| Communication and Education |
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 The combination of climate variability, including costly
impacts of recent climate extremes, and
human-induced climate change have propelled climate science to the forefront of
societal discourse—not just among scientists and academics but also among
policy leaders, resource managers, business leaders, educators, the news media,
and concerned citizens. People
want to know how climate change and variability affect their lives and
livelihoods and whether humans can and should do something about
global warming. There is a growing imperative for the actionable climate and
environmental information that is needed to inform resource management, planning, and
other decisions taking place across the Nation.
Communications, education, and engagement is therefore a
growing priority of the USGCRP. Past USGCRP communications efforts have
largely focused on
public outreach, media relations, ensuring transparency of assessment
reports, and distribution of those reports. However, recent studies on
the state
of public climate science literacy make it clear that new approaches to
public
communications are needed to more effectively inform the public about
climate and global change science. Thus, to raise awareness of the
Program’s critical information resources
and the scientific understanding of the climate system, USGCRP
strategies are embracing new
technologies and methods for making information accessible to a wide
range public audiences. USGCRP also pursues a broad range of education activities. USGCRP
serves as a forum for the development of a national climate and climate
change education
strategy for its' member and related agencies, coordinates those
activities across the member groups, and makes recommendations to
agency management on all aspects of USGCRP educational activities. If you have questions or suggestions about USGCRP communications efforts, please email the Communications Manager. |
