'Environmental Literacy' series … The seven environmental literacy points for Moreton Bay (Australia) are the following:

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Scientists whose work has affected society are noteworthy for their abilities to a) produce good scientific results, b) effectively communicate these results to broad audiences and c) affect decisions and perspectives of society. These noteworthy scientists will be celebrated in this blog series on 'Scientists who made a difference'. Of the four pillars of scholarship defined by Boyer in 1990 (Scholarship Reconsidered:

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Environmental literacy refers to the most basic information necessary for the broadest understanding of a topic that non-experts need to possess to be conversant about the topic. Just as literacy or numeracy refers to the basic ability necessary to read or perform mathematical tasks, environmental literacy provides the basic ability to make informed environmental decisions.

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Science communication using visual elements can convey unambiguous information that words cannot. Words are often used by lawyers and journalists to argue cases or make points - science is an attempt to base arguments on all the facts available, not just the 'convenient' facts used to support an argument. Words can be interpreted in a variety of ways, but data is less ambiguous.

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A well conceived and creatively constructed map can elucidate scientific concepts and effectively communicate important concepts. There are many examples of beautiful maps focusing on various geographic features, but this collection of classic scientific maps is notable for the scientific meaning that they convey. They are presented in chronological order. 1) Gulf Stream:

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We had beautiful views of the Roebling Bridge from our workshop developing a Mississippi River report card in Covington, Kentucky. After the workshop was over, Bill Nuttle and I walked across the Roebling Bridge from Kentucky to Ohio. The Roebling bridge was built during the Civil War and completed in 1866. At this time, it was the longest suspension bridge in the world, although now there are 121 longer suspension bridges in the world.

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A large IAN contingent gathered along the banks of the Ohio River for the second in a series of workshops designed to develop a report card for the Mississippi River. Heath Kelsey, Bill Nuttle, Caroline Wicks, Brianne Walsh and I collaborated with our colleagues at America's Watershed Initiative to run a workshop in a Covington, Kentucky hotel with fantastic views of the Ohio River, with the Cincinnati skyline as a backdrop.

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The Swedish embassy organized a two day conference, "The Economics of the Ocean", which occurred at the House of Sweden, located at the confluence of Rock Creek and the Potomac River. The House of Sweden conference room was all windows, with superb views of the Theodore Roosevelt Bridge, the Francis Scott Key bridge, Roosevelt Island, Kennedy Center, and the Watergate Hotel.

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I attended a fundraiser event, sponsored by the Midshore Riverkeeper Conservancy at the Avalon Theatre in Easton Maryland on 22 November. The Wild & Scenic Film Festival was started in 2003 by a watershed advocacy group based in California, the South Yuba River Citizens League. This group holds an annual three day event in Nevada City, CA, but then sponsors a one night festival which has spread to over 100 communities nationally.

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Classic conceptual diagrams are those 'thought drawings' that have been judged over time to be effective ways to communicate knowledge. Classic diagrams are emulated repeatedly and appear in text books and in popular media. In order to select a diverse top ten list from many worthy candidates, I selected a representative diagram from different fields of study. The list is presented in chronological order, with the first conceptual diagrams at the beginning of the list. 1. Astronomy:

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