Can YouTube Save the Planet?

It is disheartening that the population at large still remains indifferent to the planet's environmental problems. Part of the reason can be attributed to the public's perceptions on issues such as climate change. An Ipsos MORI poll in the United Kingdom this year found that 56% of people surveyed believed scientists are still questioning climate change.1 Another reason is the continued reluctance of government policy makers to commit to measures that would help create real change. The failure of the United States to ratify the Kyoto Protocol is perhaps the most widely publicized example of this.

There is clearly a pressing need for environmental problems such as global warming to be heard, understood, and acted on worldwide. Traditional media has a significant role in educating people about environmental issues, but dynamic and interactive forms of online content such as blogs may provide more effective means of communicating such messages.2 However, ...