Communicating ocean acidification across barriers: Stories and strategies from a year around the world
Between July 2012-2013, I traveled on a Thomas J. Watson Fellowship studying how human communities in Norway, Hong Kong, Thailand, New Zealand, the Cook Islands and Peru might be affected by ocean acidification. I interviewed, lived and worked with hundreds of members of marine dependent communities...
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| Format: | Text |
| Language: | English |
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Western CEDAR
2014
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| Online Access: | https://cedar.wwu.edu/ssec/2014ssec/Day2/179 https://cedar.wwu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1305&context=ssec |
| Summary: | Between July 2012-2013, I traveled on a Thomas J. Watson Fellowship studying how human communities in Norway, Hong Kong, Thailand, New Zealand, the Cook Islands and Peru might be affected by ocean acidification. I interviewed, lived and worked with hundreds of members of marine dependent communities, investigating how they valued resources threatened by ocean acidification. The vast majority of the community members I worked with had no knowledge of ocean acidification and poor ocean literacy. Thus, I developed tools to communicate and contextualize this complex science issue across language and cultural barriers. I found the best method of communication was to explain the science of ocean acidification in a personalized, narrative format, drawing from the lives of my audience to make connections between ocean acidification and resources and practices they value. In order to do this, I needed to listen carefully to the needs and concerns of each community. In this talk, I will share examples of how I did this in a variety of communities, ranging from Seventh Day Adventists in the Cook Islands to scallop farmers in Peru. |
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