Preview Issue - Editorial

The New Field of Environmental Communication

Brian A. Day

Welcome to the preview issue of Applied Environmental Education and Communication: An International Journal.

Each day across the globe thousands of people face the question of how to get critical environmental messages to key target audiences. Yet there has been virtually no vehicle to share strategies that work. Until now, there has been no channel to communicate what works for specific audiences, in specific locations—information that could be used to get their next message across effectively. The purpose of this journal is to fill that void. We will publish both research-based, proven solutions as well as reports on communication efforts and campaigns to assist those facing communication challenges.

The burgeoning field of environmental communication has arisen from efforts in a number of important fields. This journal is about the nexus of the fields of social marketing, environmental journalism, interpersonal and mass media, environmental education, behavioral science, environmental interpretation, sustainability education, risk communication, environmental public relations and outreach, governmental and corporate public awareness, and environmental campaigns. AEEC will serve practitioners as well as the academic and research communities.

We are limiting the length of articles in an effort to provide more peer reviewed material in a shorter format that allows practitioners to apply the findings more easily. We also hope to reduce the back-up of material in the field waiting to be published.

As you will see, this journal offers a number of features currently unavailable to the profession. With our News and Notes, Forum, and Editorial sections we hope to provide a more rounded set of offerings. We encourage you to contact us to make these features serve your needs. Each issue will also offer one page of news from the North American Association for Environmental Education. Currently the largest association of its kind, we hope that it will help to serve the organization and our readers by offering an additional venue for getting out information.

In order to serve this fast-growing field, we need your research articles, your news items, and your campaign reports. We are also reviewing new books, videos, and CD-ROMs, so send us copies for review. This Web site, www.AEEC.org, contains author guidelines, templates to ease the article submission process, and subscription information. We offer two subscription types, individual and institutional. The institutional subscription offers an electronic version for institution- wide electronic access. Please give us a try and subscribe today!