Pattern 412

Be Conscious of the Cultures You’re Working in, How They Get Things Done. If you’re working with North Carolinians who reject climate change but who are now convinced by repeated hurricanes seriously to act on “recurrent flooding," work with that.

Notes for assembly

In North Carolina, hurricanes did what scientists could not: Convince Republicans that climate change is real (The Washington Post). Politicians have adopted a GOP-friendly term to discuss climate change, referring to sea level rise as “recurrent flooding,” said Rob Zapple, a Democrat in a competitive race to hang onto his New Hanover County commissioner seat. “They can see and feel and understand the effects,” he said. “All of a sudden, we were allowed to have a conversation with our Republican counterparts.” Floods and storms are altering American attitudes to climate change: The Midwest is soaked and less sceptical (The Economist). Many said that witnessing extreme weather events—like the tornadoes, storms and floods battering the Midwest —did most to form their views. Michael Greenstone, who runs the institute, says the Midwest is already affected by “hotter summers, and it is more challenging for agriculture”. The region’s farmers are already at the sharp end of change.

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In Progress