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Solving the Extinction Crisis

Submitted by:

Matthew Eilbacher and Nikko Genoese

April 28, 2017

Abstract

This advocacy campaign aims to educate the public on the severity of the

problem that is the destruction of our environment and its wildlife, and offer

personal measures individuals can take to limit the environmentally harmful

actions they perform in their daily lives. The goal of this advocacy project is to

spread the word of this very serious yet seldom advertised problem, as well as

garner support by means of a pledge to live more eco-friendly lives, thereby

playing a part in halting the massive wave of extinction this planet is currently

undergoing.
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1. Demographics & Target Client Population and Audience

Our target demographic for this advocacy campaign is Penn State students, with a goal of

reaching 100 students with our message. We used our pledge to measure how effective we were

in attaining this goal; however, many more students potentially read the posters we displayed

across campus, visited our website and Twitter, or engaged with our Facebook post without

signing the pledge. Therefore, the number of signatures on our pledge (112 at the time of

submission) gives a rough estimate of the amount of students we were able to reach, but it is

likely that the true number is even higher.

2. Overall Goal of Project

The goal of our advocacy campaign is to spread the word about the serious issue of

environmental destruction, and educate Penn State students on ways they can contribute to

fighting it by living more environmentally friendly lives. We believe that these goals were

effectively met. Through the use of a handful of different media platformsincluding Facebook

posts, tweets and posters displayed around campuswe were able to get our message out to a

very large number of students. The posters we designed contain a QR code that can easily be

scanned using Snapchat, a popular social media app, and a link, both of which bring students

directly to our website. On our website, students can learn about the need for our advocacy

campaign, ways they can help towards the cause of fighting environmental destruction, and take

the pledge to live a more environmentally friendly life.

3. Needs Assessment

The extinction rate of the planet's wildlife is currently at an all-time high. While extinction is

a natural phenomenon, species are dying off at a rate that is far too rapid; in fact, scientists

estimate that extinction is presently occurring anywhere from 1,000 to 10,000 times faster than
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the rate at which it should be naturally occurring. Since 1970 alone, we have lost 52% of the

world's population of mammals, birds, fish, amphibians and reptiles. Experts have declared that

Earth is currently undergoing its sixth mass extinction, and unlike the previous fivecaused by

natural eventsthe current wave of die-offs was almost entirely brought on by human activity.

Mankind is directly responsible for the excessive habitat destruction, pollution and climate

change that threaten the existence of all our planets wildlife. Measures need to be taken to

curtail this rampant and irreversible loss of species before it is too late. While each of us may not

personally be able to limit deforestation or decrease levels of pollution, there are simple steps we

can all take in our daily lives that, when put together, can help combat wildlife extinction and

environmental destruction.

Some basic preventive actions include recycling, reducing your carbon footprint, conserving

water, and limiting the amount of paper we use. Developing simple habits such as carpooling,

taking shorter showers, turning off the faucet when its not being used, and practicing proper

waste disposal is not only easy, but also incredibly helpful in saving the environment. Additional

measures that help support the fight against wildlife extinction include: walking or biking instead

of driving, using fewer fossil-fuel based products, buying locally grown products, using energy-

efficient CFL bulbs, boycotting products made from endangered animals, and many more.

By being more environmentally friendly in our daily lives, we can help put an end to wildlife

extinction. Just as important as cutting back on environmentally harmful behaviors is spreading

the word of this far-reaching and urgent issue. We must encourage others to take action against

extinction and environmental destruction by educating them on what they can do and setting a

proper example of eco-friendly behavior. It is up to each and every one of us to do our part to

save the world we live in.

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Our advocacy project did very well to meet these needs. The aim of our project was to raise

awareness for this issuemany people are unaware of just how grave this situation isas well

as persuade as many students as possible to make more environmentally friendly decisions in

every day life. While there will likely be no immediately apparent impact of our campaign,

change needs to begin somewhere, no matter how small a scale it is on. By educating over a

hundred students on how to pitch in their part to save the environment and its wildlife, and

encouraging them to spread the word and set a good example of eco-friendly behavior, we

simultaneously rose awareness and made an environmentally friendly impact in State College.

4. Objectives, Tasks and Activities

Our project consisted of:

Building an entire website dedicated to addressing why we need to be more

environmentally friendly, educating students on how they can do so, and providing a way

for them to sign our pledge to live more eco-friendly lives

Creating a pledge that demonstrates the need to fight wildlife extinction by cutting down

on environmentally harmful behaviors, and that provides us with a concrete number of

students we were able to reach

Creating posters to hang around campusin residence hall commons, the Hub and

dormitoriesthat educate students on ways they can be more environmentally friendly in

their daily lives. The posters also contain a link and QR code to our website, providing a

quick and easy way to reach our website. We used this method instead of printing and

distributing hand-outs in order to save paper, an example of not wasting paper when it is

not necessary.

Spreading the word of our website and pledge with the use of Facebook posts and tweets
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5. Evaluation

At University Park, there are hundreds of trash bins designated for recycling, compost,

and landfills. However, we realized that despite the efforts of the University, most students

will very often improperly dispose of their garbage in the wrong bin or put no effort into

sorting the materials. This made us think of all the other environmentally harmful actions

Penn State students carry out on a daily basis, and gave us the idea to start this advocacy

campaign.

We decided that the reasoning behind this must be a lack of understanding of the

seriousness of the environmental crisis we are currently in the midst of, and what exactly will

happen to the planets plants and animals if we do not lose these deleterious habits. Thus, we

made it our mission to spread awareness of the critical condition Earth is currently in, hoping

this will ignite positive change within the Penn State community in the form of more

environmentally-conscious decision making.

Our clear and concise website established our ethos and our advertisement campaign

garnered the attention of many students and directed it towards our tips for living eco-

friendly lives. Many of these students clearly learned something from our advocacy

campaign, as 112 students took up the responsibility of pledging their commitment to living a

more environmentally friendly lifestyle. We not only presented a well organized campaign,

but one that provoked compassion in our audience and compelled them to take action. We

believe and hope that our efforts have established a social, educational and technological

campaign with a strong foothold in the Penn State community that will continue to cultivate

awareness and eco-friendly habits at University Park.

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Documentation and Copies of All Materials

Our website can be found at www.savetheenvironmentpsu.com/

Our pledge can be found at www.gopetition.com/petitions/pledge-to-be-more-environmentally-

friendly-in-daily-life.html

Poster
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Poster Displayed in the HUB

Poster Displayed in Findlay Commons

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Poster Displayed in Residence Hall

Note: We displayed many other posters around campus, as well, in similar locations. These

pictures just provide examples.

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Facebook Post in the Penn State Class of 2020 Facebook Page

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Twitter Account - Used to send our website link to various organizations