11-19-2009

Most Americans believe they know more about the environment than they actually do: Just 12 percent can pass a basic test on energy awareness; only 40 percent can correctly define the term "watershed" in a multiple-choice format; and about 80 percent are influenced by outdated information and environmental myths.  This talk will explore how the National Environmental Education Foundation's (NEEF) Earth Gauge program, in partnership with the American Meteorological Society (AMS), takes an innovative approach to raising environmental literacy by conveying information to the public through a trusted media source - broadcast meteorologists.

The weather report is the most-watched segment of the news and because there is a natural link between weather and the environment, broadcast meteorologists are uniquely poised to educate the public about environmental topics in their communities.  To help meteorologists make the connection, Earth Gauge distributes a free, weekly e-newsletter with environmental information and stewardship tips for viewers tied to the local 3-day forecast in U.S. cities.  The program also provides free online environmental education courses with a relationship to ongoing weather reporting (Watersheds: Connecting Weather to the Environment; Weather and the Built Environment; Weather and the Public's Health; Climate Change: Fitting the Pieces Together) to help meteorologists understand and cover environmental topics.  Online courses count for professional development credit under the AMS Certified Broadcast Meteorologist program, which is intended to encourage a broader range of scientific knowledge and raise professional standards in the field.  Courses are also being integrated into undergraduate atmospheric science programs to help students position themselves as "station scientists" before they enter into the field.