Aaron Sachs, a professor in the Department of History, gave a talk about environmental humor, or more accurately, the lack thereof. His entire talk focused on the idea that many movements have gained traction with the use of humor to draw people in, but unlike other serious issues, environmental problems are seldom joked about. Not only is it difficult to make a climate change-related joke, but the activists themselves have a reputation for being so humorless that they become the subject of others’ jokes, which has undesirable consequences for the movement. Being such a pressing issue for all of humanity, Sachs argues that people are likely to be polarized, either enthusiastically and self-righteously committing themselves to the cause, or more likely, becoming dejected and indifferent in the belief that change can’t be made. However, if humor were injected more often into the tone of environmental rhetoric, perhaps people would take a less extreme stance and be more willing to take part in an issue they suddenly feel they can relate to.

To illustrate some examples of environmental humor, Sachs played a few short clips and comedic recordings. The one that stuck out to me was one in which a group of environmentalists are pitching an idea for a highway system that would enable wolves to migrate safely. Their audience, a politician who is empathetic to the cause but sees major flaws in the proposal, makes witty remarks that the presenters completely misunderstand due to their blind devotion. Although this is portrayed as an extreme example, it does accurately point out the way that environmentalists might tend to alienate those they need help from.

Not knowing what to expect from this talk, I was pleasantly surprised by the novelty of the ideas that were being presented in a rather unconventional context. The problem of having too little humor, though it seems insignificant, may actually have a powerful impact in bridging the gap between environmentalists and the public if environmentalists could only learn to occasionally laugh at themselves.