Warning: Harsh words on the way today. This jargon-laden kids‘ “game” found on the EPA’s website, perfectly illustrates the attitude and behavior I started this blog (and company) to address — a self-indulgent fascination with our own shop talk that turns off people who would otherwise support what we are doing.

Up for critique today is a kids word-finder puzzle — and the words the kids look for include such jargon as “nonpoint source,” “BMP,” and “Xeriscape.”

Most of us have the sense to know that any children young enough to enjoy a word-finder puzzle is probably still learning to count and are not ready to tackle the concept of a BMP. But somebody at EPA apparently does not — and it’s simply bad for the agency’s reputation to send a signal that it is so wildly out of touch with families and children.

Somebody at the EPA Office of Water needs to show some leadership here: Take this embarrassing thing down, or have it reworked by somebody who actually has some children. Otherwise the next time you put out some regulation with the rationale that it will protect children, there will be some parents out there who think to themselves, “Yeah, but what does EPA know about kids?”

Thanks to Alicia for pointing this one out.

The Sheriff pulled up next to a man unloading garbage out of his pick-up into the ditch.

The Sheriff asked, “Why are you dumping garbage in the ditch? Don’t you see that sign right over your head”.

“Yep”, the man replied. “That’s why I’m dumpin’ it here, cause it says ‘Fine For Dumping Garbage.’

“Why are we more likely to discuss a gossipy rumor at a party than a policy error that can actually make a material difference to our own lives?” That’s a question Washington Post reporter Shankar Vedantam takes up in his story “Why Fluff-Over-Substance Makes Perfect Evolutionary Sense.” It’s worth a read if you’ve ever found it frustrating to connect with everyday citizens about important issues like the the science and policy of nature protection and pollution control.

Vedantam quotes several “evolutionary psychologists” who explain modern human conduct by examining behavior that would have increased an individual’s odds of survival back in stone age. Professor Hank Davis at the University of Guelph in Ontario believes that because humans evolved in small hunter-gatherer clans, our brains are fine tuned to questions of:

…who needs a favor, who is in a position to offer one, who is trustworthy, who is a liar, who is available sexually, who is under the protection of a jealous partner, who is likely to abandon family, who poses a threat to us.

Professor Frank T. McAndrew at Knox College in Illinois believes that for this reason:

…people will tend to choose leaders they can relate to personally — and reject the leaders with whom they cannot see having a personal relationship.

You can probably guess why I thought this article was blog-worthy: I believe that nature protection and pollution control experts need to work harder to become leaders that everyday citizens can relate to. An that means keeping shop talk in the shop and using the water words that work in your outward-bound communications.

I’m no scientist, so I’ll put the question to those of you out there who are: Does this theory hold water?

Read the Washington Post story: Why Fluff-Over-Substance Makes Perfect Evolutionary Sense

Not only does this subway poster use “Balance,” a word that works — it really doesn’t say anything else at all! That’s a testimony to just how powerful this particular word is. I’d be interested in seeing the market research that lead the the West Virginia tourist people to choose this particular phrase, but I’ve got plenty of studies in my collection to that suggest they’re on the right track.

Here’s one nugget:

The balance of nature as a reason to protect the oceans speaks most directly to Americans.

Source: Communicating About Oceans: Results of a National Survey

For whatever reason, whenever I use the word “balance,” I often find myself using the word “responsible,” too. Sort of like this:

State officials in West Virginia should strike a responsible balance between meeting America’s energy needs and meeting their own residents’ needs for clean water by putting a stop to mountaintop removal mining!

Have a nice weekend everybody.