For the first five minutes of this week’s Rose Cafe I was very confused. This was a talk about humor and the environment, right? Why then, was the professor opening with a long, sombre story about his grandfather? Turns out that was just the beginning of a joke, which I admittedly did not catch at the time, but in thinking about it afterward it was actually a pretty good one.

Environmentalists are famous for being very serious, which makes sense because they are constantly dealing with an extremely serious topic. The fate of our planet isn’t really something that should be treated lightly, at least that’s what I used to think. Professor Sachs’ talk helped me see how using humor can help your cause, and how being able to laugh at yourself can actually help you gain support. Humor is a tool used to connect with other people, and it could be invaluable in a cause like global warming. This talk really demonstrated that serious discussions aren’t always the best way to achieve something, and that sometimes comedic relief is necessary. This cafe was very illuminating, and also very entertaining, because we got to watch lots of funny clips.