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Communicating the State of Understanding of Climate and Climate Change

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Tuesday, 6 January 2015: 1:30 PM-3:00 PM
222A-C (Phoenix Convention Center - West and North Buildings)
Host: Third Symposium on the Weather and Climate Enterprise
Moderators:  Robert Ryan, Retired (former broadcast meteorologist in Washington), Consulting Meteorologist, McLean, VA and Jenny Dissen, NOAA/NESDIS/NCDC/CICS, Asheville, NC
Panelists:  Andrea Thompson, Climate Central, New York, NY; Don Wuebbles, University of Illinois, Urbana, IL; Jim Gandy, WLTX-TV, Columbia, SC; Susan Joslyn, Psychology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA and Xubin Zeng, Department of Atmospheric Sciences, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ

Effective communication of climate and climate change information remains a challenging goal. The scientific terminology and public understanding of “climate” has changed significantly over the years. Scientific understanding of the “climate system” has made major advances in the past decades as the interdependency of the atmosphere, oceans, biosphere, land surfaces, ice, soil moisture , etc., have become part of “climate”. Human responses to climate and climate change have historically been driven by adaptation to relatively slow changes. Observations and research show climate and its many components now is changing at a rate not seen in human history. Can we more effectively communicate the certainty and the uncertainties of climate and climate change for both better public understanding and better decision making in a rapidly changing climate environment? A distinguished panel of science communicators, climate scientists, social scientists, decision makers and users of climate, climate and global change information will address a number of these questions and discuss pertinent issues with the attendees. It is the intent of the CECWCI that review/synopsis of the panel/town hall session will also be widely disseminated and published.

Papers:
  1:30 PM
PD1.1
Communicating the State of Understanding of Climate and Climate Change
Robert Ryan, Consulting Meteorologist, McLean, VA; and J. Dissen