As going through the readings that were assigned to us I found some concerns and influences pertaining to my project.One of the concerns that I am having was trying to define my audience and taking authority. According to Lundgren and Mcmakin, that knowing your audience is crucial to knowing what risk communication methods to use(100). When I first started my project I thought the government would be the most appropriate audience to communicate my risk but after discussing this in class I realized that the government is still way to broad. Over the past few days I was trying to figure out a good audience that I could use to communicate the risk of global warming. I finally came up with the conclusion that the Environmental Protection Agency, which is a form of government, would be the most appropriate audience to communicate this risk to. My goal of communicating this risk is try to have the EPA to take further action to try to fight against global warming by forcing major industries to reduce their emissions and to educate the public about the preventative measures they can take. Since I am only one individual I find it hard to understand why an agency with so much experience would consider listening to my risks of global warming. Maybe they would consider listening to me if I prove to them that global warming is still on a increase by showing them the statistics I have researched.
One of the influences with my project comes from the book of Risk Communication by Lundgren and Mcmackin. Throughout chapter 10 it described various ways to raise awareness for my communication effort on global warming. This may influence my audience by showing them visual graphs and pictures that represent my topic. According to Lundgren and Mcmakin, the style of these pictures is sometimes associated with persuasive communication(160). However, the pictures and graphs maybe more significant backed up by written information. This might influence the EPA to take further action. Also another good way is stakeholder participation. This would get the audience and stakeholders involved by working together in organizations to fight against global warming."Stakeholder participation can be structured to accommodate a variety of audiences, including those that are hostile or have difficulty reading or understanding other forms of communication(Lundgren and Mcmakin 165). I think this would be the best way to get people involved to contribute this major issue.
By reviewing these readings it helped me to improve my risk communication effort. The passages gave a lot of useful ideas and ways to communicate the risk associated with various topics. However, some of the readings had me questioning if I had the right audience and authority. I feel that the EPA is the best audience to communicate my risk to because they have the power to control other people's actions by forcing stricter laws or by educating the stakeholders. This is a project that will continue to take time and effort to try to communicate my risks better.
Wednesday, October 24, 2007
Tuesday, October 23, 2007
Type of Risk Communication
The issue of global warming can fit into two different categories of risk communication. The categories are "Care" and "Consensus" communication. "Care communication is communication about risks for which the danger and the way to manage it have already been well determined through scienific research that is accepted by most of the audience"(Lundgren and Mcmakin 5). Since global warming is a fairly new topic there are a few skeptics that have not accepted that global warming is caused from human activites. Many of these skeptics believe that global warming is nothing to worry about and that the Earth is just naturally warming up on its own. I belive that care communication got this important issue out into the public for most people to belive that global warming is really happening. Through scientific research there are many preventative measures that we can take to help reduce the air emissions to help save our environment and the people living in it.
The other category that global warming can fit into is "Consensus" communication. "Consensus communication is risk communication to inform and encourage groups to work together to reach a decision about how the risk will be managed"(Lundgren and Mcmakin 5). The government is also becoming more involved speaking out and educating the public of the raising awareness of global warming and the effects it has on humans. The government is not the only group of people realizing that global warming is becoming an important issue but many of the stakeholders are becoming involved by taking action to this by joining many organizational groups set up around the world. For an example, the Sierra Club has over 1.3 million members working together to protect the environment and the people in the communities. By joining an organization it will help to take action to fight against global warming.
The other category that global warming can fit into is "Consensus" communication. "Consensus communication is risk communication to inform and encourage groups to work together to reach a decision about how the risk will be managed"(Lundgren and Mcmakin 5). The government is also becoming more involved speaking out and educating the public of the raising awareness of global warming and the effects it has on humans. The government is not the only group of people realizing that global warming is becoming an important issue but many of the stakeholders are becoming involved by taking action to this by joining many organizational groups set up around the world. For an example, the Sierra Club has over 1.3 million members working together to protect the environment and the people in the communities. By joining an organization it will help to take action to fight against global warming.
Tuesday, September 25, 2007
Issues Concerning Global Warming
The outlook for global warming seems like that there is not enough action that is being taken to control this major issue. If this action is not taken seriously then our society can face major consequences of what is going to happen in the future. This could lead to many more issues causing more severe problems. The high amounts of carbon dioxide that are being released into the atmosphere are causing damage to earth's ozone layer which is causing the earth to warm up. There needs to be a way that could help reduce the amount of pollutants that are being released into our atmosphere. Although, many people are not taking global warming seriously because it is not directly affecting them in anyway. This is a problem because people are unaware that their actions can increase global warming. Also many people might not even know what is causing global warming, leaving them to make the wrong decisions. A big problem is that many people deny that global warming is even occurring. These problems are brought to our attention because global warming is really occurring and bringing devastating side effects along with it. There needs to be a way to inform and convince people on global warming, and how to keep it from becoming a bigger issue in the future of other generations. Society needs to work together as a team to help fight global warming so it does no cause anymore harm to the environment as it already has.
Greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane (CH4) are the major effects on global warming. Since 1958 scientists have been measuring the amount of CO2 that has been put off into the atmosphere. Their data indicated that there has been a steady increase of CO2 from a level of 315 parts per million in 1958 to 353 parts per million in 1990. This is about 0.4 percent increase a year. source The atmosphere absorbs half of the CO2 while the rest is being absorbed by trees and oceans, which will later be released causing more CO2 buildup. The greenhouse gases are caused by automobiles, coal-burning power plants, and the most recent research found on livestock production. It is surprising, but livestock production has caused more greenhouse gases then the transportation of automobiles, trains and etc. Livestock production releases CH4 which is much more potent then CO2. The livestock has the most effect on global warming because the livestock are being fed hormones, antibiotics, and the feed that they are fed are sprayed with fertilizers and pesticides. These consequences are causing major effects. source.
There are many issues that we have to face due to global warming. One major issue is the shrinking of forests for other uses such as cattle ranching and farming. There are over 50 million acres of forests being destroyed each year for other uses. People do not realize that trees play an important role for the environment. Trees are able to store a huge amount of CO2, but if cut down the CO2 is then released into the atmosphere causing an increase in the greenhouse gases. One tree can hold 13 pounds of CO2 per year, while a once acre forest can hold 2.8 tons per year. source. The government needs to step in to halt the destruction of trees. Another issue is storms are becoming stronger such as the incident of hurricane Katrina. This was devastating leaving many people injured and homeless. There are many other issues that global warming has caused such as, heat waves, climate changes, severe weather patterns, droughts, fires, heavy downpours and heavy snowfalls.The government needs to take action of this major issue so it does not become a more severe problem in the future. We need to take further steps and to make everyone well aware of this issue and use other alternatives to reduce the CO2 and CH4 levels in the environment.
Greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane (CH4) are the major effects on global warming. Since 1958 scientists have been measuring the amount of CO2 that has been put off into the atmosphere. Their data indicated that there has been a steady increase of CO2 from a level of 315 parts per million in 1958 to 353 parts per million in 1990. This is about 0.4 percent increase a year. source The atmosphere absorbs half of the CO2 while the rest is being absorbed by trees and oceans, which will later be released causing more CO2 buildup. The greenhouse gases are caused by automobiles, coal-burning power plants, and the most recent research found on livestock production. It is surprising, but livestock production has caused more greenhouse gases then the transportation of automobiles, trains and etc. Livestock production releases CH4 which is much more potent then CO2. The livestock has the most effect on global warming because the livestock are being fed hormones, antibiotics, and the feed that they are fed are sprayed with fertilizers and pesticides. These consequences are causing major effects. source.
There are many issues that we have to face due to global warming. One major issue is the shrinking of forests for other uses such as cattle ranching and farming. There are over 50 million acres of forests being destroyed each year for other uses. People do not realize that trees play an important role for the environment. Trees are able to store a huge amount of CO2, but if cut down the CO2 is then released into the atmosphere causing an increase in the greenhouse gases. One tree can hold 13 pounds of CO2 per year, while a once acre forest can hold 2.8 tons per year. source. The government needs to step in to halt the destruction of trees. Another issue is storms are becoming stronger such as the incident of hurricane Katrina. This was devastating leaving many people injured and homeless. There are many other issues that global warming has caused such as, heat waves, climate changes, severe weather patterns, droughts, fires, heavy downpours and heavy snowfalls.The government needs to take action of this major issue so it does not become a more severe problem in the future. We need to take further steps and to make everyone well aware of this issue and use other alternatives to reduce the CO2 and CH4 levels in the environment.
Topic Ideas
I am currently a sophomore in Civil and Environmental Engineering. There are many civil and environmental issues that are happening right here in the United States. Some of the most recent issues seen today in the news are so devastating , such as the incident of hurricane Katrina and the collapsing of the bridge in Minnesota. There are many factors of risk communication that we have to face dealing with these type of issues.
My first issue I would like to explore is the disposal of hazardous wastes. Hazardous waste is wastes that are a hazardous to humans, plants, and animals and needs special precautions to be disposed of. Hazardous wastes need to be disposed of properly otherwise it can get into the air we breathe and contaminate the water we drink. In many incidents we can avoid using hazardous wastes by using alternatives such as organic methods. For example, farmers spraying their crops can harm themselves by breathing in the pesticides and can also harm the environment by going into the ground water. I would like to research any possible alternatives that would cut back on hazardous wastes.
A second issue that I would like to explore is the effects of waste water on the environment. Waste water effects the environment because unwanted sewage finds its way to rivers and streams which can effect the wildlife in that area. In rural communities septic systems septic systems are a concern since they can leak untreated sewage into rivers and streams. Septic systems only last for a period of time until they can eventually fail because they get clogged with organic matter. If the waste water is not treated properly it can make its way to our tap water & cause sickness in humans and animals.
As a sophomore at Pitt in Civil and Environmental Engineering I have learned many concerns that are brought about to engineers on a day to day basis. Throughout the courses I have taken I really enjoyed learning about the ways to help improve the environment. This brings me to my main focus on global warming. I feel that the government needs to educate people who are not aware of global warming and its effects on the environment. It seems that people are only aware of global warming by the melting of glaciers and the earths temperate is increasing, but they do not know that this is bringing along weather related issues. By educating the public about this issue that is taking place we might be able to fight against global warming.
My first issue I would like to explore is the disposal of hazardous wastes. Hazardous waste is wastes that are a hazardous to humans, plants, and animals and needs special precautions to be disposed of. Hazardous wastes need to be disposed of properly otherwise it can get into the air we breathe and contaminate the water we drink. In many incidents we can avoid using hazardous wastes by using alternatives such as organic methods. For example, farmers spraying their crops can harm themselves by breathing in the pesticides and can also harm the environment by going into the ground water. I would like to research any possible alternatives that would cut back on hazardous wastes.
A second issue that I would like to explore is the effects of waste water on the environment. Waste water effects the environment because unwanted sewage finds its way to rivers and streams which can effect the wildlife in that area. In rural communities septic systems septic systems are a concern since they can leak untreated sewage into rivers and streams. Septic systems only last for a period of time until they can eventually fail because they get clogged with organic matter. If the waste water is not treated properly it can make its way to our tap water & cause sickness in humans and animals.
As a sophomore at Pitt in Civil and Environmental Engineering I have learned many concerns that are brought about to engineers on a day to day basis. Throughout the courses I have taken I really enjoyed learning about the ways to help improve the environment. This brings me to my main focus on global warming. I feel that the government needs to educate people who are not aware of global warming and its effects on the environment. It seems that people are only aware of global warming by the melting of glaciers and the earths temperate is increasing, but they do not know that this is bringing along weather related issues. By educating the public about this issue that is taking place we might be able to fight against global warming.
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