In the information age, man is inundated with loads of information which helps shape belief and attitudes. This information covers diverse topics such as health, finance, the economy, politics and environment. Publications and magazines are particularly important in promoting environmental awareness and consciousness. This section expounds various ways in which this can be achieved.
Environmental Education
Publications and magazines have a substantial audience who follow and subscribe to their productions. These platforms, therefore, serve as a potent way of imparting environmental education to readers.
Environmental issues are diverse and not everyone can understand the complex jargon used in academic or policy documents. By breaking down the jargon, publications and magazines make it easy for their audience to comprehend otherwise complex environmental issues.
Highlighting Environmental Degradation
Publications and magazines are important in bringing to the public limelight activities that pose environmental harm. By highlighting these activities, the general public, policymakers and the perpetrators are nudged to pause and act.
Public Campaigns
For environmental issues deserving urgent attention, publications and magazines are great platforms for conducting public campaigns. For instance, during elections, these platforms come in handy in ensuring that candidates seeking public office factor environmental issues in their policy agenda.
Lobbying Policy Makers
Environmental policy-making is usually contentious due to the vested interests of various parties such as industrialists’, miners and farmers. Through publications and magazines, it becomes possible to lobby policymakers into drafting environment-friendly policies in the public interest. These efforts insulate policymakers from nefarious forces opposed to environmental conservation.
Fundraising
Publications and magazines are also important platforms for raising funds towards worthy environmental causes. Such causes include afforestation efforts, dam and rivers rehabilitation. By advocating for such great causes, magazines attract public and most importantly, donor attention.
Digitization
Publications may also lead the way by transiting from paper platforms to digital platforms hence demonstrating the need to save trees and forests.