Getting a PhD: 'Chasing Ice' movie & other public engagement tools
In an earlier post, I briefly mentioned how the arts might be used to engage the public in discussions on research findings, especially if used thoughtfully. That is to say, don't present your findings in ways that discourage/disempower your listeners (saying "we are all doomed" does not inspire ). It has even been suggested that people are more likely to make positive changes when information is presented less threateningly - read a very interesting article that studies the way some people tend to respond to direly stated news on climate change, based on how it affects their Just-World beliefs. So the film Chasing Ice , released in the UK in December 2012 engages the general public in conversation about the validity of global warming, presenting time-lapse camera photos of melting glaciers over four years by National Geographic photographer James Balog and his dedicated team. They brave the harsh conditions of Iceland, Greenland and other icy regions because the