Comic book to foster interest in climate change
“In our culture, the car is strongly associated with freedom. Such lock-ins prevent us from changing", says Helena Fornstedt, one of the authors. Photo: Verbal förlag
The idea was to make important research accessible to a wider audience. The result was the book “En kort och relativt trevlig bok om klimatet” (“A short and relatively pleasant book about the climate”), which looks at what you need to know about the climate and the transition in comic book form.
There are many good books written on climate science. At the same time, studies show that we are reading less and less. This is why researchers Helena Fornstedt and Staffan Laestadius decided to write the book “En kort och relativt trevlig bok om klimatet” (“A short and relatively pleasant book about the climate”) together with cartoonist Rickard Fornstedt.
“We felt that comics might encourage those who don’t usually read long books to access some of the research. They may also stumble across a comic book, read a page here or there and take away the content from a scientific article,” notes Fornstedt, researcher in innovation and sustainable transitions at Uppsala University.
Those who read the book could learn more about the Paris Agreement, climate denial and cultural lock-ins, for example. Fornstedt exemplifies this kind of cultural lock-in with a picture from the book showing Thelma and Louise in their car.
“In our culture, the car is strongly associated with freedom. Such lock-ins prevent us from changing,” she says, turning to the next page, which instead shows a woman chained to her car with an ankle bracelet.
“A picture can show more than a text; it is a quick way to communicate a message.”
Helena Fornstedt hopes the comic book will get more people interested in the climate issue. Photo: Mikael Wallerstedt
The book is both enjoyable and a little scary, what was your thought process behind it?
“It’s not possible to present climate science seriously without it being scary. But research shows that fear doesn’t make people passive. On the contrary, we need to understand what is at stake to be willing to do something about it. Passivity may come instead from a feeling of powerlessness,” explains Fornstedt, before continuing:
“With this book, we also want to tell you that there’s research on the transition showing us ways out of the climate crisis, so that we don't end up in that kind of powerlessness. It’s not strange to be afraid of the climate crisis, it’s a healthy reaction that can trigger engagement.”
Sandra Gunnarsson
“En kort och relativt trevlig bok om klimatet” (“A short and relatively pleasant book about the climate”) was written by Rickard Fornstedt, Staffan Laestadius and Helena Fornstedt, and is published by Verbal förlag.