r/oceanography • u/Away_Macaron1856 • 15h ago

Strange Peer review request

Recently, some have suggested that the science behind environmental problems, particularly regarding climate change, might be better communicated to a lay audience using stories rather than fact-based narratives. They contend that the lay public gets most of its scientific information from the mass media, which rely on stories to heighten emotional arousal and engagement, and so would be more receptive to that format. Thus, communicating through emotional stories and their characters might more effectively motivate behavioral change.

I am an emeritus professor of marine and earth science. Over the last few years of teaching, I began to realize my students, even students who understood the concept intellectually, often didn’t appreciate the risk. Many of them suffered from techno-optimism—that technology, in particular geoengineering, will get us out of this mess.

So, I have written an eco-mystery with the hope of communicating science to my readers. I realize this is a strange peer-review request but I am asking you to read an advance copy of my novel and, if you think it has value, give it an honest review.  To get a copy, see link below.

https://booksirens.com/book/CTZL88X/HRFUGO4

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u/OctoAquaJell 14h ago

Oooo I am so in.

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u/prag513 13h ago edited 13h ago

I suggest using the Picture Book for Understanding Weather and Climate Issues, which explains the issues using NASA-generated satellite scans and as few words as possible. If you can weave such images into your story, then you increase your reader's comprehension.

You can obtain others at NASA's GIBBS Available Visualizations.

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u/mnemoniko 5h ago

There's a lot of great work in humanities and social sciences on this and related topics. I've found many in the sciences are unaware or don't know how to look. Personally, I've spent a few years on and off trying to get a broader understanding, and figuring out jargon and the internal structure of different disciplines is hard!

I really appreciate your recognition and understanding. It's super cool that this led you to write a book! I'll see if I can find time to have a look.

For now, I want to share one great website that I frequently use: Climate Visuals. It's a collection of climate change photography run mostly by social scientists. The images and the suggestions for use are based on research - how people react or respond to types of imagery in certain situations. It's useful for the images and use instructions themselves, but also as a great starting point into relevant literature.