RE: Distributing info locally & regionally

[Ricardo A. Alvarez <alvarez@fiu.edu>]

Good afternoon-my name is Ricardo Alvarez. I am the Deputy Director of the International Hurricane Center at Florida International University. Dealing with hurricanes my main areas of intrerest and expertise deal with disasters, emergency management, mitigation, but also with issues of climate change and variability, and how extreme events and natural processes as well as human activity contribute to damage, including environmental damage.

With regard to distributing EPA ino locally and regionally I believe the methodology presently emplyed, and so aptly summarized by Sue Van Patten, is one that meets REGULATORY requirements for information distribution, but does little if anything to PROMOTE PUBLIC INVOLVEMENT. 

I'd like to suggest methodology that targets how to get the public interested and involved in a topic. For example, working with K-12 teachers and helping them develop programs with the students that may require them to do something at home with parental participation. By involving the kids and the parents and by repeating this process throughout the year as EPA wants to distribute additional information we will SLOWLY, BUT SURELY develop and nourish public interest in what EPA's mission is and in partuicular projects and information about them.