In April, YCC en Español launched a program called “Ask the Experts.” Our goal with this project is to invite readers to submit questions about climate change that will then be answered by one of our experts. Our experts are Miami journalist Johani Ponce and University of Puerto Rico professors Rafael Méndez Tejeda and Luis Alexis Rodríguez. Since April, we've received more than 30 questions ranging from how the Earth's rotation around the sun affects weather to how to keep dogs safe in extreme heat. Editors Pearl Marvell and Johani Ponce sat down to talk about the project's progress and its importance.
This discussion has been edited and condensed.
Pearl Marvel: What do you think of our Ask the Expert program?
John Ponce: I think this is really important for the Latinx community because it's one of the communities that we know is most affected by climate change, extreme events, all kinds of causes; it's normal for people to be worried because of where we work and where we live. .
But I think what's important in what we do is to understand concretely and concretely what concerns people have, because by understanding their concerns we can write about them. Dispel these doubts and view climate change not just in a negative or apocalyptic light, but as an opportunity to do something good. That is, we want not just the community to pay attention, but the community to be busy changing the course of things, because people absolutely can do that.
So that's why I think it's important for everyone to express their concerns and doubts about what they want us to talk about. Not just being able to do things, but also fighting misinformation. Because the only way to combat disinformation (which exists in all branches of journalism) is to do good journalism, and that’s the only way. When we produce high-quality journalism, all misinformation is eliminated. That's why what we do here is so important to me.
Pearl Marvel: What do you think about the questions we've received? Are there any topics that surprise you? To me it's interesting because there are very different questions. That said, we have very scientific questions and other problems that have to do more with in our daily lives.
John Ponce: Well, I like that the questions are varied and targeted at different experts. I really like that, as you said, there's some very scientific content, for example, there's some content about pets, or about young people's concerns about rising sea levels. So it seems good to me. To my surprise, I found it was a very diverse, very heterogeneous audience. That said, there seem to be very knowledgeable and very skilled people out there who want to solve everyday problems based on this information.
First of all, I'm grateful that they asked the question. Because we're reaching audiences, and then what's interesting is seeing the diversity of people, the diversity of issues, and that's the extent to which climate change, extreme events, and the whole crisis that we're facing, is basically telling us how much it affects everyone.
Pearl Marvel: precise.
John Ponce: That is, we see climate change in our daily lives, in our studies, in the future, in the present, in everything. This is reflected in the questions we receive. Well, as I tell you, I'm very grateful, I love this initiative, I love doing this exercise because there are things that I don't know about. For example, I love animals but I don't have the opportunity to own one and I realize the impact it has, small animals do suffer a lot and we have to take the necessary steps to protect them. This forces us to investigate and see different things rather than always being in that bubble, as I see with some climate journalists (or environmentalists), who are in an academic bubble and we want to process lots of data, lots of studies , which is also very important, but we must communicate with the audience in an easier and more direct way.
Pearl Marvel: It’s a good representation of the different Latinx communities that exist. We have questions from Arizona, Puerto Rico and other parts of the United States.
John Ponce: This is important because Americans often think of Latinos as a homogeneous group, whereas we are very heterogeneous. I've even seen it in Florida. Talking to a Latino from Miami is different than talking to a Latino living in Orlando, where most Latinos are Puerto Rican, or Latinos living in the northern part of the state. So imagine the difference between a Latino living in Miami, a Latino living in California, a Latino living in New York, a Latino living in Arizona, and a Latino living in Texas.
You have to find formulas that allow you to get closer to your audience, and the only way to do that is to fully understand how they express themselves, what problems they have, how you can reach them, what solutions you have to give them and that's why shows like this in Spanish are so important. What has usually been done in recent years is just the translation of the same articles from English to Spanish.
As journalists, we are also “selling” the product to a certain extent. Therefore, when an advertiser sells a product, he must conduct market research on the specific audience to which he is referring. That is, are they young or middle-aged, white, African American, Latino, etc. So, too, must the articles we produce, which must take into account the audience we are targeting. We cannot put all Latinos in the same bag. Therefore, I think it is very important to write and produce these news and articles exclusively in Spanish.
On the other hand, the most important thing for me is to understand that we have always had a narrative of Latinos as victims. Yes, there are many things and many differences, but there are many Latinos who are activists. Many Latinx women are activists and are creating change and truly leading climate action. We have to change the narrative, we have to bring awareness to all the people who are doing positive things.
There are a lot of Latinos, a lot of women and a lot of young people. So I think it's also important to see not just the problems, but the actions our communities are taking that are leading the changes that are needed and are coming. We don't know how long it will take, but there will be changes, there will be big changes, a big change is already brewing to enable the transition to clean energy, but we don't know when, but it will happen . I think it’s important to highlight the work that we Latinos are doing.
READ: Venezuelan-American journalist talks climate change to Hispanic audience
We recently published a study on climate change that showed Latinos are the most willing to work together to effect change at the government level (63%).
Pearl Marvel: We recently published a study on climate change in which our scientists found that Latinos are the most likely group (63%) to take collective action to effect change at the government level. It's very important to talk about this. About the community and what these activists are doing. Perhaps this is because they are not getting the support they need from the government. The Latino community is very resilient because they know how to do things for themselves. It's important to me to talk about this subject in our reporting because it's happening in places like Miami, Puerto Rico. There seems to be more community effort to mitigate what's going on.
John Ponce: Yes, because people have to understand that this goes beyond political parties and agendas. Because when a hurricane comes, as one person said the other day, it doesn't say, “Look, I'm going to make landfall where Republicans are going to hurt them,” or “I'm going to make landfall where Democrats are going to hurt them.” live. The hurricane destroyed everything in its path.
Because climate change and the climate crisis are not only reflections on the planet, but also on our children, grandchildren, and future. Because if you analyze it (and our colleagues Rafael Mendez Tejeda and Luis Alexis can say it best), the Earth will adapt. The Earth will adapt to the coming changes, but humans will not. So, it goes one step further. This is something beyond that, something we have to think about in the future.
I think everyone should be aware that these extreme events affect us all. Of course, people have to take action in their daily lives. That's what we've been talking about about taking climate action, telling other people what's happening. But perhaps the most immediate action is to vote for the agenda that people believe is best for their future and their communities.
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