Susanne Moser

	Susanne (Susi) Moser

Climate Change Communication and Social Change

While actions relevant to climate change are now occurring at a variety of scales in the public and private sectors, evidence shows that traditional means of communicating climate science continue to be largely ineffective at reaching the broader public and stimulating behavioral/personal, organization/institutional change in the United States. What can we learn from practitioners and experts in a variety of fields about more effective communication strategies in order to facilitate and support societal response to this global problem?

In June 2004, I convened and led (with Lisa Dilling, University of Colorado) an interdisciplinary workshop on this complex topic. The workshop has since resulted in an article for Environment, and an edited volume is currently in preparation. The project was funded by the MacArthur Foundation; NCAR's Environmental and Societal Impacts Group and Walter Orr Roberts Institute; and the National Science Foundation.

Science-Policy Interactions

Building on my previous research on science-policy interactions in the Global Environmental Assessment Project at Harvard, and on my research regarding the assessment and management of uncertainties in the human dimensions of global change, I continue to work on the question how science can best serve society (stakeholders, policy- and decision-makers at various levels of government).

Contributing to NCAR's Weather and Climate Impacts Assessment Science Program, I recently developed a stepwise procedure to determine where and when scientific information (and information about the uncertainty associated with that science) is needed in the decision-making process. DUST - the Decision Uncertainty Screening Tool - is meant to serve as a heuristic that can help scientists and decision-makers communicate and interact more effectively.

In a second project, I was recently invited by the National Research Council to participate in the NRC project Public Participation in Environmental Assessment and Decision Making. My contribution is a post-hoc evaluation of the stakeholder participation in the First U.S. National Assessment of the Potential Consequences of Climate Variability and Change (1997-2001).

Coastal Impacts of Climate Change and Adaptation Strategies

How will communities, states, and nations respond to the growing threat from sea-level rise and associated coastal hazards? How can science best inform choices among adaptation strategies? Common response options include shoreline engineering (beach nourishment or hardening of the shoreline), changes in design, planning, and development along the coast, and retreating from the encroaching sea.

I recently initiated an interdisciplinary research project on the physical (geologic and climatic), economic, social, ecological, legal, and political feasibility limits of common adaptation strategies to sea-level rise. The project involves a detailed, integrated assessment of these factors in a specific location. The first case study in which the conceptual framework and methodology will be developed focuses on California. Additional case studies that may be conducted at a later time include Alaska, Hawai'i, and a Gulf of Mexico and East Coast state.

Key Collaborators: Michael Hanemann (UC-Berkeley), Dan Cayan and Peter Bromirski (Scripps), Linwood Pendleton (UCLA), and Amy Luers (UCS-Berkeley).

Human Health Impacts of Climate Change

As part of a comprehensive new assessment of the potential consequences of climate change on California (using two global climate models, statistical downscaling, and the highest and lowest emissions scenarios developed by the IPCC), I contributed to the health impacts analysis. With colleagues Larry Kalkstein (Univ. of Delaware), Scott Sheridan (Kent State University), Katharine Hayhoe (Atmos Research), and Norman Miller (Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory), we examined the potential increase in heat waves and human mortality in five California metropolitan areas.

Funding Sources

Unless otherwise specified, this research is supported by the National Science Foundation.