PB3A

I would like to do my WP3 assignment on strategies to become more energy efficient through reducing water consumption. I found an academic, peer reviewed article by Carol Mass entitled Shower with a Friend: How Conserving the Wet Stuff Cascades into Megawatt Savings. The article explains how reducing water use, especially the use of hot water, also reduces the amount of energy we consume. Shower with a Friend then goes on to explore all the different ways one can reduce their water consumption.

In order to convey the information presented in Shower with a Friend to a younger audience, I plan to make a comic strip about two talking animals. The first character will be a talking goldfish named “Gary the Goldfish” who shows how his habitat in his lake is being affected by humans’ overconsumption of water. The other character will be a talking toucan named “Tina the Toucan” who shows how both her environment in the rainforest and the atmosphere of the earth are being affected by humans’ overconsumption of energy. After exposing the children to the negative effects of energy and water overuse, both Gary the Goldfish and Tina the Toucan will then meet up to educate the children on ways they can reduce their water consumption (like, for example, reducing their shower time or turning off the faucet while brushing their teeth). This will follow the conventions of a piece geared toward children because it will include talking animals, bright colors, and illustrations. I will also stick to very simple vocabulary and short sentences to ensure that the material is kid-friendly. I think including Gary the Goldfish and Tina the Toucan makes the content kid-friendly and will inspire children to want to conserve water because children are typically sympathetic towards animals and will want to help conserve their habitats. I will also do my best to give the story a light-hearted tone and keep it as not-scary as possible so I don't scare the younger audience.

In order to convey the information presented in Shower with a Friend to an adult audience, I am going to write a speech as if it were going to be given by Jerry Brown, encouraging Californians to reduce their water consumption in light of the drought. I will start by outlining the massive effects the California drought has had on California; this will contribute to a more serious tone (compared to the story involving Tina the Toucan) because the consequences are not sugar-coated or given less gravity by distracting, talking animals or bright colors. The serious tone will cater to an adult audience because there is no need to try to not scare the audience, as we did with the younger audience. I will then outline the ways Californians can reduce their water consumption and urge voters to vote for local candidates who care about environmentalist issues.