Becca Warner, an environmental writer based in London, UK, argues that we need a broader, more realistic representation of climate change in movies than just blockbuster climate disaster movies.

As a heat wave hits the city, doctors in a fictional hospital in Seattle are soaked in sweat through their scrub caps. The building’s overworked air conditioning system abruptly stops with a whoosh and a clank. Surgery must be completed quickly since it becomes dangerous to perform operations in the oppressive heat within minutes. The same relationships and patients that have kept the Grey’s Anatomy doctors on our screens for more than 400 episodes are still present. However, the very real problem of climate change serves as the drama’s first-ever backdrop in this episode. Dr. Richard Webber argues that the air conditioning system wasn’t built to be pushed that hard. In response, Dr. Addison Montgomery says that the Earth wasn’t designed to be pushed this hard. It’s one of many different climate-related themes that are comparatively uncommon in fictional TV and film universes. Social scientists and nonprofit organizations contend that climate change is a subject that should be covered in a variety of on-screen narratives, not just the occasional thriller about a climate catastrophe.

But can witnessing how characters in films and television shows are affected by the effects of climate change truly transform how we view the situation as it develops, enabling us to cope better or even alter our behavior? The non-profit storytelling consultancy Good Energy thinks it is capable. It is one of a small but rising number of organizations urging more TV and movie scripts to include plotlines, characters, and references connected to climate change.