For last week’s Becker/Rose Café, Professor Aaron Sachs of Cornell’s Department of History gave an entertaining and satirical talk about environmental humor. Before this event, I didn’t really notice that such a category existed. I often think of a line of separation between the scientists who understand and research about the environment, while the other side sports individuals who have less knowledge about their surroundings. And it’s precisely since environmentalists are often ignored that they are seen as individuals who have no sense of humor at all.

However, during the talk, Professor Sachs provided several video clips, courtesy of ‘The Onion’. The videos, while appearing to be very serious in nature, were comedy skits that mocked the current situation of the planet with regards to the environment. It was mentioned that this form of communication to people presents a more relatable moment compared to emphasizing the negative truths to an extreme. Presenting this information where everyone laughs about it is at the same time, educating people about the current trending topics about the environment.

But while those videos are hilarious, I feel that it’s also important for people to be actively wanting to change the situations instead of just laughing about them.