What happens when 40 local organizations get together to create a campaign to raise awareness about climate change? You get The Sweatuation.

The Climate & Urban Systems Partnership (CUSP) recently launched The Sweatuation to help Philadelphians understand what climate change is going to mean to them, and what they can do about it.

At first glance, you may say, “That’s… different. Normally climate change is depicted as polar bears on icebergs, or the Earth on fire.” (Just do a Google image search of climate change and see what pops up.) Social science shows, however, that approaching climate change through a global lens that emphasizes doom and gloom doesn’t motivate people to engage in the issue, and often leads to feelings of helplessness, fear, or guilt. So instead, CUSP took a local, relevant, solutions-focused approach to raising climate change awareness, and the result was The Sweatuation.

The Sweatuation in Philly

How can you get involved in the Sweatuation? Here’s 3 ways:

• Ads. Keep your eyes peeled for these works around Philadelphia, both in print and online. The ads will feature the sweatier things we’re all experiencing nowadays… Things like sweck (sweaty back), swugs (sweaty hugs), and swarmpits (well…you get the idea). It’s a way to make climate change more relatable, and get people’s attention so that they’ll take a second look. You can even sneak a peek in this post!
• TheSweatuation.com. Get online to learn more about climate change. Here’s a place where Philadelphians can go to learn even more about how climate change is going to affect them, and what they can do about it.
• Contest. You can win! By posting a sweaty selfie on Twitter, Instagram, or Vine with #MySweatuation you could win 1 of 2 free (yes, FREE!) bikes (generously donated by Bicycle Therapy and Firth & Wilson Transport Cycles)

A big thank you to the amazing local talents at Masterminds who helped make The Sweatuation a reality. The campaign will run from now until mid-September. Friends in Fishtown, you’re in luck: We have lots of outreach concentrated in Fishtown to build on educational programming that CUSP has been doing there over the past two years.

So let’s do it, Philly. Let’s talk about The Sweatuation. Let’s talk about climate change.

Readers, what are your thoughts on the Sweatuation? Tell us in the comments!

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CUSP is a community of local stakeholders who share a passion for engaging residents in climate change issues and interact frequently to learn how to do so better. Philadelphia is at the forefront of innovative strategies to adapt to the impacts of climate change, while also reducing our contribution to the problem. The CUSP project motivates residents to learn how these solutions are preparing our city for a hotter, wetter climate and shows how, together, communities can make a real difference. The Franklin Institute leads the CUSP project with support from the National Science Foundation. View all posts by CUSP