The climate crisis raises many crucial and urgent questions on what we have to change and how we can make those changes. However, climate communication is often less accessible for public audiences than for political, industrial, and academic leaders (also referred to as the “Triple Helix”) because it is not written in understandable ways and is often not widely circulated. Thus, in this project, I investigated how scientists can make climate science information more accessible to the public through social media. First, I rhetorically analyzed different forms of climate communication, then I conducted a survey to gather data on public perceptions of climate topics. Next, I drafted a portfolio of Instagram carousel posts that discuss a climate science topic: biofuels. I conducted multiple rounds of user-testing to guide the portfolio’s development and to gather more information about what audiences prefer in climate posts on social media. Overall, I found that participants cared most about credible information and that rhetors can communicate that credibility through tone, language, and visual design.

• This report represents the work of one or more WPI undergraduate students submitted to the faculty as evidence of completion of a degree requirement. WPI routinely publishes these reports on its website without editorial or peer review.

Creator

• Yazon, Jia

Subject

• Environment
• Sustainability
• Energy

Publisher

• Worcester Polytechnic Institute

Identifier

• 121811
• E-project-042524-161137

Mot-clé

• Biofuel
• Social Media
• Renewable energy
• Visual Rhetoric
• Environmental Rhetoric

Advisor

• Maag, Alex R.
• Walker, Harold Webb
• Timko, Michael T.
• Riddick, Sarah

Year

• 2024

UN Sustainable Development Goals

• 7 - Affordable and Clean Energy
• 11 - Sustainable Cities and Communities
• 13 - Climate Action

Date created

• 2024-04-25

Resource type

• Major Qualifying Project

Major

• Chemical Engineering

Source

• E-project-042524-161137

Rights statement

• In Copyright