Blog posts for the Science for Environmental Management course
Table 1 The media information chain (modified from Herbert O. Funsten, 2003)

Scientists in Media: “Give me a microphone, and I shall waken the world”

Wenfei Ni, Martina Gonzalez Mateur, Stephanie Siemek ·
21 April 2015
| Science Communication |     4 comments

Wenfei Ni, Martina Gonzalez Mateu, Stephanie Siemek … Taking a last glance of the materials on the table, Rona Kobell from the Bay Journal adjusted her glasses, and asked clearly, “ Why is anyone still fishing in the Anacostia River anyway if it is very polluted? “It is because lots of urban families nearby just go fishing there for relaxation.

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Fig.1 Expert witness are needed to translate scientific jargons into understandable concepts for the judge. Figure by Fan Zhang.

Do’s and Don’ts: How scientists and the law can exist in tandem

Fan Zhang, Emily Russ, Whitney Hoot ·
14 April 2015
| Science Communication | Applying Science |     4 comments

Fan Zhang, Emily Russ, Whitney Hoot … When we talk about scientists, we envision someone wearing a lab coat and exploring nature’s mysteries, a professor passing knowledge to the next generation or a group of people who enjoy debating and discussing abstruse topics. We know that these are important professional activities for scientists, in academia and beyond. But sometimes scientists have more challenging jobs: dealing with the law, and it can be a nightmare if it goes wrong.

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Figure 1 The six segments of the American public based on climate change beliefs, attitudes, policy preferences, and behaviors identified by Yale/ George Mason University (2014). [[i]]

Climate change: teaching the public these are not dirty words

Stephanie Siemek, Wenfei Ni, Sabrina Klick ·
1 April 2015
| Science Communication | Applying Science |     3 comments

Stephanie Siemek, Wenfei Ni, Sabrina Klick … The words climate change are not dirty words, nevertheless, in some cases it is controversial to even mention it. Climate change has an immense amount of support from scientific data, models, research, as well as current day observation. Yet, many people refuse to believe it. Websites have even been developed to combat skepticism such as SkepticalScience.com and realclimate.org.

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Figure 1. Diagram shows how factors influencing environmental science and management vary along the maturity gradient, in the context of the four case studies described in this blog.

How the past influences the future: Understanding the maturity gradient in environmental science and management

Whitney Hoot, Adriane Michaelis, Martina Gonzalez Mateur ·
25 March 2015
| Science Communication |     5 comments

Whitney Hoot, Adrianne Michaelis, Martina Gonzalez Mateur … Coastal and marine management systems vary along gradients; this semester, we’ve discussed gradients of size (in terms of physical area) and human population. Less obvious is the maturity gradient - how recent is the environmental management and the science informing the management of an ecosystem? How does this gradient correlate with other environmental management continuums? And why does the maturity gradient matter?

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Image 1. Graduate students and professors from across the state came together at the UMCES IAN office in Annapolis on March 7th to learn about effective science communication. It was a great opportunity for the class to come together, rather than meeting through our normal means of video conferencing. (Google Maps, 2015).

How many scientists does it take to make a good story? Learning the art of communicating science

Aimee Hoover, Cara Schweitzer, Suzi Spitzer ·
17 March 2015
| Science Communication |     3 comments

Aimee Hoover, Cara Schweitzer, Suzi Spitzer … The words ‘science’ and ‘communication’ are too often disjointed in the eyes of academic scientists. Science involves building and organizing knowledge through testable explanations and predictions, while communication describes the exchange of information and meaning across time and space using various means. Scientists are often guilty of providing subpar explanations of their work.

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Figure 1. EPA's plan in order to ensure Chesapeake Bay restoration goals are met by 2025 (EPA 2015).

Chesapeake Bay Science and Management: A need for more effective scientific communication and adaptive management

Sabrina Klick, Stephanie Siemek, Wenfei Ni ·
11 March 2015
| Science Communication | Applying Science |     3 comments

Sabrina Klick, Stephanie Siemek, Wenfei Ni … The Chesapeake Bay Program (CBP) was established in 1983 and started the partnership between the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the state of Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and the District of Columbia (NRC 2011). The partnership expanded in 2002 with the addition of Delaware, New York, and West Virginia under the Memorandum of Understanding.

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Fig.1. The relationship between population size between complexity among case studies.

Population and Environment Case Studies: Local Approaches to a Global Challenge

Chih-Hsien (Michelle) Lin, Detbra Rosales, Melanie Jackson ·
25 February 2015
| Science Communication |     2 comments

Chih-Hsien (Michelle) Lin, Detbra Rosales, Melanie Jackson … It is apparent that we now live in a new epoch, the Anthropocene (IGBP, 2001), in which Earth’s environment and climate is mainly controlled by human activity. Environmental damage is accelerating on a global scale. As the world’s population increases, improving standards of living without destroying or degrading the natural environment becomes a challenge.

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Figure 1 Scientists (left) and advocates (right) have different objectives, but they can meet in the middle to achieve common goals using advocacy coalitions

Achieving Sustainability at the Nexus of Science, Advocacy, and Policy

Emily Russ, Aimee Hoover, Whitney Hoot ·
18 February 2015
| Science Communication | Applying Science |     6 comments

Emily Russ, Aimee Hoover, Whitney Hoot … Nearly 500 years ago, Nicholas Copernicus determined the Earth revolved around the sun. Scientists and philosophers hotly contested this radical idea in the sixteenth century, but further research eventually confirmed Copernicus' observations. This globally accepted understanding, or paradigm, that the sun is the center of our solar system was the result of this scientific effort.

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Fig 1: Integration in decision-making should involve all stakeholders including citizens, scientists, government, industry representatives, and community leaders. Credit: Jane Thomas, IAN Image Library

Ecosystem Based Management: The challenge of change

Martina Gonzalez Mateur, Adriane Michaelis, Suzi Spitzer ·
10 February 2015
| Applying Science |     5 comments

Martina Gonzalez Mateu, Adrianne Michaelis, Suzi Spitzer … Increasing knowledge about ecosystem dynamics over the past several decades has allowed us to make positive changes in our approach to resource management. In the past, management goals primarily focused on protecting single species, and tried to restore ecosystems to historical states that were considered desirable.

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