some magnificant documentaries on the Great Barrier Reef, on the 

 Aboriginies, on their own wildlife problems and their own deserts. It 

 doesn't have to be that way everywhere. I just keep chomping at the 

 bit and thinking "Why don't we get on with it and get the potential out 

 of this medium that we can?" And furthermore, for those of us in this 

 room who are interested in the out-of-doors, in wildlife and in beautiful 

 scenery, it seems to me that has eminently salable entertainment value. 

 And so we should use our creative genius to use the salability of this 

 really sexy subject that we have as a vehicle to tie with it a solid 

 education message relative to the problems of managing natural 

 resources, on ecolgical things, on animal behavior things, on the kinds 

 of substantial educational messages that we'd like to get out. And I 

 think could tie to what has to be a really salable vehicle that we have 

 with us and are doing almost nothing with. 



Well finally, I can't let academia go unscathed. We don't do the 

 job right either. To too great a degree we tend to seek refuge in the 

 ivory towers and not have a sense of responsibility to get out to the 

 public, explain to the public what we're doing, what our research 

 programs are about, what value they have for public welfare in the 

 country. We ought to do that and we don't. It's too easy to putter 

 away in our laboratories and teach our classes and work with our 

 students and not get out. And if we're falling down and if not enough 

 of that gets out into the media it's not the fault of the media because 

 the media have too wide a spectrum of things to cover. 



I think we have to be alert to the kinds of things that ought to be 

 conveyed to the public. The kinds of things that have news appeal 

 and take the initiative to go to the media and say "Hey, look here, 

 don't you think this is news-worthy? It seems like it should have some 

 public impact and the public should be informed of it." So we're not 

 doing the job properly either. 



In closing, I'd like to say that I think we're all in the same boat. 

 We have a common responsibility and a common privilege to inform and 

 educate the American public. I think it's a great public service and I 

 think it's a privilege that we are able to engage in that service. I 

 think our subject matter is extremely salable. It seems to me that we 

 ought to use our creative genius to get that subject matter across and 

 exploit it for all the entertainment value that it has. But at the same 

 time, we need to tie to it a really substantive educational message. In 

 particular, I think we need to exploit it in television. And finally, I 

 think that if we're not doing it, then we have to look at ourselves 

 because I don't think it can be the receptivity of our public. Never 

 before, in my lifetime anyway, have we had a more environmentally 

 aware, a more outdoors-minded American public than we have today. 

 So if they're not getting the message it seems to me the problem must 

 rest with us because I have to think that the receptivity is out there. 

 Thanks very much. 



