Communicating Climate Change

When looking up information concerning the growing issue of climate change on the internet one come across statistics such as, "Average temperatures have climbed 1.4 degrees Fahrenheit (0.8 degrees Celsius) around the world since 1880, a good bit of this in recent decades" according to NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies, or " The Arctic is feeling the consequences by far the most. Average temperatures in Alaska, western Canada and eastern Russia have written at two- fold the global average. Polar Bears and indigenous cultures are already affected by the damage this has inflicted upon the sea ice." For the average American struggling with unemployment, paying their kids college tuition and trying to finance their retirement after funds were depleted in the recent crash, these statistics mean little to nothing to them, and give them no motivation to consider climate change a serious issue that will effect them any time in the near future. In fact, according to a study by the Yale Project on Climate Change and Communication since 2010 there has been a decline in energy conservation behaviors, in a large part due to the heavy economic downturn. I was shocked to discover that despite the copious amounts of research into climate change and the alarming effects of global warming only about 40% of the total population is very worried or somewhat worried about the effects of global warming. This is in part because humans are naturally egocentric and without awareness about how it could affect their personal lives, many people just won't care.

However, as we spoke about in class the solution to climate change is different from a cure for cancer. A small group of experts who are aware of and have extensive knowledge of the problem will not be able to find the solution and fix it for everybody. Rather, it is imperative to advance public understanding and engagement with climate change science and thereby catalyze action by the general public, leaders of government, business, academia and the media to work together towards a solution. For any progress in regards to climate change to take place it is essential that the gap between climate science and climate policy be bridged; in our highly politicized world this can only take place through massive public support.

The support of the public is not won over easily and it is a plaguing question as to who exactly is in charge of communicating about science. In my opinion, it is not as much a question of who communicates about it but rather how it is framed in order to foster public acceptance. The importance of framing to activate participation from a wider, more diverse and otherwise inattentive public is highlighted in the Nisbet article. This especially applies to the issue of climate change, by looking at the issue through the framework of the economy and national security ordinary Americans will be energized and ready to take action. Looking at the need for renewable energy sources that reduce our impact on the environment as a new green initiative that will stimulate job creation is a way to encourage Americans to jump on the climate change bandwagon.

In my home state of Kentucky, many people for many years were adamant that the consequences of climate change and that they would all be dead by the time any of the negative effects affected anyone, additionally, since the coal industry is integral to the economy people were extremely reluctant to make any changes. However, studies performed at the University of Kentucky highlighted not only immediate negative health effects of the coal industry but also the potential growth in the economy that could result from the investment in green industries such as nuclear and solar power. These studies were highly publicized by the local media and were in a large part successful in changing many people's attitudes towards environmental concern. This change in attitude is in part because the new studies and news reports re-framed the issue to make it one of immediacy rather than a doomsday far in the future.

As shown in my home state, Universities are integral to enhancing communication with the general public about science. Universities are fashioned to be the sight of cooperation between multiple disciplines to bring about positive results for society.  I found that Yale University is leading the way through its Forum on climate change and the media. The online forum fosters dialogue among climate scientists, journalists, policy makers and the public, four groups that often suffer from a great disconnect. One of its most important features is providing climate scientists with practical insight on how to inform the public about climate change- this cooperation between all sectors is exactly what needs to be seen in forums around the country. It allows journalists to take a complicated scientific concept, realize its broader implications for society and effectively convey this to the public who are eager for increased information.

It is not the issue that the public chooses to be ignorant about problems, but rather than they are not presented with the problems in a way that allows them to recognize their necessity and significance. The US government should take a lesson from Yale University in the way that it portrays the issue of climate change on the website for the conference in Copenhagen. Although the conference was meant to energize and stimulate people internationally about the importance of environmental reform to combat climate change I saw the website as a list of articles that no one would really take the time to read, and the articles themselves made broad abstract statements about cutting fuel emissions that mean little to nothing to the general public. It is the responsibility of the US government to highlight the economic ramifications of environmental initiatives especially in this time of economic peril. For example, illustrating the hand in hand nature of our deplorable economic situation and excessive dependence on oil I have no doubt will energize the public.

Once environmental issues are no longer presented as abstract concepts, by way of journalists and policy makers understanding the issues and how they relate to public life, I am sure that the public will take initiative and allow and facilitate implementation of effective reform. 

Citizen Journalists saving Journalism

The Internet and other communication technologies have revolutionized journalism, transforming it into a media imperceptible to the journalism of forty years ago. The Internet has enabled millions of people all over the world to gain instant access to copious amounts of news, media, entertainment and general information in the blink of an eye. However, more importantly, it has empowered the common person to share their own personal account of the world with millions of other ordinary citizens grasping for some truth in the whirlwind of information they are bombarded with on a daily basis. The rise of citizen journalism is one of the hallmark achievements of the 21st century.

However, for this to be possible it is integral that the Internet is truly a source of free exchange, where all of the information including unpleasant particulars, are present online for the people to read and evaluate as they wish. I never before realized what a luxury it was to have access to any amount of information I wanted online, and then be able to blog, tweet, comment or post my own views about it without the government previewing and editing what they will. But then when I thought about it again, I realized it is not a luxury; It is a right. People all over the world should have the right to freedom of information and freedom of speech. Just as economists would say that free trade is imperative to world economic prosperity, I would say that the free flow of information is an equally important step to protect the freedom and basic rights of citizens internationally in our ever-globalizing world. However, a major issue remains that some of the emerging world leaders are trying to put a halt to this free flow of information; most potently China. 

I recently read an article, posted below, regarding China's censorship barriers that last till this day. It is preposterous to think that an emerging superpower could still practice such arcane methods of trying to control and limit the freedoms of its citizens and that the world can stand by idly and watch and big world corporations can collaborate with the practice. In the midst of the Japanese nuclear crisis Chinese government propaganda officials banned independent reporting of possible radioactive contamination from Japan’s stricken Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. This directive represented more that just a single instance of censorship, but rather represents a larger ideal of the Chinese government that the press and media should be used for their purposes rather than the purpose of the common people; the Chinese government do not consider the media an independent entity, but rather a larger arm of the government to target people and achieve their own aims. They justify this system to the world by claiming that it promotes "harmony" and "stability" within the country. However, the facts speak for themselves, the system of censorship is a clear violation of their own constitution that explicitly allows for freedom of speech and the press.

 I am in shock that the world has not been up in arms, as they were when Mubarak shut down the Internet earlier this year. However, in China when Egyptian protesters spilled into Cairo’s Tahir Square in January 2011 to demand democracy and respect for human rights, China’s censors responded by blocking keyword searches of the word “Egypt.” The Chinese were not even allowed to know that others were in uproar about the denial of the same rights that were not extended to them and they took without questions. Not only does China's censorship policies infringe the human rights of the people of China by denying them access to information that could possibly reform their way of life and pave the way for a better future. But it also masks the many other human rights atrocities that could be going on in their country from the rest of the world. Consequently the rest of the world has chosen to turn the other cheek and accept China's facade about moving towards a more democratic nation. Even mainstream companies such as Facebook that we envision as a champion of free speech here in the USA have caved to the demands of the Chinese government and allow them to dictate the terms of censorship. The apparent willingness of countries to lower their standards on basic human dignities brings me to my next point: the importance of the emerging citizen journalists.

Unlike companies, government and current large media conglomerates citizen journalists are the sole entity that are able to work without the barrier of economic interests holding them back, and thus oftentimes can give a much more reliable picture of the conditions in the world. According to the readings, 72 percent of Americans agree that the major news organizations are biased in their coverage, often times only covering the stories that they think people want to hear, leaving out the important knock out news. For example, the organization that I am working with this summer GoodWeave International sent independent journalists to Nepal and India to uncover the true conditions of child laborers in these countries. What they found shocking, and it clearly needed to be shared with the world. Although, at first they attempted to go through the major news outlets they were severely disappointed with the reluctance they were met with the air the "faces of freedom" video that the independent journalist shot. This reluctance comes from the journalistic elitism of many of the news organizations, but GoodWeave was not deterred and instead posted the videos online for all to see, with an overwhelming response from the public. This situation exemplifies the triumph of the citizen journalist in the new age of information and the necessity that everyone report on what is going on around them and about causes that they believe in even if they are swept over and ignored by the mainstream media, this does not mean they will be ignored by the world. The new Internet age propagates information all over the world, and should be world-wide, free for all to receive and spread information so that citizen journalists can overcome government limitation, economic motivations and political bias to deliver the real truth to the world.

Link to Article:

http://wpfd2011.org/targeting-chinas-media-censorship-barriers

Cellular Cyclone- Sweeping Up the Developing World

In the past decade  cell phones have emerged as a technology as essential to everyday life as electricity or heating. Cell Phones have expanded beyond their primitive role as a mere form of communication and become a portable multimedia hub that is essential to both social and economic growth. There are approximately five billion cell phones in use as of now, and that number is quickly growing. Cellphones differentiate from other technological phenomenons such as I- pods or because of their universal utility. It is not only the middle class of well- developed nations who are able to make use of it. In fact, it is often the lower classes of the developing world for whom this technology is most beneficial. 

For example, when I went to India last summer I noticed that all of the rickshaw ( the Indian version of cabs) drivers in Pune were talking on cellphones. I was at first shocked, thinking about the enormous cost of cellphones and wondering if they could even afford it, but I quickly realized the multiple advantages of a cell phone for these drivers. First of all the cell phones allows for collaboration between rickshaw drivers, if there is an area with a lot of potential customers they can all benefit from it. Secondly, previously one had to wait on the corner of a busy street and hope that an empty rickshaw would emerge but now an on-call rickshaw service has evolved analogous to the cab services in America. Customers can call a company and the company can call the drivers cell phones and deploy them to the appropriate locations. As referenced in the "Innovations Reading," for workers in developing countries cell phones can often serve as both the home and work line. This not only more cost effective for the worker, but serves as a paradigm example for the "blurring of lives and livelihoods" by ICT. The cellphone not only allows economic benefits but provides a mechanism through which drivers family can contact them and know where they (through GPS tracking technology), thereby improving familial relationships. The positive impact that cellphones have broaden beyond the drivers themselves and in fact contribute to societal welfare as a whole. It improves the economic efficiency of the rickshaw drivers as well as the time efficiency of others. Additionally, it allows for the increased standard of living for these rickshaw drivers that is then spent back into the Indian economy, raising the standard of living of the country as a whole. The rickshaw drivers in India serve as a quintessential example of the importance of the principle of inclusion. The more people that are involved in the use of communication technologies, in particular the cell phone, the greater social benefit that is derived from the technology. 

From my experiences, I can't help but question the gravity of the "digital divide." Yes, it is clear that the technology is much more prevalent in the more developed areas of the world such as. However, it is also clear that cellphones are gradually, through natural progression driven by market forces proliferating into the underdeveloped societies. For society as a whole to develop it is integral that this natural progression is both swift and successful. It is particularly important to ensure that minority groups such as women are able to share in the benefits of the cell phone technology, because it is in fact these minorities who derive the most benefit. I found an interesting article online detailing the benefits that women derive from cell phone usage in both Kenya and India. (The Link is Posted at the End of the Blog Post) In cultures that typically isolate women, most often by keeping them home bound, cell phones give these women access to information about the outside world previously inaccessible.  include details of reduced fee programs to send their daughters to school. The cell phones allow women to cultivate better relationships with those outside their home and stay connected to their own family who they have moved away from. Though these positive effects are there it is important to note that cellphones do not address underlying issues of inequality such as imbalanced education and the burden of domestic labor forced upon many women. ICT is a great step for society in the realm of economics, social network, health and education, but it is only a step to bridge the societal inequality that persists globally to this day. 

http://www.mobiledia.com/news/92204.html