![]() ![]() We propose a common-sense approach to risk communication, comprising a simplification of the public provision of existing sources of information to be made available on a mobile website. In particular, we argue that responses to this type of hazard must emphasize maintaining the continuity of programs of scientific research, environmental monitoring, public education, and notification. We argue that policies to improve the public’s ability to understand the physical attributes of blooms, specifically risk communication policies, are to be preferred over physical, chemical, or biological controls. Because of the importance of tourism to coastal Florida, there are incentives for businesses and governments alike to obfuscate descriptions of these blooms, leading to the social amplification of risk. Since the occurrence of a severe Karenia brevis bloom off the southwest Florida coast three-quarters of a century ago, there has been an ongoing debate about the best way for humans to mitigate the impacts of this hazard. Impacts to marine organisms or ecosystems also may occur, such as fish kills or deaths of protected mammals, turtles, or birds. The hazard has been exacerbated by the geometric growth of human populations, including both residents and tourists, along Florida’s southwest coast. When exposed to sufficient levels of brevetoxins, humans may suffer from respiratory, gastrointestinal, or neurological illnesses. The organism produces a potent class of toxins, known as brevetoxins, which are released following cell lysis into ocean or estuarine waters or, upon aerosolization, into the atmosphere. In the Gulf of Mexico, especially along the southwest Florida coast, blooms of the dinoflagellate Karenia brevis are a coastal natural hazard. 9Tetrad Graduate Program, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, United States.8School of Communication, University of Miami, Coral Gables, FL, United States.7School of Journalism and Mass Communications, San José State University, San Jose, CA, United States.6Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science, University of Miami, Coral Gables, FL, United States.5Department of Health Management and Policy, University of Miami, Coral Gables, FL, United States.4European Centre for Environment and Human Health, University of Exeter Medical School, Truro, United Kingdom.3Phytoplankton Ecology Program, Mote Marine Laboratory & Aquarium, Sarasota, FL, United States.2Gulf of Mexico Coastal Ocean Observing System, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, United States.1Marine Policy Center, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, MA, United States.Ullmann 5 Andrew Beet 1 Gary Hitchcock 6 Kate K. ![]() Porter Hoagland 1* Barbara Kirkpatrick 2 Di Jin 1 Gary Kirkpatrick 3 Lora E. ![]()
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