In Robert Heinlein's 1961 science fiction novel "Stranger in a Strange Land," an alien coins the term "grok," a concept that embodies both intimate understanding and sympathetic communication. Now, Bill Chameides, dean of the Nicholas School of the Environment, has borrowed the term for the title of his blog about the environment, which officially launched Monday.
The blog, called The Green Grok, seeks to explain environmental issues to non-scientists, with a particular emphasis on sustainability, energy and climate change. Erica Rowell, the Nicholas School's online managing editor and editor of the Web site, said the blog targets 18-34 year-olds interested in learning about current scientific topics.
"I think that the trick is to provide something with enough depth to indicate the complexity of the issue but to present it in a way that is easily understood and accessible," Chameides said. "So there is a simplification in the explanation but not in the discussion of the basic concepts."
The blog contains posts from leading scientists and policy analysts and covers a range of issues. This past week featured posts about how markets affect environmental issues, the causes of radical climate change and the prospect of oil drilling. After having dinner with Tom Friedman, the New York Times columnist who spoke at Duke last week about a "green revolution," Chameides also discusses ideas from Friedman's book, "Hot, Flat, and Crowded."
In addition, the blog uses videos to make its content more appealing to viewers.
"We've produced one video on how to make your trip to the grocery store more sustainable," Rowell said. "We've reached over 2,000 people through that video."
One of the primary reasons Chameides said he created the blog was to clarify the confusion surrounding environmental concerns. Chameides, a member of the National Academy of Sciences, added that this confusion is due, at least in part, to scientists unnecessarily complicating the concepts.
"A lot of these issues are easily understood and the challenge for us as scientists is to explain these issues to non-scientists so that they can make informed decisions," he said.
Rowell said Chameides's scientific expertise, along with his clear prose, make The Green Grok ideal for the purpose it tries to achieve.
"Bill's voice is a really important one because he is a member of the National Academy of Sciences and is a really clear communicator," she said. "The nice thing about someone like Bill is we don't get scientific information through a second-hand source, we get a first-hand source."
Although the blog may cover the candidates' positions and the impact their policies might have on the environment, Chameides said the blog is nonpartisan and is not intended to persuade individuals to vote for one candidate over another.
Even before the blog became public, Chameides has been posting since April and his posts have been featured on sites such as The Huffington Post and Gristmill.
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