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Communicating Complex, Distressing Issues |
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As Climate Change at last moves to the top of the world’s agenda there is a global dawning of awareness of the importance of two of the most common substances on Earth - fresh air and water. Yet these could soon be as rare as the largest diamonds or the shiniest platinum. And as valuable too!
So throw out the gold bars and go get some fresh air and water to store under your bed for the next thirty years or so. Those elements trapped in glaciers are your safest bet for a guaranteed return on your investment. You don’t even need to go to Antarctica, or use dynamite to get some. Just a bucket and spade will do, since glaciers are collapsing faster than, for instance, Robert Mugabe’s Fan Club, or the oil industry’s search for a viable alternative to fossil fuels. In fact a short paddle past your nearest beach should yield ice blocks from a genuine arctic glacier or two. Place your bets folks! The human race against  nature! Will we run out of air and water before we learn from our mistakes? Will we invest in clean energy generation in time to save the Earth?
What a thrill it is to be alive in this - the twilight of man(un)kind’s sojourn on Planet Earth. Never a dull moment in this last century before we burn ourselves - and every other form of life left on Earth - to a frazzle under the merciless glare from that which actually sustained life until now - the sun!
Now there’s an ironical reminder that absolutely everything is dose dependent. My personal theory is that global warming is being hastened by all the hot air everyone talks nowadays in an effort to make even more greenbacks from pretending to be “green”. However, in yet another compelling irony, the link between excess consumerism and environmental collapse appears to have eluded most of the general public.
The fact that you might well increase your market share if you paint your bandwagon green and put your horse into a quagga outfit is perhaps a sad indictment of academics and journalists from all disciplines, who have clearly failed in their task as educators, entertainers, communicators and trend setters. In the final analysis, unless we collectively make determined efforts to invest in sound environmental practices soon, we are in very real danger of eradicating all life on Earth within the next century.
The Elusive Alchemy of Effective Communication
Sustainability, social upliftment and environmental impacts are not inherently fascinating, sexy subjects. Waste management, legislation, energy generation, industry, corporate governance and technology do not somehow have the allure of the subjects routinely covered by popular magazines and other media. These are more likely to focus on money-making policies based on the “Bad News Sells “ principle.
However it is quite a challenge to take abstract, boring issues that no-one really wants to hear about and make them visually appealing, vibrant, sexy, comprehensible and incredibly relevant. This is further compounded when one is communicating with a broad audience with very different levels of attention, education, cultural backgrounds, incentives and tastes.
Recognition and Awards 
Since 1990 Greenprint (and its predecessor, Earthyear) have been the honoured recipients of some 15 prestigious awards and 4 nominations for journalism, graphic design and photography. But above all the awards were won in recognition of the significant contribution these original resources have made to environmental awareness and social upliftment.
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