Secret weapon to fight climate change: Moms

“What world have I brought my child into?” the new mom pleaded. “What can I do to make sure my baby isn’t brought up in a world that’s being destroyed?”

It was 2019, and climate researcher Katherine Hayhoe was standing in the buffet line at a church breakfast in Fairbanks, Alaska, when a young woman tapped on her shoulder and confessed that she was terrified.

Ever since the birth of her daughter, the young woman said, she couldn’t stop worrying about the threat of a rapidly warming planet.

“That heartfelt question is one I thought I could only really answer as a fellow mom,” said Hayhoe, an atmospheric scientist at Texas Tech University and an evangelical Christian who has spent years trying to educate the public about climate change.

Hayhoe told the Alaskan woman the same thing she sometimes had to tell herself when she worried about her own son’s future: Channel your fear into action. Talk to your friends and family. Advocate for change in your town, your church, your school, your state.

Now, Hayhoe aims to replicate that exchange on a much bigger scale.

Along with five fellow climate scientists who are also mothers, she has teamed up with Potential Energy, a nonprofit marketing firm, to launch a $ 10 million campaign to educate and empower mothers to do something about climate.

Advertisements featuring Hayhoe and her fellow “science moms” will air on national TV and the internet for the next month. The initial push will be followed by ads in several key states where the effects of climate change are already being felt, including North Carolina, Arizona and Wisconsin.

Organizers said it’s the beginning of a multi-year effort.

In one video, Colorado State University atmospheric scientist Melissa Burt narrates a montage of images of her 4-year-old daughter, Mia, juxtaposed with footage of a hurricane.

“You don’t have to be a climate scientist to want to protect the Earth,” she says. “And for Mia, I want you to know that I worked really hard to be a part of the change and to make it a better place for you.”

The campaign has also a website featuring facts and resources, including links to books about talking to kids about climate and a form for contacting elected officials.

“One of the most powerful ways for us to connect over climate change is ... this fundamental value that we share,” Hayhoe said. “We all want to ensure a better and safer future for our child.”

Mothers are the “sweet spot” for inspiring social change, said Potential Energy founder John Marshall, a veteran marketing executive and consultant. They have a long track record of political activity.