Public Presentation of Course Work at the Eclipse Company Store

Posted by Bernhard Debatin

Localizing Environmental and Science Journalism in Southeast Ohio

On Thursday, June 11, from 1:00 to 5:00, the class “Environmental and Science Journalism” will present articles that were produced as final projects during this quarter, focusing on the effects of coal industry in Southeast Ohio.  This public event, to which OU members and residents from the local communities are invited, will take place at the newly renovated Eclipse Company Store in The Plains (view map here). For an overview of the program, see here. A program flier is available here.

The event will kick off at 1:00 PM with an introduction and overview by Bernhard Debatin, on the abyss of time and the beauty of algae, followed by Ann Alquist and Susie Shutts, who will talk about abandoned Mines and various acid mine drainage abatement programs. Then, Amy Nordrum and Joe Brehm will present their work on clean coal and the controverial planned coal power plants in Meigs County. The first part will be concluded with Josh Spiert’s and Megan Moseley’s project on coal mine subsidences and relocation of residents.

The coffee break from 2:45 to 3:15 will provide an opportunity for informal conversations and for trying some fruits and local pastry. The second part will then start with a walk through the Dysart Woods by Michelle Shaw and Meredith Barnett.  Air pollution in Southeast Ohio and the effects of mercury is the topic Sarah Watson and Emily Hanlon are presenting. Jessica Blakely and Katherine Bercik will then talk about the use of bottom coal ash for skid control in winter and whether the toxins in coal ash pose a health risk. The second part will be concluded with Mary Nally’s and Leah Crone-Magyar’s contribution on agriculture in Southeast Ohio: “You Can’t Eat a Lump of Coal.”

A New Course Model

This course on Environmental and Science Journalism is a new, experimental class that combines elements of learning communities with traditional approaches to teaching. The class was a mix of conventional seminar meetings, three workshops with experts, and four field trips to various locations related to our coal mining history. The course was supported by an Ohio University 1804 grant, which made the expert workshops and field trips possible.

Another remarkable element of this class was also the website, a combination of a blog and of static pages with background information. In addition to response papers on their own blogs, students contributed frequently to the course blog at http://esj09.wordpress.com. These contributions were partly course assignments, such as seminar minutes or reports from field trips, and partly voluntary contributions, motivated by the interest in sharing important information on environmental or science issues.

Program for the Presentations

Location: Eclipse Company Store

Time: June 11, 1:00-5:00 PM

1:00 – 2:45  Part I

1. Bernhard Debatin (Introduction: The Abyss of Time and the Beauty of Algae)

2. Ann Alquist/Susie Shutts (Abandoned Mines and Acid Mine Drainage Abatement Programs)

3. Amy Nordrum/Joe Brehm (Clean Coal and the New Coal Power Plants in Meigs County)

4. Josh Spiert/Megan Moseley (Mine Subsidences and Relocation of Residents)

2:45 – 3:15  Coffee Break
3:15 – 5:00  Part II

5. Michelle Shaw/Meredith Barnett (The Dysart Woods: A Walk Among Giants)

6. Sarah Watson/Emily Hanlon (Air Pollution in Southeast Ohio: Mercury and Other Problems)

7. Jessica Blakely/Katherine Bercik (Bottom Coal Ash for Skid Control: Cheap and Risky?)

8. Mary Nally/Leah Crone-Magyary (You Can’t Eat a Lump of Coal: Agriculture in SE Ohio)

Coal Ash: Toxic Waste or Traction Agent?

Posted by Mary Nelly

I came across this journalism blog, with an article on the recent coal ash disaster in Tennessee. Thought it might be pertinent to our discussion on Athens’ use of coal ash as a traction agent during the winter months:

Sorry, the magical link-making fairy doesn’t want to play with me. Let’s us cut-and-paste instead:

http://www.cejournal.net/?p=1872
(fixed it, B:D)

cheers,

Mary

Environmental Communication in 2015

Posted by Bernhard Debatin

Andrew Revkin, NYT science journalist and Dot Earth blogger, posted a bunch of responses to his question “what is your vision of how the public will track environmental issues and developments in five years?” he posed during his visit to this class.

Very cool!

http://dotearth.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/05/27/environmental-communication-in-2015/

Un-planned Obsolescence

Posted by Bernhard Debatin

This is from an article on Alternet, 10 Steps Obama Should Take for the Future of GM, by Michael Moore. It sums up some of the problems of large organizations that are unable or unwilling to learn:

It is with sad irony that the company which invented “planned obsolescence” — the decision to build cars that would fall apart after a few years so that the customer would then have to buy a new one — has now made itself obsolete. It refused to build automobiles that the public wanted, cars that got great gas mileage, were as safe as they could be, and were exceedingly comfortable to drive. Oh — and that wouldn’t start falling apart after two years. GM stubbornly fought environmental and safety regulations. Its executives arrogantly ignored the “inferior” Japanese and German cars, cars which would become the gold standard for automobile buyers. And it was hell-bent on punishing its unionized workforce, lopping off thousands of workers for no good reason other than to “improve” the short-term bottom line of the corporation.

Read more at http://www.alternet.org/story/140376/

Indecorous Voices

Posted by Ann Alquist

Democracy Now! had a segment on the arrests of West Virginia activists over mountaintop removal.

The guest, Jeff Biggers, talks about why the protests over mountaintop removal are a signal that it’s about human rights as much as it is about the environment. It reminded me of the chapters we read this week about indecorous voices, not only of citizen groups, but also of journalists who become marginalized because they are perceived as being on a “crusade” of sorts.

May 22 Minutes: Risk Communication

Posted by Joe Brehm

Why do people fear certain disasters, accidents, or natural forces more than others?  How do Western societies talk about and respond to these potential and realized hazards?  What risks are communities willing to take?  These are some of the questions raised in class on Friday, May 22, in a student-led discussion exploring the realm of Risk Communication. 

Minutes for May 22 Field Trip to Buckingham Coal

Posted by Michelle Shaw

Last week, our science and environmental journalism class piled into two fifteen-passenger vans and headed out of Athens on State Route 13. Forty-five minutes later, we pulled into the Buckingham Coal Company complex, marked by a large sign on the right side of the road with the company name and a huge chunk of coal pictured on it. As we pulled into the parking lot, we could see a long conveyor belt perched above us on a ridgeline, dropping coal into piles through chutes. Later we would find out that this raised beltline stretched 1.5 miles across the Buckingham property, consisted of 6 underground feeders and ended at the train loading point. We were all excited and unsure of what we would be hearing and seeing, as most of us had never been to a working coal mine before.

How (not) to write a really bad science article

Posted by Bernhard Debatin

So, how do people come up with all these incredibly well written science articles (like this one) and environmental essays (like this one) that look as if they’d been polished for months before publication while the authors claim that they wrote them in the commuter train on their way to their fancy science journal? If you really want to know, you may want to read this or that.

It’s an art, of course, and you either know how to do it or not, right? Or is it a mere craft — practice makes perfect — and we only need to know what to practice? I’d say it’s both, of course. So, let’s get started with the transpiration while the artistic inspiration is coming over you .

Field Trip Minutes 5-15-2009

Posted by Jessica Blakely

I’m sure you all noticed me last week with my video camera. Here is the final product, a whole day of field trip fun condensed into about thirty minutes. After trying for about 2 hours to chop it up into shorter segments, I decided to let it go rather than chuck my computer out the window, so I apologize for the lengthiness. I encountered a lot of hurdles getting this all edited and ready for the Web, so let me know if there are any viewing problems.

The Science News Cycle

Posted by Bernhard Debatin

All we need to know about writing a good piece... But what's missing is how all this feeds back into the scientific process!

Courtesy of http://www.phdcomics.com/comics.php