One method used in my press release would be to inform the public of the dangers of depleting the coal supply. This would include the amount of coal that is left and the amount that is produced each year. I would also inform the public of how the depletion of the coal supply would affect their everyday lives. People would have to find an alternative source of electricity. Since the coal industry employs many people, these Americans would have to find another job.

Another method used in my press release would be to tell the public of a new technology that is being used to generate electricity. This press release would include the cost of this method to generate electricity. It would also include the amount of new jobs that were created and the effects on the environment. Since most of the public does not know very much about alternative energy sources, this press release would hopefully tell the public that there is other ways to generate electricity other than burning coal. It would also tell the public about the advantages and disadvantages of using other sources to produce electricity.

Another press release could include telling the public how fast the coal supply is depleting. Most of our electricity comes from burning coal. If we keep producing coal at the current rate, the coal supply will not last for future generations. This could be prevented by using less electricity of using alternative sources of electricity. If we deplete the coal supply, future generations will be forced to spend millions of dollars to generate electricity by alternative sources.

The book Disaster: Hurricane Katrina and the Failure of Homeland Security can teach us many ways to prepare for a unexpected event. The chapter that we read gave us many examples of how the government tried to inform the people of New Orleans how to prepare themselves for Hurricane Katrina. The problem that many people have with communicating a problem is the proper method or the authority to inform people how to prepare themselves for the undesirable event. For example, the mayor of New Orleans, C. Ray Nagin, didn’t even know that he had the authority to issue a mandatory evacuation of the city. Not knowing your authority can cause serious problems for the public. It is important for the public to know when something is about to happen that could have adverse effects on them.

The main problem with Hurricane Katrina was that the authorities had already issued an evacuation plan for a previous hurricane. This delayed them from mandating the evacuation of New Orleans for this hurricane. People are constantly hearing about problems that could affect them. After a while, they get tired of preparing themselves for a problem that never happens. This same concept applies with coal use. The public is always hearing about how burning coal is harming the environment. Rarely do we ever hear that the coal supply will be depleted in the future. The United States is unaware of the adverse effects that the depletion of coal would have on our country.

The government did some things right in warning the people of New Orleans about the harmful effects of Hurricane Katrina. There was also some things that should have been done better. Many of the shelters were under supplied. We can use these methods of informing the public to make our methods better for future disasters. By using better methods, we could save lives and money for our country during future times of crisis.

Bridge Inspections

By now, everyone has heard about the bridge collapse in Minnesota. This was due to a mistake in the design process. After the collapse, the government decided to spend a lot more money to inspect our bridges to prevent another collapse. More attention should be given to bridges to prevent a collapse. Many times the public complains that a construction project is a waste of money. Instead of wasting money on these projects I think the Department of Transportation should be using this money to make sure our infrastructure is safe. I worked for PennDOT for the past two summers. This past summer I was able to work on several small bridges. Many of these bridges didn’t appear safe to me. Some of them had large holes in the bottom that the public will never see. Other bridges just looked worn out and old.

When the Department of Transportation inspects bridges, how do they decide which bridges get inspected? Some poorly maintained bridges are overlooked year after year. Why does this happen? I think the proper funds should be made available each year to inspect all of the major bridges. Our tax dollars are being spent elsewhere. What else is the government spending our money on?

Green Construction

The construction industry is now as big as it ever was. New buildings are being built every day. Unfortunately this new construction uses many resources that are not renewable. Many of the materials are made from natural resources. These resources will not last forever.

Another type of construction is beginning to gain popularity. The green construction movement is getting bigger each year. Green buildings are buildings that are extreme helpful to the environment. These buildings are mainly made from recycled materials. They also save a lot of energy and water each year. Saving energy also means saving money. These buildings are also designed so the waste from the building is used to help the environment. The only drawback to these buildings is that the initial cost is much more than conventional construction. Even with the added cost of green construction, the savings are very great over the life of the building. If we keep using the resources at the current rate, future generations will have nothing left to build with. We need to start thinking outside of the box when it comes to construction. Conventional construction is using too many of our valuable natural resources. Green construction however, seems to be making strides in the construction industry.

Rockslides on Route 28

Many people have been affected by the rock slides that have occurred on Pennsylvania Route 28. Thousands of people use this road to get to work every day. These rock slides have caused delays and even accidents. Any time this happens, traffic has to be rerouted so the mess can be cleaned up. Route 28 has been closed down at times as well as down to single lanes in each direction. This is causing many people a lot of headaches.

I think that the Department of Transportation needs to do something to solve this problem. A report said that to remove the hillside where the rock slides have been occurring would cost upwards of $100 million. There is currently a project along this section of road. Part of this project is to remove some of the hillside and place a protective fence to prevent rocks from reaching the roadway. There have already been accidents due to this hillside, and luckily no one has been hurt yet. I think that PennDOT needs to fix this problem before someone does get hurt or killed.

This week’s reading talked about a goal that people want to reach but there is something preventing that goal from being reached. It gave three different ways to present an A but B problem statement. This clash often states a goal to help eliminate a problem and then something that is impeding this goal. The following problem statements deal with my risk communication project.

The United States needs to start using alternative methods to produce electricity in order to preserve coal for future generations, but alternative methods such as wind energy and photovoltaic cells can be costly and not as efficient as coal generated power plants.

Constructing new power plants could create numerous new jobs for Americans and reduce the effect of pollution from coal fired power plants, however this would also cost taxpayers millions of dollars.

Reducing the use of electricity would lessen the amount of coal that is used, but would be an inconvenience to people who need electricity for their jobs and homes.

The problem defined in this article is an outbreak of West Nile Virus in New York City. This article talked about how to effectively inform the public about the problem and how to deal with it. The general public is not an expert on West Nile Virus. There needs to be an effective method to inform these people about the possible risks associated with this virus. There were many different ways to communicate the risks involved in this epidemic. They included television, radio, Mayoral press conferences, 24 hour phone lines, and a web site. On the web site, people were encouraged to report standing water and dead birds. By getting the mayor involved with this problem, this showed a lot of authority to the public. This gave the public a person whom they could believe in a time of crisis. The city also had the Department of Health working on a response plan for the problem.

The response action taken by New York City was somewhat effective. The material that was provided to the public could have been easier to understand. The article said that the materials given to the public were several levels higher than what was suggested. By not having effective material for the public could have caused some people to not read it or fail to take action. Other people can look at the mistakes that New York City made and learn from them. They could decide on a better method of risk communication to inform the general public. Since mishaps occur all the time, an effective method needs to be determined in order to better communicate to the public about the problem. This could prevent a minor problem from turning into a tragedy.

After I read these articles, it was pretty neat to see how big the blogging network is and the many uses that is has. Before this, I barely even knew what a blog was. I now know that blogs can be used for pretty much anything. I always thought that when people wanted to express their feelings, they wrote them down in a journal. Now people are using blogs to gain information on how to deal with an illness or just to gain knowledge about a particular subject. The one article talked about how many people use their blog to find ways to deal with their disease or illness. A blog would make this much easier to talk to someone about your problems than actually talking person to person. I never knew that so many people would rather get help with their problem via the internet than go to an actual doctor. It was interesting to see how the government could get involved in something as simple as a personal blog. Once a few people saw Jack’s blog, it didn’t take long for it to become widespread. I think that blogs are also a way for people to release their bottled up feelings that no one else will listen to or that they’re embarrassed to tell anyone else.

I hope to use this blog to help the public gain a better understanding of the situation with coal use in America. Hopefully other bloggers will see this information and have a link for my blog. The blogosphere is so big because most people have what is called a blog roll on their blog. This allows many other blogs to be linked to their personal blog. By getting this information on a blog, hopefully other users will be able to use the information and make it more widespread.