Taking the Challenge

By Felise Moglia

Temperatures in the Bay Area are soaring way above my comfort zone, and frankly, everyone I know is fed up. We’re learning to mentally bookmark cool restaurants, breezy coastal drives, or anywhere to beat the heat.

You learn to get creative on boring days, but this last weekend was the most un-boring day of the year: it was my daughter’s 4th birthday party.

When I saw we had 75 guests RSVP, I freaked. It was forecast to be the hottest, haziest day in Oakland. Mother Nature didn’t disappoint and when we arrived the mercury was up to 108! Lucky for us, the soiree was in an air-conditioned community center, and believe me, my guests vocalized their appreciation. As I watched my sweaty cherub-faced four-year-old gleefully frolic with her sweaty pre-school BFF’s, it got me thinking about climate change.

We’ve all watched the devastating hurricanes in the Atlantic last week, the earthquakes in Mexico, and the wildfires lighting states across the country; temperatures have reached all-time record highs. Even places that are usually calm, cool, and collected are seeing bizarre, unsettling weather.

I’m no Bill Nye The Science Guy, but this abnormal weather has become consistently normal. The planet is sending us a message, and we need to listen. What worries me the most is how we talk about climate change. Everywhere you look you’re being told to “save the planet,” but what are we really talking about? As a professional-human working in advertising, is that what we want to say about the world we’re leaving for our children and the generations to come?

Humans have only had an impact on climate since the industrial revolution, a mere few hundred years, which is a blip in the history of the world. When we’re told to save the earth we’re really saying, “save humanity.” This is a vital distinction, because it takes a macro idea, solving a global problem, and personalizes it. Eventually, we won’t be able to survive, and the way it’s going we’re running out of time.

So, what can we do? Communicate the problems effectively. Make the conversation about how this affects us in our own lives. We should all be able to relate to one another through the struggles we experience. We can encourage clients to change the conversation. Challenge our customers and their way of looking at the problem. Constantly sharing our stories and informing them through our branding.

At Farinella, we’re taking that challenge. We are all in this together. Stay cool, everyone.

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