The Nature Conservancy’s Chief Scientist and Atmospheric Science Professor, Katharine Hayhoe, notes in her TED Talk that the number one thing we can do to break the divisive rhetoric around climate change is “do the exact thing we’re not doing: talk about it.”  

Science also suggests the best way to do this comes down to 8 principles, which can be summarized as: make it personal, accessible, empowering, doable, collective, normal, trustworthy, and for everyone.

This advice is primarily directed to us for everyday conversations with the people around us, those we know and love and those we are engaged with in our daily lives.

However, it can also be modeled by our elected officials in Congress as they take time off to go home this summer.  There are many possible venues and many different stories to give and receive; whether they are visiting their districts for town halls, campaigning, or just hanging out with friends.  Summer provides the perfect backdrop, and we could all use more practice having the conversations we need to de-claw this issue so that we can address it effectively and as soon as possible.