How media can better illustrate the climate crisis

Unless you are living in the Arctic, chances are you do not encounter polar bears in your everyday life. Indeed, the last time you saw a polar bear, it was likely in the context of a climate change article, a symbol of the environmental crisis. And there lies the problem.

The last time I saw a polar bear, it was featured in a news piece about the latest IPCC report, which outlined the dire consequences we face, including the destruction of homes, loss of livelihoods, and fragmentation of communities, if we, the people—not the polar bears—fail to change course.

The polar bear's emblematic status as a symbol of climate change is easily understood, given its charismatic nature as a member of the megafauna and its vulnerability to the impacts of climate change. Generally, large, furry animals elicit greater sympathy than small, slimy creatures. However, the polar bear's prominence reflects the wider deficiencies in the media's coverage of the climate crisis.