In recent years, nuclear energy has regained public interest as a method of maintaining reliable power supply during the transition away from fossil fuels and other non-renewable energy sources towards renewable energy. However, lack of public support for maintaining or expanding nuclear power, particularly from Democrats, stands in the way of widespread adoption in the U.S. We use an experimental design (N = 1,624) to investigate consensus messaging, social identity cues, and topic frames as potential message features that alter public support for nuclear power. Results offer practical implications about improving how nuclear power is described to different audiences in public communication about science.

This study examines the relationship between disgust sensitivity and climate change risk perceptions, using both self-reported and psychophysiological measures of disgust sensitivity. We find that disgust sensitivity is connected to climate change risk perception, although results are far weaker with physiological measures than with self-reports. Results consequently suggest that the connection may stem more from cognitive and expressive factors than implicit biological impulses. Given theoretical functions of disgust, these findings offer valuable insights regarding the structure of environmental attitudes and heterogeneity in the effects of science and environmental communication.

This study explores how organizations that conduct scientific research support communication activities, including activities aimed at fostering public engagement. It uses qualitative, thematic analyses of semi-structured interviews to propose an initial partnership categorization based on the degree to which communication support is embedded within or external to the organization, as well as the degree to which engagement resources are pooled across funding sources. It then discusses how different categorizations might be associated with several different metrics of public engagement quality. Findings suggest that partnerships with external groups that have shared goals can enhance engagement efforts in situations where the organization lacks the resources to build internal engagement teams and programs. These findings challenge past work focused on the value of internal communication infrastructure. However, the potential benefits and limitations of different approaches to within-organization versus external-to-organization communication support need further research.

In her book Anjana Khatwa combines geological and Indigenous ways of knowing from across the globe, offering a wide-ranging guide to an area of science communication that can be overlooked, the Earth sciences. This would be sufficient to recommend it to science communicators. The book goes further, however, offering a deeply personal perspective on exclusion and inclusion in academia, and multicultural society. For anyone interested in equitable approaches to science communication, this is an essential read.

Public engagement plays a crucial role in wildlife conservation by bridging scientific and community-driven communication. However, conservation communication often faces conflicts and challenges in stakeholder engagement. This study examines the role of public engagement in establishing Raimona National Park (RNP), focusing on interactions between scientific communication from conservationists and culturally informed communication from local communities. By analyzing survey responses from 340 participants and participatory observations, this research explores how structured public engagement contributes to conflict resolution and long-term park management. The study also highlights the role of NGOs, governance structures, and behavioral change in shaping conservation outcomes in the Raimona landscape.

Previous research has suggested that incorporating emotional language and exemplars within inoculation messages could enhance their effectiveness in inducing resistance to climate change misinformation. We conducted a between-subject experiment with four conditions (negative narrative inoculation, positive narrative inoculation, didactic inoculation, and misinformation only condition) to test the effectiveness of inoculation. We found that didactic inoculation increased perceived threat significantly more than both types of narrative inoculations. However, there were no significant differences across these three types of inoculation messages in conferring resistance to misinformation regarding counterarguing against misinformation, belief in misinformation, perceived credibility of misinformation, or intention to share misinformation.

Metaphors are prevalent in environmental science communication, because they describe complex topics in more familiar terms. Yet, little research has investigated whether metaphors contribute to comprehension in such communication. This experiment (N=510) disentangles the effects of different metaphor types on comprehension-related outcomes for three environmental concepts (greenhouse effect, carbon footprint, greenwashing). Results showed small but statistically significant effects of some metaphors on perceived text comprehensibility and perceived comprehension, but no effects on actual comprehension. No mediation effects were attested. Science communication could thus benefit from metaphor, but communicators should be careful not to overdo it, nor to overestimate its effectiveness.

As a recently emergent issue, public familiarity with orbital debris is likely low, and therefore especially susceptible to the influence of news media representations. To better understand media representations of orbital debris issues, a content analysis of all orbital debris news articles (N = 207) across four major U.S. media outlets (2011 – 2022) was conducted. It examines portrayals of risks associated with orbital debris, response measures, and terminology choices. Despite evidence that risks to satellite services are most consequential to everyday civilians, this risk was not a leading theme in any article. Instead, risks associated with falling debris to Earth was the most frequent leading theme across all news outlets. We also found differences across partisan outlets, including greater attention to space sustainability/safety risks and mitigation in a liberal outlet compared with a conservative outlet. Linguistically, the more colloquial “space junk” was more prominent than the more jargon-y “orbital debris.”

The workshop “Decide your Print” engages high school students outside of classroom settings, with sustainability challenges, focusing on fast fashion’s socio-technical systems. Using collaborative decision-making and systemic analysis, the activity fosters understanding of sustainability’s interrelated dimensions — socio-ecological, technological, political, economic. Combining dialogue, evidence-based education and participatory approaches, it promotes critical thinking and actionable solutions. Conducted at the 2023 Genoa Science Festival in Italy, the workshop aimed to empower participants to propose multi-level strategies, showcasing the potential of informal education to address sustainability through interdisciplinary learning and systemic reasoning.

 

The mitigation of the climate crisis demands effective communication strategies. Transforming food systems plays a key role in climate protection, not only by changing eating habits, but also by preventing food waste. While workplaces are commonly used for health promotion activities, they are a rare setting for science communication. This practice insight targets individual food waste reduction through a workshop at the workplace, including a lunch from rescued food, documentary screening, discussion, and expert presentation. It aimed to enhance participants’ self-efficacy and intention to reduce food waste. The effectiveness of the screening was tested experimentally by evaluating the effects of positive and negative framing. Exposure to negative framing was associated with higher intensity in negative affect, whereas positive framing appeared to be associated with higher self-efficacy. Furthermore, this practice insight provides strategies to foster science communication in workplaces.