Scientists Support Communications as Means to "Get the Word Out"; Invitation Still in the Works

The latest from NOAA is that the invitation mentioned in a February 3 post to visit the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center awaits confirmation on possible dates. I have asked NOAA to include representatives of Hawaii's congressional delegation in the visit, but there is no confirmation of that possibility as of yet.

In the meantime, it was encouraging to read an on-line report at the news@nature.com ("the best in science journalism") web site on a meeting of environmental scientists held in Washington, DC, last week. Headlined Environmental scientists told to 'get the word out', the story noted:

"Scientists knew about December's Indian Ocean earthquake within minutes of it happening. Yet no formal alert was sounded and the resultant tsunami killed hundreds of thousands."

According to the story, participants advocated greater openness among scientists in communicating the results of their work to the public at large. "All the technology in the world doesn't do a lot of good if you can't get the word out," said Charles Groat, director of the United States Geological Survey.

It is especially encouraging to see this quote from Dr. Groat. Two days after the tsunami a member of the U.S. Geological Survey staff was reported by National Public Radio as saying, "There was no system set up by which we could take that information and translate it into actions that the public could react to."

In light of Dr. Groat's recent comments, perhaps NOAA officials are warming to the use of the news media in issuing timely and effective tsunami warnings to affected populations.

Elsewhere in the story, Anthony Michaels, director of the Wrigley Institute for Environmental Studies at the University of Southern California, said the tsunami disaster highlighted the need for more communication by scientists. The story concludes:

Younger scientists are being trained in communicating science to the public and see it as a rewarding part of their job, says Michaels. "We are new to this kind of dynamic, and in some ways we are not well suited to it," he says. "The leadership at the universities and the young people are on board...and then you have all these old farts in between."

I trust I'll find none of the latter at the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center.

Doug Carlson
Honolulu, HI
February 8, 2005
www.DougCarlsonCommunications.com