One-Planet Talking blog

Members and friends:  I was asked by Nadarajah Sriskandarajah, organizer of COCE 2013, to introduce the conference keynote speaker, John Dryzek.  As part of my introductory comments, I posed the question, "What will IECA look like in 2018?"  Here is how I answered the question---
 
In 2018, five years from now, IECA will have:
 
*achieved three consecutive years in which revenue meets or exceeds expenditures
 
*increased its individual membership three-fold, to over 850 members, with at least a third of those members coming from non-academic sectors (education, practitioner, NGO, etc.)
 
*increased its organizational members to 25
 

http://explore.tandfonline.com/content/est/world-environment-day-2013.php

I believe in IECA.
 
As I end my tenure as the first chair of IECA, I want to take a look back and note how far we’ve come together over the past five years—from IECA as a concept and hope to IECA as a reality and a force for social change.
 
In 2008, IECA was just an idea—a belief that environmental communication scholars, practitioners , and activists from all over the world should get together formally to share resources and try to make a difference in local communities.  The idea was shared in a couple of panels at two academic conferences—National Communication Association  (NCA) in San Diego and European Communication Research and Education Association (ECREA) in Barcelona, and a movement was born.

The International Environmental Communication Association (IECA) is pleased to announce Virtual COCE 2013.

For the first time ever, the Conference on Communication and Environment (COCE) will be streamed live for anyone to watch for free.

The June, 2013 issue of ENVIRONMENTAL COMMUNICATION:  A JOURNAL OF NATURE AND CULTURE (special issue on visual environmental communication) has been published on line at www.tandfonline.com/renc.  Hard copy will be out shortly.

This issue was edited by Anders Hansen and David Machin. Good show, fellows!!

This issue is the first one in which we have tried to publish color images in an on-line only format. Take a look at the articles and let us know what you think.

The Editors of Environmental Communication have highlighted a selection of influential articles to aid your research. These articles reflect themes and ideas that have recently been in the media.

We are offering free access to the following articles:

Amplifiers on the Commons: Using Indicators to Foster Place-Based Sustainability Initiatives
James G. Cantrill

The program for this June's Conference on Communication and Environment in Uppsala Sweden is now online. It's going to be the biggest COCE ever and we look forward to seeing you in Sweden. More information about he conference is available on the COCE 2013 area.

IECA founding member Jennifer Good has a new book out: Television and the Earth: Not a Love Story. Good is an associate professor of communication, popular culture and film at Brock University. The summary of the book reads:

Environmental Communication: A Journal of Nature and Culture, Vol. 7, No. 1, 01 Mar 2013 is now available on Taylor & Francis Online.

This is a special issue on The Symbolic Transformation of Space.

Online access to the journal is included in Regular, Student and Organizational memberships in The IECA.

With this issue, there is free access to some of the articles. For more information and to download papers, go here:

http://www.tandfonline.com/toc/renc20/7/1

This new issue contains the following articles:

IECA members and friends:  Hi.  Three important things happened this week for our professional association:
1.  Vice-Chair Lee Ahern posted a draft Code of Ethics, and we fielded a productive range of comments about the substance of the code, as well as the role it might play in our association moving forward.  An important second conversation emerged about the need to make sure our policies and offerings truly reflect the "international" nature of our association.  In the coming weeks, a revised Code of Ethics will be discussed by the Board and, if approved, will be put before the membership for a vote.

In the context of a recent "fox attack" (no, not Fox News) in London, we want to draw your attention to an article just published in Environmental Communication: A Journal of Nature and Culture.

Are you thinking of attending the 2013 Conference on Communication and Environment (COCE) in Uppsala this June?

If so, you have only 10 days left to take advantage of the early-bird discount. After February 15, prices go up.

You don't need to be an IECA member to attend, but if you want the member discount, then you need to make sure your membership is paid up for 2013.

Conference details are here: http://theieca.org/coce2013

Hope to see you in Sweden!

Climate Change Politics: Communication and Public Engagement
Edited by Anabela Carvalho and Tarla Rai Peterson

I am writing to share two very positive developments for our association:

1.  We just received a letter from U. S. Internal Revenue Service granting the IECA tax-exempt status as a 501-c-3 public charity organization.  This status is effective retroactive to 9/30/11.  This means that memberships and other donations to the IECA are now tax deductible for any U. S. taxpayer.   We will post more specific information, including a copy of the notification letter, in the members-only area of our web site in the next few days for you to consult for tax purposes.  We ask you to remember IECA in your year-end giving plans.

The IECA web site has moved to a new domain: theIECA.org

We did this for several reasons:

1. To shorten the URL, making it easier to type.

2. To have a domain that highlights and builds the identity of the organization. Our old domain, environmentalcomm.org, was fine, but didn't distinguish the IECA.

3. To do what most organizations do, which is to have their acronym in their URL.

4. To harmonize our domain with our Facebook and Twitter identities, both of which are theIECA.

OK, so what's next?

Friends: I've made a decision, and I want to share it with you.

I have decided to make a year-end donation to IECA, and to add IECA to my list of organizations to which I make charitable contributions each year.

I've been thinking a lot about what is important to me--personally, professionally, politically.  Where I spend my philanthropy dollars.

And, I've come to the conclusion that supporting the IECA as it strives to fulfill its mission--promoting effective envionmental communication around the world through research and practice--is something I want to do.

IECA founding member Dr. Alison Anderson of Plymouth University, UK, has been named the new Editor-in-Chief of Environmental Communication: A Journal of Nature and Culture. She will take over from founding Editor-in-Chief Steve Depoe on January 1, 2014. Between now and then she will work alongside Dr. Depoe to ensure a smooth transition.

ECA Colleagues:  Wanted to share some good news items with you--

*I just received my hard copy of the September 2012 issue of ENVIRONMENTAL COMMUNICATION:  A JOURNAL OF NATURE AND CULTURE (on-line version has been out for a while).  This issue, devoted to the topic of environmental justice in international contexts, was an outgrowth of the 2011 Conference on Communication and Environment hosted by Stacey Sowards and colleagues at the Univ. or Texas at El Paso.  The cover image was taken by U. Maine Ph.D. student Bridie McGreavy, who attended the conference and took the photo while on a tour of the former smelting factory of ASARCO.  Great conference, great special issue, reflecting the best of our field.