HR: 0800h
AN: ED11C-1110    [Abstracts]
TI: An Implementing Strategy for Promoting Environmental Literacy as an OFCM Crosscutting Priority
AU: * McCalla, M R
EM: Margaret.R.Mccalla@noaa.gov
AF: U.S. Commerce Department, 8455 Colesville Road Suite 1500, Silver Spring, MD 20910 United States
AB: The National Environmental Education Advisory Council of the Environmental Protection Agency defines environmental education as "the interdisciplinary process of developing a citizenry that is knowledgeable about the total environment in its natural and built aspects and has the capacity and commitment to insure environmental quality by engaging in inquiry, problem solving, decision making and action." This definition calls for providing citizens (whether child or adult) with a basic understanding of the concepts within science in order to manage their lives. Literacy defined in this manner is the foundation of national security, economic growth, health, and prosperity. Promoting science literacy, therefore, is absolutely critical to every citizen. It is not just about ensuring that people become scientists or have a career that is engaged in the sciences. Promoting environmental literacy means providing people with a means of confronting the science as it confronts them in their personal and/or professional lives. The Office of the Federal Coordinator for Meteorological Services and Supporting Research (OFCM) is an interdepartmental office established in response to Public Law 87-843 with the mission to ensure the effective use of federal meteorological resources by leading the systematic coordination of operational weather and climate requirements, services, products, and supporting research among the federal agencies. Through interdepartmental collaboration, the OFCM and the agencies within its coordinating infrastructure have a direct environmental literacy impact on the public, private, and academic sectors. For example, governmental departments and agencies within the OFCM infrastructure have provided a number of education, outreach, and training opportunities to end users, helping them understand and apply weather and climate information in their endeavors. Thus promoting environmental literacy is not new to the OFCM. What is new, however, is that for the first time, the OFCM has laid out a vision, framework, and methodology which the OFCM will embrace to systematically promote and execute environmental literacy through interdepartmental collaboration within the OFCM coordinating infrastructure. The methodology defines how to determine if an opportunity to promote environmental literacy exists. It also describes the method to be used to determine the target public, private, and/or academic sector audiences and the appropriate and effective roles for all stakeholders, particularly the end users of the information. The methodology also identifies the means for determining the optimal channels, formats, and content for informing end users in time for effective action to be taken. A key element of the methodology is to improve the overall understanding and use of forecast and warning products and to exploit current and emerging technologies to improve the dissemination of customer-tailored forecast and warning information and products to stakeholders and users. As a result, determining the target audiences' needs and a means for assessing how those needs are being met is incorporated into the methodology as well. Executing this methodology will result in a Nation better able to understand the linkages between weather and climate and personal and professional choices and to build a national capacity to solve problems and respond to change. It will provide for a more environmentally literate citizenry. The OFCM model for promoting environmental literacy and its component parts will be shared with the meeting participants.
DE: 0810 Post-secondary education
DE: 0815 Informal education
DE: 6600 PUBLIC ISSUES
SC: Education and Human Resources [ED]
MN: Fall Meeting 2005