About – How We Respond

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The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) launched the How We Respond project in 2019, and released six new stories in 2021. The project includes a report and multimedia stories that highlight the ways U.S. communities are actively and effectively responding to climate change, in particular at the local, state and regional levels, and the critical role of science and scientists in their response.

Person scooping up kernels of corn
How We Respond Advisory Committee:
  • Kristin Baja, Urban Sustainability Directors Network
  • Dan Barry, American Association for the Advancement of Science
  • Louise Bedsworth, California Governor’s Office of Planning and Research
  • Dominique Brossard, University of Wisconsin, Madison
  • Jeffrey Dukes, Purdue University
  • Taryn Finnessey, U.S. Climate Alliance
  • Karen Florini, Climate Central
  • Howard Frumkin, Wellcome Trust
  • Katharine Hayhoe, Texas Tech University
  • Jessica Hellmann, University of Minnesota
  • Anthony Janetos, Boston University (deceased August 2019)
  • Robert Kopp, Rutgers University
  • Dan Kreeger, Association of Climate Change Officers
  • Ezra Markowitz, University of Massachusetts Amherst
  • Alex Racelis, University of Texas Rio Grande Valley
  • Peter Rafle, Georgetown Climate Center
  • Margaret Hiza Redsteer, University of Washington – Bothell
  • David Titley, Pennsylvania State University (retired)
  • Beverly Wright, Deep South Center for Environmental Justice
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How We Respond profiles 24 communities that are using scientific information to adapt to climate change impacts and/or reduce greenhouse gas emissions. While the impacts of climate change vary, and how communities respond depends on their needs, values and resources, these stories demonstrate what is possible and offer solutions and approaches for communities to consider. Building off How We Respond, AAAS now offers “Engaging Communities in Climate Conversations” workshops through the AAAS Communicating Science workshop program. 

AAAS is a non-partisan organization that frequently convenes leading scientific experts and has communicated about climate change for many years. This effort builds most directly on two prior AAAS climate change communication activities:

  • The What We Know initiative (2013-2015) convened leading climate change scientists and communication researchers and practitioners to develop the What We Know report, a multimedia website and a media outreach campaign focused on the realities, risks and responses to climate change.
  • The inaugural cohort of AAAS Leshner Leadership Fellows in Public Engagement with Science (2016-2017) included researchers focused on engaging public audiences on climate change.
Special Thanks

This project was greatly informed by several meetings and workshops. Thank you to all who participated.

Writers

Michelle Hampson (Report, Spotlights)
William “Rocky” Kistner (Spotlights)

Editors

Emily Therese Cloyd
Elana Kimbrell

Recommended Citation for Report

American Association for the Advancement of Science (2019). How We Respond: Community Responses to Climate Change. https://howwerespond.aaas.org.

Image and Video Credits (unless otherwise specified)

Impact Media Lab / AAAS

Funders

AAAS thanks the Linden Trust for Conservation and Bob and Mary Litterman for their leadership in supporting the How We Respond initiative, and Robert F. Brammer, whose generous gift helped AAAS to add the latest six How We Respond stories and film. We are also grateful to James J. McCarthy, Jerry Pausch, the estate of Joseph Kist, and Jean Taylor, along with other individual donors. This important work would not be possible without the support of the AAAS philanthropic community.

We welcome your support of this and other work of the AAAS Center for Public Engagement with Science & Technology here.