From Domination of the Environment to Stewardship: A Historical Look at Denver Water's Public Communication 1933-2018

Autor/in	Williams, Sean D.
Titel	From Domination of the Environment to Stewardship: A Historical Look at Denver Water's Public Communication 1933-2018
Quelle	In: Journal of Technical Writing and Communication, 52 (2022) 3, S.334-364 (31 Seiten) PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit
Zusatzinformation	ORCID (Williams, Sean D.)
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	0047-2816
DOI	10.1177/00472816211037937
Schlagwörter	Water; Utilities; Organizational Communication; Films; Physical Environment; Conservation (Environment); Colorado (Denver) + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Wasser; Hilfsmittel; Film; Natürliche Umwelt; Conservation; Environment; Konservierung; Bewahung; Umwelt
Abstract	When most people think about the water coming from their kitchen faucets, they seldom consider where the water originates and how transporting it to their homes has environmental impacts. Utilities that supply water know the complexity of their systems, but from their position as a "utility," they view their job as supplying safe water to their customers, not necessarily stewarding the environment. Consequently, when building large projects like dams, canals, and tunnels, utilities regard environmental disruption as a necessary byproduct of serving growing cities with water. Representations of these projects often replicate the "man conquering nature" frame, praising these engineering marvels for their defiance of nature. Denver Water, the utility that serves almost 1.5 million people on the arid eastern slope of the Colorado Rockies, has produced films describing its complex system since the early 20th century, and these films reveal an evolution of values from dominating nature to actively stewarding the environment. This paper reports on a grounded theory analysis of films produced by Denver Water between 1933 and 2018 examining how the films frame human relationships to the natural environment. The results reveal that the films increasingly express stewardship ideals over those of domination, with recent public communication actively advocating for environmental causes. The paper concludes by suggesting that we can learn important lessons from Denver Water about ethical organizational action for environmental stewardship. (As Provided).
Anmerkungen	SAGE Publications. 2455 Teller Road, Thousand Oaks, CA 91320. Tel: 800-818-7243; Tel: 805-499-9774; Fax: 800-583-2665; e-mail: journals@sagepub.com; Web site: http://sagepub.com
Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2024/1/01