Caron Chess

Evaluating Environmental Public Participation: Methodological Questions

Increasingly, environmental agencies are engaged in public participation activities. Unfortunately, the limited evaluation of public participation programmes also makes improvement of such programmes more difficult. To encourage further thinking about the evaluation of environmental public participation programmes, this article discusses some of the basic issues raised by evaluators of social programmes (e.g. unemployment and housing, etc.) that have served as methodological proving grounds for evaluation. These issues include why evaluate and what and how to evaluate, as well as questions concerning the role of evaluators. To illustrate ways in which evaluators of environmental public participation programmes have grappled with these issues, examples of different methodological approaches are included. Finally, based on this review, recommendations are made to improve evaluations of environmental public participation programmes, such as increasing evaluation aimed at making mid-course corrections, which includes involving participants in evaluation and assessing a variety of participatory goals.

Speaking Like a State: Environmental Justice and Fish Consumption Advisories

ABSTRACT Government agencies fail to communicate effectively to key audiences about the hazards of eating self-caught, contaminated fish. As a result, government is not protecting African Americans, Latinos, and other ethnic groups that are disproportionately exposed to chemicals that contaminate the catch of recreational anglers. This review argues that remedying this environmental injustice requires agencies to change “government-speak” (bland, generic communication) to communication that is culturally relevant to minority audiences. We summarize research indicating that these audiences understand the meaning and significance of properly targeted risk communication. Finally, we explore the organizational problems within government that may hinder effective communication, perpetuating this environmental injustice.

Creating a Climate for Change: Information is not enough

Introduction Communication about climate change is as complex as the science. Among the most difficult communication challenges is persuading people to act on a problem such as climate change, which is not immediately relevant or easily solved. The challenge becomes even more difficult when you ask people to change routine behavior, such as how they get to work or set their home thermostat. Not surprisingly, after years of schooling, many readers of this volume probably come to it believing that information changes attitudes and behaviors. Some may go so far as to think information is a cure. Filling eyes and ears with sufficient data may seem a means of cleansing the brain of misguided opinions and incorrect facts, and replacing them with “appropriate” beliefs. Many informational efforts to promote environmentally responsible behavior lean on an implicit theory of behavior (Costanzo et al ., 1986) that “right” behavior naturally follows from “right” thinking. However, more knowledge does not necessarily lead to more appropriate behavior, or even behavior deemed more appropriate by the educator or communicator (Johnson, 1993; Fischhoff, 1995). Social science theory and much empirical research show that links between information and behavior can be tenuous at best. Information is not entirely inconsequential, but it is much overrated as a change agent (see a discussion of the so-called “deficit model” in Sturgis and Allum, 2004; see also Tribbia, Chapter 15, this volume). Advocates for precautionary action may find it difficult to accept the fragile link between information and behavior.

Evaluating Risk Communication about Fish Consumption Advisories: Efficacy of a Brochure versus a Classroom Lesson in Spanish and English

Presentation format can influence the way target audiences understand risk-related information. Brochures or fish fact sheets are the methods traditionally used by state agencies to inform the public about fish consumption advisories and the risks from consuming fish. This study examines the efficacy of presenting information about the risks from consuming contaminated fish and shellfish in two different formats: a brochure and classroom presentation. The two instruments were developed and tested in Spanish and English, reflecting the local ethnic composition in the Newark Bay Complex. The instruments were tested on women of child-bearing age at the Women, Infants, and Children Center in Elizabeth, New Jersey. Detailed diagrams were used in both presentations, including contaminated fish species, fish preparation methods, and food chain bioaccumulation and transmission to the fetus. There were few language-related differences in the efficacy of the classroom lesson, and the main ideas were understood by both groups. Where there were significant differences in understanding about the risks from consuming fish or crabs from the contaminated waters of Newark Bay, in all cases the women exposed to the classroom lesson had a better understanding than those who read the brochure. Ninety-six percent of the women who heard the lesson understood that it was unsafe to eat fish from the port, compared to 72% of those reading the brochure. Both formats succeeded in imparting information to most women about the area under advisories, the fish species under advisories, and transmission of toxins to the fetus. Information on fish preparation was recalled less clearly, partly because women were asked to relate methods to reduce the risk from consuming fish from 11 presented, and most recalled only two or three of the list. The advantages and disadvantages of conducting short classes to women of child-bearing age are discussed.

Nuclear Waste: Knowledge Waste?

A stalled nuclear waste program, and possible increase in wastes, beg for social science input into acceptable solutions. Nuclear power is re-emerging as a major part of the energy portfolios of a wide variety of nations. With over 50 reactors being built around the world today and over 100 more planned to come online in the next decade, many observers are proclaiming a “nuclear renaissance” (1). The success of a nuclear revival is dependent upon addressing a well-known set of challenges, for example, plant safety (even in the light of improved reactor designs), costs and liabilities, terrorism at plants and in transport, weapons proliferation, and the successful siting of the plants themselves (2, 3).

Elites and Panic: More to Fear than Fear Itself

Attributions of panic are almost exclusively directed at members of the general public. Here, we inquire into the relationships between elites and panic. We review current research and theorizing about panic, including problems of identifying when it has occurred. We propose three relationships: elites fearing panic, elites causing panic and elites panicking. We use numerous examples, including our own research on the 2001 anthrax attacks in the United States, to illustrate how these relationships operate. The argument is evocative, not definitive. However, the conceptual utility of explicitly theorizing the relationships between elites and panic shows, among other things, how power works in disasters.

Precautions Taken Against Lyme Disease at Three Recreational Parks in Endemic Areas of New Jersey

Visitors to three recreational parks located in Lyme disease endemic counties in New Jersey were surveyed to assess public awareness of recommended precautions against tick bites and how these precautions are being adopted. Interviews were conducted with 178 adult respondents. In open-ended questions, 84% of the respondents could name at least one precaution against Lyme disease; however, only 43% reported taking any precautions. Taking precaution was associateded with the belief that a person they knew with Lyme disease was bitten by a tick while in a place frequented by the respondent, and with the belief that Lyme disease is difficult to cure. Precaution adoption was not associated with gender or with measures of personal experience with Lyme disease, perceived seriousness of the disease, attitudes about and personal experiences with ticks, beliefs that there are infected ticks in the park, or the perceived costs and benefits of taking precautions. These results emphasize the importance of getting people to practice the precautions they already know about, and helping people to recognize situations where taking precautions is appropriate.

Rhetoric and Reality: Risk Communication in Government Agencies

Abstract Government agencies and industries are increasingly grappling with ways to address the problems caused by the different ways that laypeople and experts perceive environmental risks. This article summarizes the results of two studies that examined the extent of philosophical commitment to risk communication by government agencies compared with the risk communication practices of these agencies. Both studies suggest a gap between the stated commitment of government agencies to risk communication and their practices. The authors suggest how that gap may be bridged.

Risk communication activities of state health agencies

Surveys concerning the risk communication practices and needs of state health agencies were completed by agency commissioners and designated staff of 48 states and territories. These data indicate that agencies are expending more effort on responding to requests for information than on initiating dialogues with interested constituencies or alerting the public to risk. The data also suggest a gap between the stated philosophy and practice of the agencies.

Evaluating Public Responses to Environmental Trend Indicators

Indicators of trends in environmental conditions have been touted as ways to inform the public and provide a “report card” on environmental agency performance, but no quantitative analysis of such claims has been done. A small study of New Jersey residents’ reactions to indicators as presented by the state environmental agency found that these indicators were deemed understandable, credible, and useful. However, actual comprehension was not related to perceived understanding, and many in this well-educated sample exhibited the ecological fallacy of inferring local environmental conditions or priority-setting uses that these indicators could not possibly provide. Prior beliefs about statewide trends in environmental quality, accuracy in extracting information from the indicator presentations, and demographic variables had varying but significant effects on reactions to and interpretations of the indicators. These findings have implications for preparation and evaluation of institutional communications about science in general.