The first step in minimizing the damage from climate change will come not from solar panels or electric cars, but from frank conversations about the topic, one of the nation’s top climate researchers and communicators said this week in a two-stop tour of Alabama. Katharine Hayhoe, director of Texas Tech University’s Climate Science Center, delivered the keynote address Saturday at the Citizens’ Climate Education Faith Meets Business forum at Birmingham’s McWane Science Center. The event gathered business, faith and environmental leaders throughout Alabama in attempts to foster an open dialogue about how to address climate change. Citizens’ Climate Education is a tax-exempt sister organization of the Citizens’ Climate Lobby, which argues for bipartisan solutions to climate change. Hayhoe delivered her presentation titled “Our Climate Imperative” to a sold-out crowd of 235. “What is our climate imperative? I think it is to use everything we have to advocate for solutions, starting with our voice,” Hayhoe said Saturday in Birmingham. Her message mirrored that of her TED Talk, titled “The most important thing you can do about climate change: Talk about it,” which has been viewed online more than 2.5 million times. “If we don’t talk about it, why would we care?” Hayhoe said. “If we don’t care, why would we act?” To view the full article visit the AL.com.
