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Published in: Ambio 5/2014

01-09-2014 | Perspective

Narratives Can Motivate Environmental Action: The Whiskey Creek Ocean Acidification Story

Authors: Ryan P. Kelly, Sarah R. Cooley, Terrie Klinger

Published in: Ambio | Issue 5/2014

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Abstract

Even when environmental data quantify the risks and benefits of delayed responses to rapid anthropogenic change, institutions rarely respond promptly. We propose that narratives complementing environmental datasets can motivate responsive environmental policy. To explore this idea, we relate a case study in which a narrative of economic loss due to regionally rapid ocean acidification—an anthropogenic change—helped connect knowledge with action. We pose three hypotheses to explain why narratives might be particularly effective in linking science to environmental policy, drawing from the literature of economics, environmental policy, and cognitive psychology. It seems that yet-untold narratives may hold similar potential for strengthening the feedback between environmental data and policy and motivating regional responses to other environmental problems.
previous article Connecting Diverse Knowledge Systems for Enhanced Ecosystem Governance: The Multiple Evidence Base Approach
next article An Interactive Governance and Fish Chain Approach to Fisheries Rebuilding: A Case Study of the Northern Gulf Cod in Eastern Canada

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Metadata
Title
Narratives Can Motivate Environmental Action: The Whiskey Creek Ocean Acidification Story
Authors
Ryan P. Kelly
Sarah R. Cooley
Terrie Klinger
Publication date
01-09-2014
Publisher
Springer Netherlands
Published in
Ambio / Issue 5/2014
Print ISSN: 0044-7447
Electronic ISSN: 1654-7209
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/s13280-013-0442-2

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