Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences

CSTPR Noontime Seminar

Wednesday September 11 2019 @ 12:00 pm
to 1:00 pm

September

11

Wed

2019

12:00 pm - 1:00 pm

Event Type
Seminar
Availability

Open to Public

Audience
  • CIRES employees
  • CU Boulder employees
  • General Public
  • NOAA employees
  • Science collaborators
  • Host
    CIRES

    The Climate Change Story: Bridging the Gap Between Science and the Public 
    by Bernadette Woods Placky, Climate Matters Director
    Climate change poses arguably the biggest threat to humanity—the people, places, and things that we love. Even though public understanding and concern about the seriousness of the issue is slowly growing, there is still a significant disconnect from the well-understood science. In this talk, we will explore Climate Central’s approach to narrowing the gap between scientific knowledge and public understanding, from lessons learned to the road ahead. In particular, we will focus on Climate Matters, a program that partners with TV meteorologists to inform communities around the U.S. about the local realities of a changing climate—what that means to their family, friends, and ways of life. 
    Bernadette Woods Placky is an Emmy Award winning meteorologist and director of Climate Central's Climate Matters program. In her role, Bernadette works with fellow meteorologists from across the country, providing resources and data on the connection between climate change and weather.
    Before coming to Climate Central, Bernadette spent 10 years as a TV weather forecaster. Her most recent station was WJZ in Baltimore, where she earned an Emmy for Best Weathercaster.  Prior to that, she worked at both WLEX in Lexington, KY., and KNWA in Fayetteville, AR. Bernadette began her career at AccuWeather, Inc.
    Bernadette is a proud Penn State University alumni where she is a steering committee member for MAPS (Meteorology Alumni of Penn State) and is a board member of Penn State's GEMS (Graduates of Earth and Mineral Science). She also carries both American Meteorological Society certifications — Television Seal of Approval and Certified Broadcast Meteorologist -- and is a member of numerous AMS committees (including Applied Climatology). Bernadette also serves on as a trustee at The Watershed Institute in central New Jersey.