{"id":17268,"date":"2011-12-07T13:03:27","date_gmt":"2011-12-07T21:03:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.kqed.org\/climatewatch\/?p=17268"},"modified":"2011-12-07T13:03:27","modified_gmt":"2011-12-07T21:03:27","slug":"communicating-climate-science-a-little-song-dance-cant-hurt","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ww2.kqed.org\/climatewatch\/2011\/12\/07\/communicating-climate-science-a-little-song-dance-cant-hurt\/","title":{"rendered":"Communicating Climate Science: A Little “Song & Dance” Can’t Hurt"},"content":{"rendered":"

The first Stephen H. Schneider Award goes to a climatologist who sings, dances and hosts PBS specials. Maybe that’s what it takes.<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Earth scientist Richard Alley's engaging style has won him an award for climate communicators.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I’ll be candid here: When teamed up with climate modeler Ben Santer and economist Larry Goulder behind the microphone, his rendition of “Teach Your Children” could use a little work. The rest of Richard Alley’s work speaks eloquently to his talent for making sense of climate science for the rest of us.<\/p>\n

This week, in a ceremony at the Commonwealth Club<\/a> in San Francisco, Alley<\/a>, a professor of geosciences at Penn State University, was given the first Stephen H. Schneider Award<\/a> for his work in breaking down climate science and getting the word out to the public and policymakers in digestible form.<\/p>\n

Alley’s book Earth: The Operators’ Manual<\/em><\/a>, was made into a PBS documentary in which Alley takes viewers on a personal journey through the climate landscape. The program aired in April on KQED and is now available online<\/a>. He also demonstrates his lively teaching style in this video<\/a> explaining climate swings:<\/p>\n