PARTS PER MILLION

This week we have part two of our interview with Harvard political scientist Nancy Rosenblum who talks about conspiracies by the fossil fuel industry, the decline of climate denial, why we are in a heightened age of conspiracy theories and misinformation, and how anti-elite and anti-science strains throughout American history contribute to today's current events.

We talk with political scientist Nancy Rosenblum of Harvard University about the best motivators for action, communicating uncertainty, and why she says that in a crisis "it's neighbors who matter most."

This week we have part two of our interview with Lisa Fernandez of the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication and we talk about the intersection between the climate movement and the Black Lives Matter Movement, how widespread support for clean energy really is, and how to best talk about climate change with your community.

Lisa Fernandez from the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication joins us this week to talk about the six American attitudes on climate change ranging from the alarmed to the dismissive and the spiral of silence around climate change.  She says that speaking up has "tremendous power" as most people want to do what their peers are doing but "most people don't understand that they are in the majority in terms of their worry and concern about this issue."

This week we have have part two of our interview with David S. Meyer, professor of sociology at University of California Irvine.  We talk about the polarization of our culture, the American activist experience versus that in other parts of the world like New Zealand, and the dilemma of recognizing victories but always pushing for more.  "You have to take those hard won victories that are so much less than you want.  You have to claim credit for them and you accept your victories gracelessly and demand more  ...  There's a challenge of recognizing that victories have been won and a challenge of recognizing that they're not enough at the same time."

We're joined this week by David S. Meyer, professor of sociology at University of California Irvine.  We talk about how activists lay the groundwork for mass movements, a letter to an aspiring young activist, the commonalities between movements ranging from gay rights and Black Lives Matter to the climate movement, and how simply raising your voice about the issues you care about can send a signal to "stiffen the spines of allies who see the prospect of doing something."

Just as only a few hundred parts of CO2 out of a million in our atmosphere can have a big impact, individual actions eventually do reach a tipping point to bring about systemic change.

Social change is the work of decades of hard-fought battles but when real change does arrive it can seem to do so with startling speed. PARTS PER MILLION looks at the factors surrounding mass movements, what we can expect going forward on climate action, and how individuals can take simple actions to create positive change. Each season will empower people to do just one thing to make a positive impact.

The first season focuses on being a climate communicator and the significant impact you have by simply speaking up about an issue you care about.