Communicating Climate Change: A Guide for Educators

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USING METAPHOR AND ANALOGY IN CLIMATE CHANGE COMMUNICATION

Similarly to frames, metaphors and analogies facilitate communication and comprehension. Metaphors ground abstract concepts in concrete physical reality and involve an implicit comparison between concepts that are unrelated but share some common characteristics.¹ “Raining cats and dogs” and “the elephant in the room” are examples of common metaphors. These metaphors activate mental representations that structure how people perceive the message.² We know that it will not rain cats and dogs in a literal sense, but the metaphor conveys the essential point that it is raining very hard. We know that there is not actually an elephant in the room, but rather that there is a large looming problem people would rather not discuss.

Educators use metaphors not only to convey meaning but also to enhance student retention of information by connecting abstract concepts to known concepts.³ Climate change communication is replete with metaphors. There are “hothouses and greenhouses, atmospheric blankets and holes, sinks and drains, flipped and flickering switches, conveyor belts and bathtub effects, tipping points and time bombs, ornery and angry beasts, rolled dice, [and] sleeping drunks.”⁴ The FrameWorks Institute tested a series of metaphors and found that the metaphors “rampant versus regular CO₂,” “osteoporosis of the sea,” and “climate’s heart” were most successful at building an understanding of climate change.⁵ NNOCCI adopted these metaphors as well as “heat-trapping blanket” in their training program. (See table 9.1 for examples of climate change metaphors and analogies.)

While they are often effective, metaphors can be tricky to use because they highlight similar but ignore dissimilar features between two subjects.⁶ Take the greenhouse gas example. People understand the role of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere as acting like the panes of glass in a greenhouse: they trap heat. At the same time, a greenhouse has some characteristics that are very different from the earth’s atmosphere, and the persistence of the metaphor may lead to misconceptions about the mechanics of global warming and the time scale on which we can stop warming trends. For example, to let heat out of a greenhouse, you simply open a door. Even if we stopped emitting CO₂ today, it would take millennia for the atmosphere to return to preindustrial levels of CO₂.⁷ This metaphor also overlooks the important role of other carbon sources like methane and sinks like the ocean.⁸ Elena and Jayla both chose the metaphor of “heat-trapping blanket” to describe how certain gases trap heat in the atmosphere. Of course, the “blanket” metaphor breaks down as well, as you can simply remove a blanket, but you cannot so simply remove gases from the atmosphere.

Analogies are similar to metaphors in that they draw comparisons between two ideas or objects. Analogies compare similar features of two domains. Will tries the analogy of atmosphere-as-bathtub into which humans continue to pour CO₂ at a faster rate than nature can drain the tub (figure 9.1). Some researchers distinguish between analogies and metaphors by explaining that analogies provide more explicit mapping of the similarities between A and B, whereas metaphors make the same comparisons implicitly.⁹ Others explain that whereas metaphors claim that “A is B,” analogies point out how “A is like B.”¹⁰ In practice, the distinction between an analogy and a metaphor is blurry. For example, an educator could say, “The climate system is a big carbon bathtub,” and the statement could be classified as a metaphor. However, the educator could just as easily have used an analogy—“the climate system is like a carbon bathtub.” The important point for educators is not to try to distinguish between the two, but to use the comparisons they make to help audiences understand climate change concepts.

Metaphors and analogies contain what is called an analog concept and a target concept. In the metaphors above, “cats and dogs” and “elephant” are the analog concepts, while raining especially hard and looming problem are the target concepts.

A metaphor or analogy on its own does not provide sufficient information for learners to build an accurate understanding of a concept. Imagine if you were giving a climate change education lesson and you said, “The climate system works kind of like a bathtub” and then just stopped there. Your audience would have no clear understanding of your meaning.

TABLE 9.1 Examples of climate change metaphors and analogies

FIGURE 9.1 Carbon bathtub analogy

Climate Interactive¹³

FIGURE 9.2 Elaboration of the carbon bathtub analogy. Broken lines represent the breakdown of the analogy.

Adapted from Shawn Glynn, “Making Science Concepts Meaningful to Students”

To strengthen comprehension, educators can embed analogies or metaphors in what researchers refer to as “elaborations.”¹⁴ An analogy elaboration “maps verbal and visual features of an analogy’s analog concepts onto those of the target concepts,” thus helping students to connect what they already know with new information.¹⁵ In an elaboration of the carbon bathtub analogy, the target concept is how the climate system works, while the analog concept is the bathtub (figure 9.2). Educators who use this analogy want students to understand the idea of sinks and sources. In an elaboration, educators not only highlight the features that connect the analog concept with the target concept; they also identify where the analogy breaks down (figure 9.2).¹⁶ In the bathtub model, this process aids audiences in developing a more accurate mental model of the target concept.¹⁷ Visuals also help learners map aspects of the analog concept to the target concept (e.g., figure 9.1).¹⁸ Similarly, the FrameWorks Institute recommends embedding metaphors in what it calls “explanatory chains” that present the causes and effects of a problem.¹⁹

Steps for elaborating a metaphor or analogy²⁰

1. Introduce target concept
2. Introduce analog concept
3. Identify relevant features of both the target and the analog
4. Connect the similar features of the target and the analog
5. Indicate where the metaphor breaks down
6. Draw conclusions

Bottom Line for Educators

Metaphors and analogies help audiences connect what they know already with a new concept. Educators should think carefully about how to elaborate metaphors and analogies to facilitate understanding of climate concepts and avoid perpetuating misconceptions. One way to do this is to carefully identify the target and analog concepts and then map out their similarities and dissimilarities.