Connecting weather to the environment: online education for the station scientist ----- MP3 audio file

Weather broadcasters are front-line communicators for helping the public understand not only the weather, but also weather-related impacts. Because of their science training, weather broadcasters are also uniquely positioned to be the station scientist, ready to explain and inform the public about weather, climate and environmental events. This paper describes an effort that is the result of a partnership between the National Environmental Education Foundation (NEEF) and the COMET™ Program. NEEF and COMET have developed a Broadcast Meteorology Website and a series of corresponding short courses: Watersheds: Connecting Weather to the Environment, Weather and the Built Environment, and Weather and the Public's Health. The courses have been designed to achieve two major goals: 1) to convey scientifically sound information about key environmental topics and their relationship to weather to broadcast meteorologists, and 2) to do so in a way that models how such information may be communicated effectively to the public.

The online courses are part of an on-going effort by NEEF called Earth Gauge™, which provides environmental information to weather broadcasters in a way that is readily usable on the air, on station websites, or in community outreach activities. In addition to online courses, Earth Gauge™ also provides weekly environmental tips tied to the three-day forecast to more than 130 television and radio broadcasters in 86 markets, reaching more than 179 million television viewers and 1.7 million weekly radio listeners. Tips are written and designed to allow weather broadcasters to integrate them into their on-air weather reports.

This paper discusses and demonstrates design features of the available courses, describing how broadcast meteorologists can re-purpose course content for their on-air, online, and community outreach activities. The paper will also describe future courses on climate change and Amazon Basin deforestation. Key emphasis is given to discussing how weather, climate and the environment can be an on-going storyline for the public. Broadcast meteorologists may receive professional development credit for these courses under the AMS Certified Broadcast Meteorologist program.