This project examines the role of media in communicating information about scientific issues such as wildlife management, global warming, agricultural biotechnology, and other environmental issues to the public. Approaches taken include content analysis, surveys, and educational interventions. The main goal is to understand how media can improve citizen understanding of complex science issues. Often this is a problem, as can be seen in the public dissensus over global warming, which is a scientifically settled issue. Results show that media and scientists need to work more closely together to articulate concepts and findings.

Many issues prompt this work. Problematic wildlife interactions in the suburbs, poor public understanding of global climate change, and disagreements about agricultural biotechnology are some examples. Our work addresses these issues head on by looking at points of misunderstanding and conflict. The media in particular are seen as a vehicle for potentially increasing understanding about scientific progress. These issues are global in scope, affecting all populations.

Three studies have been conducted. One developed a new measure of scientific literacy, based on media indicators of science concepts that citizens should be able to understand. Two other studies looked at issues of bear management in New York, including testing educational interventions to improve understanding of how to prevent problem bear interactions.

The bear studies had an impact on our understanding of how people perceive risk in this situation. The educational interventions will impact the communities in which they are tested. The risk studies provide good basis for future research on how to communicate with citizens about wildlife issues. It is too early to tell whether the scientific literacy measure we developed will have an impact on the scholarly literature.

• Dan Decker (Cornell)
• Meredith Gore (Cornell)
• Bill Siemer (Cornell)
• Barb Knuth (Cornell)
• Paul Curtis (Cornell)
• Dominique Brossard (Wisconsin)