33 | O akville B eaver | T hursday,M arch 4,2021 insidehalton.com The 1Awards are here to support local small business Have you been in business for more than two years with less than 50 employees? Enter your Hamilton, Halton or Brantford area business online at 1Awards.ca for a chance to win a share in up to $25,000 in cash and $101,500 of industry- leading expertise. ENTRIES CLOSE APRIL 2, 2021 Architect Hair Design 1Awards 2017 Winner If we are going to reach net zero emissions by 2050, we need to be capa- ble of having productive, friendly conversations about climate action with loved ones and col- leagues. How we communicate the policies that are nec- essary to lower our green- house gas emissions mat- ters. Failing to communi- cate these initiatives ef- fectively could have catastrophic consequenc- es. Recent polling from Abacus Data shows that 83 per cent of Canadians would like to be seen as "determined to help com- bat climate change" on the global stage. And yet, many of us have experi- enced tense, often awk- ward conversations with family and friends about climate change and the road ahead. Katharine Hayhoe is an atmospheric scientist and award-winning com- municator whose re- search focuses on under- standing the barriers to public acceptance of cli- mate impacts and solu- tions. She's found that the key to having productive climate conversations is to connect with others over shared values, such as family, community and even religion. This goes beyond pointing out a shared faith, a shared geography or a shared experience in child rearing. Instead, Hayhoe's work suggests climate change communi- cation is most effective when we connect the dots between the values our friends and family al- ready have, and how that translates to climate ac- tion. In practice, this could mean drawing a connec- tion between the future of today's children and in- creases in severe weather events like flooding. It could also mean explain- ing the ways in which cli- mate action passes the Rotary Club's Four Way Test, which guides the work of its members. The list goes on. The key is to translate anoth- er person's existing deep- ly-held values into cli- mate action, instead of re- lying on statistics and sci- ence alone. We could all stand to improve the way we relate to others. When it comes to climate change, we can't stand to wait. Hayhoe will be the key- note speaker at this year's annual Bay Area Climate Forum, a free online event hosted by the Bay Area Climate Change Council, on March 9 from 6:30 to 8 p.m. Registration is available online at www.eventbrite.ca. Katherine Flynn is the director of the Centre for Climate Change Manage- ment at Mohawk College. She can be reached at kate.flynn@mohawk- college.ca. COMMUNICATION KEY TO COMBATING CLIMATE CHANGE OPINION SHARED VALUES CAN BE A CATALYST TO MEANINGFUL TALKS, WRITES KATHERINE FLYNN KATHERINE FLYNN Column In the era of social me- dia, it is paramount that we respect those with opin- ions different from our own. We must keep in mind that every time we com- ment on an article or the actions of another, we must remember we are posting about someone's mother, father, aunt, uncle, cousin, child, friend or partner. We must have more compassion and under- standing for different views and perspectives. We must approach every situa- tion with an open mind and without judgment. Once we express our views, keep in mind the im- pact it will have on others. We have all made mis- takes and said words we re- gret out of anger, grief, or sadness. We are all in this togeth- er, and it is important that we as a community stand with one another in soli- darity and support one an- other. ELISABETH BABARCI JR. OAKVILLE LETTER TO THE EDITOR BE MINDFUL OF YOUR SOCIAL MEDIA POSTS