Vote here for Climate Change Communicator of the Year:
http://www.climatechangecommunication.org/award.cfm
This is the nomination of the Skeptical Science blog in the "Organizational" category:
Founded by John Cook of Queensland in 2007, this extraordinary online resource is operated as an independent and authoritative check and balance on climate science fact and fiction. Web site tracking data indicate that the site has literally “taken off” among serious scientists, policy makers, and other students and followers of climate science. Now available in 20 different languages and attracting more than 500,000 visitors each month, skepticalscience.com is regularly sited at professional science meetings as among the most reliable and comprehensive in the climate science field. Skepticalscience.com, for instance, was regularly cited as one of the most useful during formal scientific presentations at the December 2010 meeting of the American Geophysical Union, which attracted more than 19,000 registrants.
Working from his home office with his wife while still maintaining a full-time “day job” as a web and data base consultant, Mr. Cook, founder and editor of the site, has managed to attract key volunteer and expert scientific participation from some of Australia’s, the U.S.’s, and the world’s most well-regarded climate scientists and climate science communicators. This participatory “citizen” journalism approach – with Mr. Cook retaining responsibility for scientific rigor – has enabled the skepticalscience.com to significantly increase both the number of originally researched and written postings in each year since it started and the number of individuals looking to the site each day for credible information in this often daunting field. That the site has managed to do so with virtually no external financial support beyond occasional contributions via PayPal testifies to the extraordinary level of energy and commitment the site and its editor bring to this effort. Just as importantly, the site routinely demonstrates through its authoritative postings the high level of volunteer personal commitment from others on behalf of the site. (In a very real sense, prize recognition of skepticalscience.com is recognition also of the much larger field of responsible climate science communicators.)
The site’s approach illustrates applications of “new media” and new communications tools in informing the public about complex issues: IPhone, ITouch, IPad “app” and Android counterparts bring informed and timely multi-media climate science information to one’s handheld. Especially notable are the site’s “Advanced,” “Intermediate” and “Basic” explanations of fundamental climate science points, assuring the information is accessible to individuals with substantial familiarity and expertise while also serving those lacking in-depth technical background.
Skepticalscience.com’s new efforts to provide high-resolution climate science visuals and graphics for free download helps fill a yawning need and gap…providing via Creative Commons licensing noncommercial access to effective images critical to assuring effective messaging and framing of complex issues.
Skepticalscience.com richly deserves to be the George Mason University “4Cs” first international “Climate Communicator of the Year.” No issue is more global in its impact, no communicator on the issue more international in his relevance and impact.
Nominated by:
Bud Ward
Freelance Journalist and Journalism Educator
(Climate Change Communicator of the Year, 2009)
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