The document summarizes a presentation about two projects - Climate Scope and RACES - aimed at raising awareness of climate change and energy savings at the local level through information sharing and public participation. Climate Scope uses Google Earth as an open platform to connect scientific and social networks around climate topics. It integrates climate data layers with local observations uploaded by teachers and students to disseminate school activities and share data. RACES works in five Italian cities to inform and engage local stakeholders like schools and families. It takes an approach of transforming climate change awareness into action by getting people involved in concrete projects within their towns.

1. AAG Meeting in Seattle
12-16 April 2011
CLIMATE SCOPE:
a Google Earth® open platform to
cross scientific and social network
communicative efforts on climate
change topics.
Presenter : Dr. Ramona Magno
Authors:
Valentina Grasso, Alfonso Crisci,
Ramona Magno, Valerio Capecchi

2. RACES
Raising Awareness on Climate and Energy Savings
Information & Communication
on climate change & energy savings
at LOCAL LEVEL.
Information & Engage  Schools
for LOCAL STAKEHOLDERS:  Families
 Public Stakeholders
5 Italian cities: Firenze, Modena, Trento, Potenza and Bari
Leader: Florence Municipality
Partners: CNR – Institute of Biometeorology; Modena Municipality; Fondazione E.
Mach (TN); EURO-NET; University of Bari

3. RACES paradigm
• “Communicate Climate change”
• Information is not enough to change
• Transform awareness in ACTION
• Get involved in something concrete
• Where? In town!

4. RACES paradigm
Information
production Participation
Global / Local
impacts Raising
awareness

5. Environmental monitoring
Public participation different approach:
1. Limited to provide data to public
2. Public participation in environmental monitoring
Both are pushing towards a new type
of monitoring in which knowledge from
experts and from laypeople coexists.
Public Participation in science
- Meeting scientist and people
- People contribute to better understand reality
- User generated contents

6. Volounteer-collected data can
include:
– Opinion through written or spoken messages
– Objective and factual information
(text, photo, sketches, videos)
– Measurements using sensors
ICT and WEB 2.0
change the nature of the
process
Dissemination of this User generated content
information is difficult and
not structured
Not only the DATA COLLECTION but a new way of
cooperation
VIRTUAL COMMUNITIES

7. Google Earth and Web 2.0 opportunities CLIMATE-SCOPE
– Use geographic environment
to understand climate
change dynamics
– Easy & Powerful visual tool
– Integrate climatic information
layers with “local
observations” uploaded by
teachers and students
– Disseminate schools’
activities using geographic
environment
– Contents/data sharing to
produce “volunteered
geographic information”
(Goodchild 2007)

8. CLIMATE-SCOPE stones
Informative global /regional layering
+
Citizen Intellingent Placemarking
+
Scientific authoring & Support
directly inside the view
+
Aggregative Mashup-ing
from other source thanks web 2.0
(i.e GeoRSS, Geo feed)

9. Thank you for your attention