Greetings!

I’m Cozmo Dee from outer space and I’m going to talk about some environmental issues on this planet (Earth).


“Information campaigns use the techniques of public relations and advertising to “sell” people on prosocial behaviors. They seek to achieve specific changes in their audience, such as heightening public awareness of a health or social problem and changing related attitudes and behaviors (Straubhaar, LaRose, & Davenport, 2010, p. 427).” My blog will focus on the effects of public relations and advertising on environmental communications which encourage prosocial behaviors. 


Environmental information campaigns have started to appear in an attempt to change social behaviors regarding the environment, such as recycling, going green, conserving natural resources, and even organic foods. These information campaigns are necessary to bring attention to the drastic effects that modern consumerism is having on the environment. However, by portraying both sides of the issue equally, the media often masks how drastic global warming actually is. In addition to environmental information campaigns, this blog will address the negative effects of media on the environment, or how the media might mask issues of the environment both unintentionally and intentionally

In spite of experts warning of the catastrophic effects of global warming on civilization, most of us continue living our lives as if there is not a problem. This ad from the WWF (found here) shows the world melting. I think it is crazy. We need to start paying attention to these issues, the world is coming to an end around us but the hegemonic society attempts to brainwash us into thinking that everything is under control. But, facts show that this really is happening in the world at an alarming rate. I want to know, what is really going on?

Greenpeace is another example of an environmental campaign that tries to raise awareness of environmental issues and change consumer attitudes and behaviors. One example of their advertising is this ad which attempts at drawing attention to global warming. The ad claims, “Winter: You’ll miss it when it’s gone.” (Can be found here.)  This ad tries to get our attention by showing that winter is disappearing with the effects of global warming. What would happen if winter did disappear? What would happen if, due to global warming, there was perpetual summer? What would happen if polar bears and penguins disappeared? Or can they all live in San Diego? I don't know, let's talk about it. What's really going on?

In order to find out more about these issues, I took another class at FSU, called Media, Culture, and Environment. Many of the issues brought to my attention in that class relate to this current assignment. This blog will further investigate the relationship of media on environmental issues, through the use of information campaigns and green marketing and advertising. 




This blog is to encourage discussion and debate from my classmates. What, in your opinion, are the major environmental issues concerning this planet and the survival of the human species and other life forms on this planet? Or are there any at all? 

Feel free to make any comments or suggestions on issues or questions that can be further investigated. What do you think? What's really going on?


References:

Straubhaar, J., LaRose, R., & Davenport, L. (2010). Media Now: Understanding Media, Culture, and Technology. Boston, Massachusetts: Wadsworth Cengage Learning.