Question

question 8 (multiple choice worth 5 points)
(03.02 mc)

john noticed an increase in the trash that had washed up on the beaches near his home. he has already written to his local representatives on solutions that could be taken and attended town hall meetings. there has been no response from his local government. sea turtle experts have now noticed an increase in injured and sick turtles. what action should john take to get the attention of local representatives?

• write a blog and share it with friends and family.
• share the experts data in the next town hall meeting.
• form a group and protest on the beaches of his town.
• do nothing and let the experts handle the situation.

Explanation:

Analyze the scenario and previous actions

The scenario describes John's efforts to address beach pollution. He has already tried low-intensity, individual-level actions: writing letters to local representatives and attending town hall meetings. However, these actions have yielded no response from the local government. Meanwhile, the environmental issue has escalated, as sea turtle experts have now documented an increase in injured and sick turtles.

Evaluate the effectiveness of the options

To get the attention of unresponsive local representatives, John needs to escalate his civic participation to a more visible, collective action:

• Write a blog and share it with friends and family: This is a relatively passive, insular action that is unlikely to pressure local officials who are already ignoring direct communications.
• Share the experts' data in the next town hall meeting: John has already attended town hall meetings without success. Simply presenting more data individually in the same forum is unlikely to break the bureaucratic inertia.
• Form a group and protest on the beaches of his town: This represents Civic Advocacy through collective action and grassroots mobilization. Public protests generate community awareness, attract media attention, and create visible public pressure that local representatives cannot easily ignore.
• Do nothing and let the experts handle the situation: This is civic disengagement and does not help John achieve his goal of getting the representatives' attention.

Determine the best course of action

Forming a group to protest is the most effective next step because collective, public action increases political pressure on representatives when individual channels of communication have failed.

Answer:

• (A) Write a blog and share it with friends and family
• (B) Share the experts' data in the next town hall meeting
• (C) Form a group and protest on the beaches of his town (Correct answer)
• (D) Do nothing and let the experts handle the situation