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<h1>This Guy Turned a 2,000-Page Report on Climate Change into 19 Stunning Haikus</h1>

<div><div><div><p><span>This article originally appeared in <a href="http://daily.sightline.org/2013/12/16/the-entire-ipcc-report-in-19-illustrated-haiku/">Sightline Daily</a>.</span></p>  <p></p>  <p>Reports released by the International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) can be daunting, even for science and policy insiders. The full Physical Science Assessment, the first installment of the    <a href="http://www.climatechange2013.org/images/uploads/WGIAR5_WGI-12Doc2b_FinalDraft_All.pdf">Fifth Assessment Report</a> (pdf), released in manuscript     form earlier this year, is over 2,000 pages long.</p>  <p>And even the <a href="http://www.climatechange2013.org/">Summary for Policymakers</a>, rather optimistically referred to as a "brochure," is a dense 27     pages.</p>  <blockquote>Condensing to this degree is not how scientists typically operate.</blockquote>  <p>What if we could communicate the essence of this important information in plain language and pictures? Well, that's just what one Northwest oceanographer     has done. He's distilled the entire report into 19 illustrated haiku.</p>  <p>The result is stunning, sobering, and brilliant. It's poetry. It's a work of art. But it doubles as clear, concise, powerful talking points and a     compelling visual guide.</p>  <p><figure><img src="/wp-content/uploads/imports/8d8a36fbb32c4433882cdb853d2a85fa.jpg"><figcaption><span><p><span>Image by Gregory C. Johnson.</span></p></span></figcaption></figure></p>  <p>How did it come about? Housebound with a rotten cold one recent weekend, Greg Johnson found himself paring his key takeaways from the IPCC report into    <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haiku">haiku</a>. He finds that the constraints of the form focus his thoughts (he told me he posts exclusively in     haiku on Facebook), and described the process as a sort of meditation. He never intended to share these "IPCC" poems.</p>  <p>Johnson's daughter, an artist, inspired him to try his hand at watercolors. On a whim he illustrated each haiku and shared the results with family and a     few friends.</p>  <p>When I got wind of it, I had to see it. And I'm glad I got the chance. I immediately wanted everybody I know to see it too!</p>  <p>Condensing to this degree is not how scientists typically operate. But, as Johnson proves, scientists can also be poets. Still, he is quick to caution that     this is his own unofficial artistic interpretation and that it omits all the quantitative details and the IPCC's scientific qualifications.</p>  <p>Therein lies the beauty; stripped of the jargon and unfathomably large numbers, the limitations and the scales of confidence that confound and distract us     laypeople, it is an arresting and informative entree into the science&mdash;not, of course, a substitute for the full report.</p>  <p>(You can view all 19 of Johnson's IPCC haikus at <a href="http://daily.sightline.org/2013/12/16/the-entire-ipcc-report-in-19-illustrated-haiku/">Sightline Daily</a>.)</p>  <hr style="width: 50%;" width="50%"><ul><li>  </li><li><b></b></li>  <li><b><br></b></li>  </ul></div><!-- <img src="39b97fde53e74829bc8dd288661cd39f"> --></div><!-- <p><img src="d3fc059f689043c7b24c68d9092aa326">Anna Fahey is senior communications strategist at the Sightline Institute. Anna writes on how to communicate about tricky issues like climate change and government.</p> --></div><!-- <p><b>Read more:</b></p>&#13;  --><!-- <a href="resolveuid/63d35514d650416280b09e830ecd2ecc"><b>Adapting to Climate Change: It's Not About Giving Up, It's About Getting Real </b></a> --><!-- <a href="http://dev-wp.yesmagazine.org/planet/timeline-of-climate-movement-how-direct-action-took-center-stage">Timeline of the Climate Movement: How Direct Action Took Center Stage</a> --><!-- <a href="resolveuid/857f9109bc734bed8b08fa693cc91d07">Why the Corporate Media's Climate Change Censorship Is Only Half the Story </a> -->

<p>This article originally appeared in <a href="https://www.yesmagazine.org">Yes! Magazine</a> at <a href="https://dev-wp.yesmagazine.org/environment/2013/12/21/this-guy-turned-a-2000-page-report-on-climate-change-into-19-stunning-haikus">https://dev-wp.yesmagazine.org/environment/2013/12/21/this-guy-turned-a-2000-page-report-on-climate-change-into-19-stunning-haikus</a>.</p><link href="https://dev-wp.yesmagazine.org/environment/2013/12/21/this-guy-turned-a-2000-page-report-on-climate-change-into-19-stunning-haikus" rel="canonical"/><p>Yes! Magazine is a nonprofit, independent media organization dedicated to telling stories of ... . Learn more at <a href="https://www.yesmagazine.org">Yes! Magazine</a></p><img id="republication-tracker-tool-source" src="https://dev-wp.yesmagazine.org/?republication-pixel=true&post=12374&ga4=G-74QJNNY44Z" style="width:1px;height:1px;">

This Guy Turned a 2,000-Page Report on Climate Change into 19 Stunning Haikus

This article originally appeared in Sightline Daily.    Reports released by the International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) can be daunting, even for science and policy insiders. The full Physical Science Assessment, the first installment of the    Fifth Assessment Report (pdf), released in manuscript     form earlier this year, is over 2,000 pages long.  And even the Summary for Policymakers, rather optimistically referred to as a "brochure," is a dense 27     pages.  Condensing to this degree is not how scientists typically operate.  What if we could communicate the essence of this important information in plain language and pictures? Well, that's just what one Northwest oceanographer     has done. He's distilled the entire report into 19 illustrated haiku.  The result is stunning, sobering, and brilliant. It's poetry. It's a work of art. But it doubles as clear, concise, powerful talking points and a     compelling visual guide.  Image by Gregory C. Johnson.  How did it come about? Housebound with a rotten cold one recent weekend, Greg Johnson found himself paring his key takeaways from the IPCC report into    haiku. He finds that the constraints of the form focus his thoughts (he told me he posts exclusively in     haiku on Facebook), and described the process as a sort of meditation. He never intended to share these "IPCC" poems.  Johnson's daughter, an artist, inspired him to try his hand at watercolors. On a whim he illustrated each haiku and shared the results with family and a     few friends.  When I got wind of it, I had to see it. And I'm glad I got the chance. I immediately wanted everybody I know to see it too!  Condensing to this degree is not how scientists typically operate. But, as Johnson proves, scientists can also be poets. Still, he is quick to caution that     this is his own unofficial artistic interpretation and that it omits all the quantitative details and the IPCC's scientific qualifications.  Therein lies the beauty; stripped of the jargon and unfathomably large numbers, the limitations and the scales of confidence that confound and distract us     laypeople, it is an arresting and informative entree into the science—not, of course, a substitute for the full report.  (You can view all 19 of Johnson's IPCC haikus at Sightline Daily.)