Wildlife Conservation

For class, we recently had to read the introduction from Tremayne’s Blogging, Citizenship, and the Future of the Media.  This piece brought to the forefront things that I never really considered when having to create this blog.  The way media works today is so far advanced from the traditional styles of media.  Today, information can be discredited within mere moments after it airs on a news show.  A story can develop without anyone ever actually contacting the media, news stations may randomly show up at your house, and information can be linked across the world to share.  I simply never really considered the fact that my blog focusing on the risk of endangered species could really help out future students get information on a topic or that if I held a rally fighting this issue, a news station may show up without my contacting them.  The fact is that a blog is a public forum open for all to see.  Future employers may one day Google my name and find the link to this blog.  It is therefore important that the my blog be credible, ethical, and display work that I am not embarrased to show.  Reading Tremayne’s article was just a real eye-opener to show that on the world wide web, nothing goes away.

The idea of being as credible and ethical on a blog, or on any work that portrays your own name, takes me to another article we recently had to read for class.  Ethics is a concept that can be interpreted a number of ways.  The way that I view ethics, while dealing with risk communciation, is the respobnsibility of one to give a full understanding of an issue, while looking at all available viewpoints so the audience can view the issue as they wish.  The idea, I feel, is to inform those of the risk and try to persuade them to see things the way that you do.  However, no one is going to fully grasp a concept the exact same way you do.  The idea then, is to get as close of an interpretation as possible. One of the most important things, I feel, of being ethical is to make sure that all available viewpoints are shared.  No one wants to listen to a critic who ignores vital information because it is of a different opinion than his own.  The idea in risk communication, is to make a well-rounded audience.  Your information and persuasion will simply have to hold up enough to get your audience to agree with you. 

It often seems that people are unsure of the difference between morals and ethics.  The way that I see it is in ethics, there are no set rules, there are only your personal beliefs or the beliefs of the organization you are representing.  With morals, there is a set of rules, such as Robert’s rules of order, and a moral person would follow those rules.  The rules are agreed upon by all and therefore, a moral person is agreed upon by all.

The most important thing when delivering any type of risk communication is to make sure that you are ethically giving your information to an audience, doing your best to make sure they understand the issue, and providing all information possible to make sure your risk communication is fully developed.

For my project, I have chosen to do a type of wildlife conservation research.  When I started to research such a broad area, I noticed that I definitely needed to narrow my topic down quite a bit more specifically.  I have chosen to focus on the conservation of gorillas.  They are disappearing at an alarming rate, the fastest of any other animal so I thought it would be a very interesting topic to pursue.

“Gorilla Conservation.” Wildlife Conservation Society. 2008. Wildife Conservation

Society. 26 Jan. 2008

<http://www.congogorillaforest.com/congoconservationchoices/congogorillacon

ervation>.

This is a website devoted to the efforts to raise money in an attempt to protect all the three types of gorillas.   It is currently the only organization that is raising money for every type.

International Gorilla Conservation Programme. 2008. 26 Jan. 2008

<http://www.igcp.org/>.

This is an extremely helpful website because it gives what the organization is trying to do to help with specific statistics as well as links to other articles about the problem that is facing gorillas.

Sheikh, Pervaze A., and M. Lynne Corn. “Multinational Species Conservation Fund.”

(2005). National Library for the Environment. University of Pittsburgh,

Pittsburgh. Keyword: gorilla conservation.

This is a form from congress that is used to discuss the risk of wildlife extinction and the endangerment of many different types of animals including the gorilla. It is very helpful to understand what the U.S. government is doing to help efforts and also gives statistics.

“Gorillas.” Animals. 26 Jan. 2008. Busch Gardens and Sea World. 26 Jan. 2008

<http://www.seaworld.org/Animal-info/info-books/gorilla/conservation.htm>.

This is another great source that gives organizations across the world that are aiding the gorillas.  The website lists what you can do today and gives helpful hints about what to do to help the conservation of gorillas.

KWHL Statement #1

Wildlife Conservation

K:   The issue of wildlife conservation is a very urgent matter in the world today.  Animals such as the silverback gorilla and the elephant are diminishing at astonishing rates.  These animals are important to the balance of nature and are frequently used by humans for research, captivity, transportation, and many other important aspects.  The gorilla is now the most endangered species in the world and estimates suggest they will only exist in captivity within 5 years.   It is because of two main reasons that these animals and animals like these will soon no longer exist: poaching and lack of natural habitat.  Poaching is still a huge issue and the forests and natural habitat these animals naturally live in is being destroyed at record rates.  They can no longer support the needs of these animals, especially ones the size of an elephant and a gorilla.  People all over the world should be concerned with this issue because of the loss of a species but particularly zoologists and people who live in the areas these animals naturally thrive.  My physical anthropology class looked heavily upon these issues.  I also learned many of these facts while doing a piece on monkeys at the zoo with one of the zoologists at the
Pittsburgh zoo.  Many assume since these animals live in captivity, the species will still survive.

W:  I would love to know the actual statistics of how fast the habitat and the animals are decreasing.  I want to look specifically at the rates of animals decrease in nature and the animals that are in the most harm. I also want to know more about what these animals contribute to their natural region.  These are things that would definitely help make the audience more aware of the issue and what it is that would be missing with the loss of certain species.

H: There are many journals in the PittCat system that will help with the findings. They can be found through the Anthropology, the Environmental, and the Current News databases search through the University Library System.  I also have a few books that contain many facts about these issues.

L: I have learned that this is a very serious issue that most world citizens don’t seem to think is an immediate problem.  While this issue has been stated in many research books and protests, there are very few times that it is made into a very current and urgent issue.  This is what could be accomplished through my project.

KWHL Statement #2

Media Bias

K: This is an issue that may not seem as urgent as others but I hope to make aware that it is due to the fact that the mass public is constantly being misinformed and misguided by the daily news outlets they use.  These issues can easily be solved by simply stating facts and not having to deal with a corporations ideals or beliefs as well as leaving out the distributor and authors opinions.  These too often influence the way the public thinks about issues and often skews the facts that are currently being given.  It is also an important issue because while most feel that it is skewed to either the left or the right, it actually is skewed on both sides which the mass public usually refuses to believe.  After taking multiple communications classes and writing classes, we have focused on this issue a lot.  It is a very prominent issue in collegiate studies but is forgotten by the majority of people after college.  It seems important to remind the public of this issue.

W: I need specific data and facts to support my claim as well as the view of the public in order to understand what they would be thinking.  It would be important to note the number of people who have been misinformed and why this is.  I would have to focus specifically on the public and what it is that they are viewing.  The audience may often resist the idea that they are being misinformed so it may be important to study this.

H:  There is a communications database in the University Library System that has great articles and journals on these issues.  There have also been many documentaries produced on either the left or right side being skewed.  A few of my mass media and tv and society classes have also focused on these issues so there is research in these that is useful as well.

L: I have learned that this is definitely and important issue that most don’t know about or feel is only being skewed to one side.  It is important to note that while many studies have been done focusing on how the left side is bias or the right side is bias but not many choose to look at both sides of the issue and take a nonbiased approach.  The studies themselves, then seem to be more biased then one would like to believe.

1. Immigration- My first idea for a topic would be the immigration issue that has been facing America.  It has been a hot topic for presidential debates and greatly effects the economy and people on a daily basis.  There are millions of illegal immigrants in the United States and it would be interesting to research the impact they have on the economy.  Topics of concern include stealing jobs from citizens, possible terrorist attacks, and taxation.

2. Alternative Fuel- Another idea for a topic is the oil problem that is facing the world.  As oil prices keep rising, the world keeps consuming.  While it has been suggested many times that we need an alternative for fuel, the majority of people still do not use one.  It seems an effective idea has not been placed yet.  How much longer can the earth provide an oil-driven world with the fuel it needs to consume?

3. Wildlife Conservation - One of my favorite ideas was the one of wildlife conservation and the endangered animals.  Animals such as elephants and gorillas are struggling to survive.  These animals numbers have decreased significantly in the past five years.  It would be intersting to see how losing these animals would effect the world.  It is soon going to happen unless something is done.  Poaching is also a primary concern here.  This could also include the destruction of the rain forest.