An Opportunity To Shape A Better Future
Photo credit: Mark Stone
Dr. Heidi Roop wears many hats. She is an assistant professor of Climate Science, Extension Specialist and the Climate Adaptation Partnership Director at the University of Minnesota. Oh, and she is a soon-to-be published author with the release of The Climate Action Handbook: A Visual Guide to 100 Solutions for Everyone in March. The amazing thing is, she never planned to be a scientist or a published author. She is proof that life happens in between all of those plans we make. Dr. Roop’s plan was to become a diplomat. But an undergraduate Geology course put her on the path to becoming a climate scientist. Today, she likes to think of herself as a diplomat for climate science.
Dr. Roop is also a skilled communicator. Early in her career, she was frustrated that climate change research didn’t seem to be informing the discussions and policies that were happening. So she took it upon herself to build her communication skills. She was able to tap into a rich body of social science and communication research that made her more adept at communicating to change behavior. Dr. Roop understands that when it comes to climate change, facts are not enough. People gravitate toward scientists that can tell a story and connect to their values. Dr. Roop doesn’t believe every scientist should be expected to be a skilled communicator, but she considers it to be one of the most important tools in her tool kit. Also, it has allowed her to become a bridge between climate science research and its application.
Dr. Roop is putting her expertise, skill set and experience to full use in her current roles. As an Extension Specialist, she works with communities across the state grappling with climate change. As director of the Climate Adaptation Partnership, she is building on the legacy of Dr. Mark Seeley, leading a team helping people adapt and be proactive in protecting their communities against current and future climate change. The opportunity to work with communities, in addition to teaching and conducting research, is what attracted her to the University of Minnesota in the first place.
Photo credit: Jason Briner
How we choose to respond to our changing climate is at the heart of Dr. Roop’s work. The number of climate deniers is really quite small, though they can be loud. But now, the disagreements and conflicts are about the solutions. Climate change impacts everything in our lives - the economy, the built environment, our health, food supplies - and Dr. Roop believes it presents us with the opportunity to shape a better future for us all.
“What can I do about climate change?” is a question Dr. Roop frequently gets. She realizes that responses to climate change are often driven by privilege. Not everyone can purchase an electric vehicle or solar panels. She wants us all to ask ourselves, “How can I use my skills to address climate change?” Her book is intended to answer those questions by providing 100 actions that can be taken (there could have been a lot more!), backed by research. She wants the book to meet people where they are, expand their thinking about what they can do about climate change and motivate them to take action.
In the course of writing her book, Dr. Roop learned that there are about 520,000 elected officials in our country, all of whom have the ability to influence climate change policy. A lot of climate policy gets set at the local level by elected officials that we don’t always pay attention to, because we don’t vote down ballot - think School Board members or local commissioners. Dr. Roop believes voting is extremely important when it comes to climate change, but it is over weighted. It is equally important to contact our elected officials to make sure that climate change is a priority for them.
In doing her work, Dr. Roop has been belittled in professional settings because of her age and gender and been the target of personal attacks and threats because people don’t like what she is saying. While those experiences could easily drain her enthusiasm and love for her work, she doesn’t let them. Instead, Dr. Roop focuses on the fact that she gets to sit in spaces with people doing amazing work to respond to climate change to protect themselves and their communities.
We are already committed to a lot of climate change. But we still have time to take action to lessen the impact of those changes and slow down future climate change. It is up to all of us, because as it said on a bumper sticker I recently saw, “There is no Planet B.”
Learn More
Please visit the University of Minnesota Climate Adaptation Partnership and heidiroop.com. Also, one of the single most important things any of us can do about climate change is talk about it!
