Thanks for two great discussions to get the course rolling.
Now that we've identified our audience as, broadly speaking, the UAS community, we want to begin to think about framing our message. This will entail thinking more carefully about what we know about this audience, and, moreover, thinking carefully about what elements of the science might be most important for this audience. So, what do you think: how can we best persuade the UAS community to not only understand the problem of climate change, but to change behavior in response to it, too?
How detailed do we need to be? Upon what criteria would you make these decisions?
Until tonight,
kevin
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5 comments:
Putting myself in our audience’s shoes, I would have to say that all of the scientific information is valuable. However, with this layer of information there needs to be some synthesis of it in order for it to be affective. Rather than just listing off data or using scientific jargon, it might be a good idea to break it down to specifics, things that people can see or imagine. With that come another layer— how “this” area of climate change affects our audience on a personal level. When the IPCC reports that terrestrial ecosystems may be significantly impacted by climate change, we want to show what exactly will be impacted (wildlife, jobs, hobbies, and so forth). Or if the IPCC report claims that crops will be devastated, what does that mean for us? What other areas of life are impacted by crop devastation? This same system of persuasion can be applied to every area the IPCC discusses. Bringing those answers to fruition will be the best way to persuade our audience.
Chris Grinder
To me, all the information in the world is useless if it lacks a connection with some sort of focus or theme that people can respond to.If I wrote a paper that contained lots of good information, and stopped there, people might begin to worry, but that is only half of what we need to do. If I enhanced that same paper with, say, a thesis saying recycle, then the people that read my paper will have a plan to follow if they are persuaded.
So what do we want our UAS community to be doing? and what information will best achieve our goal of persuasion?
However, the science is very important too and we need to make sure to match our science with the desired results.
Now what would be an effective plan for our audience? I think that sice our audience includes quite a variety of people, we might have a word of mouth campaign. I suppose what I mean by that is one way or another, we give out information to people about climate change, and then from there, those people will create a domino effect(hopefully). We could make a one page informative paper, and put them on all the billboards around campus perhaps.
Saffron Hayes:
Most important details for our audience
1.) The relationship between Carbon Emissions CO2 and temperature is most important concept in understanding global warming. In the past 100 years the rise in carbon emissions due to human activity has increased in atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration increasing the global mean temperature.
2.) Scientist have studied many different data variables such as tree rings, corals, ocean sediment, caves, boreholes, pollen and Co2 bubbles trapped in ice cores to arrive at the conclusion that humans are increasing the temperature of the planet by adding greenhouse gases into the atmosphere.
3.) If the mean temperature trend continues at this rate all life will be massively affected by climate change possibly going extinct. The greenhouse gas affect traps solar radiation under the blanket of greenhouse gases that accumulates and increases the temperature. The greenhouse affect is offsetting our current energy budget by reducing reflected solar energy and is negatively heating up the planet.
4.) About 1/3 of incoming solar radiation will either be reflected by clouds or ice back into the atmosphere. The other 2/3 of the solar radiation that does not get reflected will be absorbed by the Earth's surface. However, if there are lots of green house gases like there are today the majority of the outgoing radiation will be trapped by the thick atmosphere. This creates back radiation that heats up the planet. If our planet experiences to much more back radiation our climate will experience a shift in weather patterns. A dramatic shift in weather patterns will greatly impact the health of all living creatures.
5.) Change in Co2 concentration in our atmosphere will affect many different life forms. As the Co2 in the atmosphere is expected to increases the amount of forest fire and insect damage is also going to increase. Increasing Co2 will cause tundra to move farther north covering areas that once were covered in snow. Less snow causes less solar radiation to be reflected that will heat up the planet and raise sea levels. Areas once covered by ice will become home to many shrubs and bushes. If the lakes, ponds and soil moisture can't support forest expansion, forests are at risk. Dry forests rave a greater risk of burning which could result in a large release of carbon into the atmosphere.
6.) As the permafrost melts from increased Co2 the frozen ground will become soft and erode. Many Alaska villages are built near the coast our on permafrost. People will have to relocate if the coast erodes and the permafrost melts.
7.) More lakes and ponds that melt due to the warming temperature trend will release more carbon into the atmosphere. This change in the hydrology creates risk of fresh water contamination and disease. Melting permafrost also will release carbon stored in gas hydrates deep within the soil up into the atmosphere.
8.) Warmer waters will change all ecosystems. Increased ocean temperature destroys rich coral ecosystems. Corals provide many homes and recourses for many types of marine animals. Phytoplankton blooms will affect the oceans acidity and increase global temperature.
9.) Climate change evidence shows that ice ages have happened several times throughout the Earth's history. However the critical difference between climate changes in the pass and the possible climate change we are experiencing today is the concentration of Co2. Since humans have started clearing cutting large amounts of forests and burning lots of fossil fuels the amount of Co2 concentration in the atmosphere today is much higher than Co2 concentrations from previous ice ages.
10.) Scientist performing ice core studies can look at the isotope concentration in Co2 bubbles frozen 650 million years ago and determine the current temperature and atmosphere composition from past times. By comparing Co2 concentrations from earlier ice ages to today's current Co2 amount we have come to a startling and inconvenient truth. Humans have added more Co2 to the atmosphere faster than has ever been observed in the past. This means that our future ice age is more dangerous than previous
climate changes.
11.) According to the Juneau Panel on Climate Change, they have found sold evidence that glaciers in southeast Alaska are thinning at a rate of more than 10 feet per year at lower elevations. The only glacier that I have herd of not thinning, is the Taku glacier. The Take glacier is neither getting larger or smaller in mass, it remains in an equilibrium state. According to the Juneau Ice field Research Program, the Taku is a tidewater glacier that formerly calved, but is now advancing slowly over its outwash delta. Taku Glacier had a continuously had positive mass balance from 1946–1994, that has driven the continued advance (Pelto and Miller, 1990). From 1988–2005 mass balance has been slightly negative. Look at the Taku graphs I have sent you if you are interested. I pay a lot of attention to the glaciers that are still around and I hope the Juneau Ice field remains throughout my life time, because it is very beautiful and helps provide life.
Our audience needs the human interest incorporated with scientific fact. Many people ask why does this matter and it won't affect me in this lifetime why change? Our audience needs to feel connected with other people and the environment. They need to be emotionally involved with the scientific fact. If pie charts and graphs mean almost nothing show them pictures, tell stories or narratives. Open their eyes to the world around them. Just like when writing essays "Show rather than tell." Connect old age with young age. Climate change is happening now. It may sound ultra cheesy but what makes people care about their environment? Connect them with something they care about. All people must care about something whether it be money, family, food.
I agree with most of what has been said. I do not think that our audience should have a hundred things tossed at them. Instead, I think we should give them not only very specific facts but facts that are either new to them or said in a new way. After all our audience has heard it all before and repetition will get us no where. Our audience needs to be shocked out of dormancy. Getting their attention is the first step to getting them involved. I think the best way to get UAS involved is to plant something solid in their minds, give them facts and information in a way that they can not only understand, but also something that is an attention grabber, something that sticks in their minds. Somehow we need to make them want to take action instead of just telling them they need to take action and having willing participants is a thousand times better than unwilling. Shoving information down their thoughts and telling them “do this, do that” is definitely not the way to go.
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