ENHANCING PUBLIC AWARENESS OF POTENTIAL ENVIRONMENTAL HAZARDS USING GIS AND PHOTOJOURNALISM

Enhancing public awareness of potential environmental hazards is of great concern to scientists and policy-makers as well as the general public. A well informed general public can make clear and knowledgeable policy decisions and communicate their concerns to local and national government. A strong and dynamic partnership between scientists and journalists can create and disseminate a knowledge base that may be the best way to enhance public awareness of these potential hazards.

Community concern prompted us to propose a method whereby data is presented in a easy to understand, visual manner by merging GIS maps of hazard sites with a photojournalistic approach. Our pilot study area is in the town of Mission, located in Hidalgo County, south Texas where the Texas Natural Resource Conservation Commission (TNRCC) recently released the results of soil tests which indicate dangerous levels of pesticides.

Combining ethnographic journalism with a geographic spatial database, we have created a vehicle to promote public awareness in the study area that could be adapted and used as a model for other environmental sensitive areas.