HR: 0800h
AN: ED21A-0050    [Abstracts]
TI: Communicating Climate Change Science: Conundrum Or Creative Challenge?
AU: * Casey, A G
EM: acasey@nsidc.org
AF: National Snow and Ice Data Center, UCB 449, Boulder, CO 80309 United States
AU: Webster, K
EM: kwebster@nsidc.org
AF: National Snow and Ice Data Center, UCB 449, Boulder, CO 80309 United States
AU: Unger, H M
EM: marijke@nsidc.org
AF: National Snow and Ice Data Center, UCB 449, Boulder, CO 80309 United States
AB: "Climate change" may seem like a mild or politically motivated name for what most lay people know as "global warming." But the term is correct for what is happening to our planet, and it is an issue that scientific research organizations must address. Regardless of whether public outreach is part of an organization's mission, getting data to the scientific community usually is. Scientists are being asked the questions "Is global warming real? Is it just a scare tactic by environmentalists? What does it have to do with me?" So all research organizations must step up to help answer these questions. As National Geographic has done so well in its September 2004 issue "Global Warning," science outreach must not be afraid to deliver clear information and let the reader decide. Readers from any educational background can be made aware of the fact that many climate indicators are changing, even things in their own regions. One of the challenges is the sheer amount of information available. A creative way to address this problem is to present material that relates to peoples' local regions. Another challenge is that providing this alarming information can scare people. One way to deal with this issue is to present ways that people can participate in slowing the human impact on our planet.
DE: 6600 PUBLIC ISSUES
DE: 1600 GLOBAL CHANGE (New category)
DE: 1620 Climate dynamics (3309)
DE: 0815 Informal education
DE: 0999 General or miscellaneous
SC: Education and Human Resourcese [ED]
MN: 2004 AGU Fall Meeting