Climate change is one of the most difficult and complex problems the globe is facing right now — one that requires a certain degree of development to even perceive, yet poses an potential existential threat to billions of people across the planet. And yet, it has proven very difficult to create the political will within the United States to actually do something about it — largely because of the ways many environmentalists try to bring attention to the issue, which often comes across more like an apocalyptic religion than a still-maturing science.

When trying to communicate about climate change and sustainable initiatives, how can we find a way to convey the tremendous urgency of the problem without falling into the sort of overwrought alarmism that only ends up tuning people out of the conversation?