Bill Chameides, 60, is dean of Duke University's Nicholas School of the Environment, and he flexes his environmental communication muscles most weekdays at The Green Grok ( www.nicholas.duke.edu/thegreengrok). An editor and researcher also contribute to the blog. Chameides tweets as @theGreenGrok. Questions and answers have been edited.
Q: Your blog focuses on sustainability issues. What do you see as the biggest sustainability issue that North Carolina faces?
Clean water and energy. The drought that ended in 2008 highlighted how vulnerable N.C. is to overuse of its water resources. Energy is another big issue in the state; we've a couple of the most polluting coal-fired plants right here in N.C., and that not only impacts our health but climate as well.
Q: You've chosen at times to post multipart series on issues like CO {-2} cap-and-trade systems, electronic waste and coal ash. Does their complexity make it harder to communicate them to the public?
Multipart series allow TheGreenGrok to break down a complicated topic and take a closer look at different aspects of it.
Q: Do you think the "fix" to sustainability problems is a political, societal or cultural solution - or a hybrid of all?
I'd have to choose all of the above. At its most basic, sustainability will require changes at every level of our society from our political leaders, to the business community to the neighbors across the street. That's how fundamental this shift is. Not that that means every single one of us has to hold these issues front and center every day, but we as a society have to make a commitment about the kind of world we want to leave our grandchildren, and that means embracing new ways of thinking.
Q: You have also written blog posts on the Huffington Post and PopSci.Com. As an educator, how does blogging fit into your communications toolbox?
Blogging is accessible to policymakers, legislative staffers, local leaders, industry leaders, students and concerned citizens who are trying to understand the complex environmental issues we face. TheGreenGrok provides me, as a scientist, with an engaging platform to communicate these issues and the science behind them to this larger audience.
