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Overnight Ocean Thread

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Sharmuta9/29/2009 5:39:24 am PDT

Speaking of climate change, Ludwig & freetoken:

Grant Project to Focus on Communicating the Health Impacts of Climate Change

Climate change poses a potentially significant threat to the public’s health, and addressing it is among President Obama’s top priorities. Edward W. Maibach, Ph.D., M.P.H., professor and director of the Center for Climate Change Communication at George Mason University, and Matthew C. Nisbet, Ph.D., assistant professor at American University’s School of Communication, believe that citizens and stakeholders need to play an active role in formulating effective public policies and investments in greenhouse gas reduction. Their project, Mobilizing Citizen Support for Climate Stabilization and Adaptation Policies, investigates how best to engage Americans on climate control issues and analyzes the extent to which a health perspective can enlist community interest and participation. Through surveys and interviews, Drs. Maibach and Nisbet explore people’s beliefs and motivations and test their reactions to various policy proposals and messages about climate change and its health implications. Their research findings could help galvanize the public health community and provide policy experts, government agencies, journalists, and other stakeholders with practical guidance on how best to increase public understanding of the implications of climate change.