Ad running in Wisconsin gives new name to weather events worsened by climate change: 'unnatural disasters'

An ad running in Wisconsin and other swing states is urging residents to consider a new term to describe severe weather events worsened by climate change: "unnatural disasters."

Science Moms, a nonpartisan group of climate scientists that emphasizes the risks climate change poses to families, is spending $2.5 million on the ad campaign, one of a handful they've run as they expand across the U.S., including on billboards. It underscores that human-caused climate change is making floods, heat waves, wildfires and other extreme weather worse — jeopardizing kids' ability to experience the world the way generations prior could.

"The idea that we're breaking heat records, having record floods — this is all consistent with what scientists have been projecting for decades. But the terminology is still what we used in the 1900s: 'natural disasters,'" said Tracey Holloway, a professor in the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences and a member of Science Moms. "We're building terminology that captures the reality of what's happening."

The one-minute ad, titled "The Last Time," begins with clips of children and families exploring lakes, forests and beaches. If you knew this was your last chance to enjoy your favorite lake, the narrator asks, what would it look like? Then it shows videos footage of wildfires and hurricanes.

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"If you knew this was your last, best chance to protect all the places you love, what would you do?" the narrator asks, before text flashes on the screen encouraging viewers to stop "unnatural disasters."

Weather extremes have gripped the globe in recent years, driven by rising global temperatures in part caused by human activities like burning fossil fuels. The hottest day ever recorded on Earth happened July 24, and temperature records have been shattered across the U.S. Climate change is making hurricanes more dangerous, and making wildfires burn faster and stronger, which in part caused Wisconsin's smoggy past summer.

It's costly, too: In 2023, the U.S. experienced 28 billion-dollar weather disasters that cost the nation $94.9 billion.

Although Wisconsin may not see as many dramatic climate-related disasters as the coasts, researchers are documenting changes here too. The last two decades were the state's warmest on record, according to a 2021 report from the Wisconsin Initiative on Climate Change Impacts, and the past decade was the wettest. And extreme events like floods and droughts are increasing in frequency and severity.

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The ad will run through Sept. 30 on local TV and radio stations, streaming platforms like YouTube, Hulu and Max, and social media including Instagram and TikTok. In addition to Wisconsin, it will air in Arizona, Michigan, Pennsylvania, North Carolina and Georgia — all states that could play a decisive role in the outcome of the 2024 presidential election in November. Studies show a majority of Wisconsinites are worried about climate change.

Holloway said the organization is interested in connecting with moms, not any particular political party, "because moms know how to get things done."

Conversations about climate change often get political, or get confusing, Holloway said. The ad is aimed at making it personal.

"I really appreciate what the Science Moms creators have put together to link the lived experience we all have of enjoying nature and having memories with our kids, and thinking about the world we're living in in a certain way — and recognizing that is changing because the climate is changing," she said.

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Madeline Heim is a Report for America corps reporter who writes about environmental issues in the Mississippi River watershed and across Wisconsin. Contact her at 920-996-7266 or [email protected].

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Climate change ad campaign uses the term 'unnatural disasters'