The language we use to talk about climate change reflects a deeper societal divide

By Lauren Gilger
Published: Wednesday, February 15, 2023 - 12:43pm
Updated: Thursday, February 16, 2023 - 6:49am

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Climate change is in the news a lot — and the words we use to talk about it are different depending on where you tune in.

People on the political left use words of alarm and emergency. Those in the climate denial camp, talk about it like a hoax.

The language is either minimizing or panicking. 

Climate linguist and NYU professor Shondel Nero co-authored a book called "The Power of Narrative: Climate Skepticism and the Deconstruction of Science."

Much of her work in the world of climate linguistics has been focused on climate denialism.

She told The Show the climate debate is really a proxy for larger social fracturing, and that is what’s reflected in the language used on both sides of the aisle.

Shondel Nero
Shondel Nero
Shondel Nero

EDITOR'S NOTE: Due to an editing error, this story has been updated to correct the byline.

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