covert politics of climate change

Despite ample evidence, for years, climate change impacts were treated as a distant rather than a present reality. At the University of Minnesota, that gap between scientific evidence and public understanding is arresting to faculty and student organizers as researchers navigate the future of the world’s climate. 

For Emily Vraga, a professor at the Hubbard School of Journalism and Mass Communication, the gap shows up in media habits, misinformation and political identity. For Gabriel Chan, a faculty member at Humphrey School of Public Affairs, it has to do with the structure of climate policy itself. For student organizers working around the Hennepin Energy Recovery Center, it shows up in what they see as years of delay and decisions made without the communities most affected.

Media misinformation

Vraga,...