How to write about ecology
Does ecology inspire you? Sustainable development is a topic that people are talking about and there are many publications on the subject on the web! You would like to contribute and write interesting content on the subject, but you don’t know where to start? Do you want to make ecology an exciting and inspiring topic? Or maybe explaining ecology to teenagers or children? Here are some tips on how to write about ecology.
1) When you write about ecology, explain it like we’re all five
To deal with complex topics while remaining clear, assume that your reader knows nothing. Explain from the beginning, step by step! Be careful, if your blog is specialized in this field, it is likely that your audience is already aware of sustainable development issues.
2) Be light
Approach this serious subject with humor and lightness. Humor is a good way to challenge the public on environmental issues. Humor is a good starting point to get your readers interested in sensitive topics. We know that using humor can run the risk of being superficial. To which we respond: intelligent humor supports a lot of depth.
3) When you write about ecology, act like a pro
When we talk about ecology, we must go back to the center of journalistic work, the notion of editorial line and coherence. Rehabilitate simple principles: always quote credible scientific sources (raw sources, not quotes from a colleague’s book), confront the sources in their plurality, put the information in perspective and in their global context, spread a message coherent with the state of scientific knowledge, and rectify its approximations. In a nutshell: rely on good old facts.
4) Don’t be super pessimistic
Your goal is to inspire your audience. This is perhaps the most difficult part, as the reader’s subjectivity, which you can’t control, plays an important role here. Avoid a sanctimonious/guilty tone. We all can agree that everyone’s action isn’t enough, and that every action counts. So it’s better to see the glass half full.
And whenever you are writing about ecology: Creating awareness is not about converting others to our way of life, but rather about sharing the happiness that these choices have brought us.