The first thing I saw when I clicked on the link to climateark.org was a picture of a rusty exhaust pipe on a truck with the caption "Climate Destruction >Take Action!" juxtaposed with a photo of a polar bear on melting ice with "Protect Climate >Donate Here!" typed across it. This is a fair representative of Climate Ark's entire website.
The website is designed to be a starting point for those who want to learn more about global warming. As such, there are links to other websites with more information about climate change, organized into convenient categories. On the right are the newest headlines. Along the bottom are sub-divisions, listing causes, info on renewable energy, science and research. Almost anything you could think of relating to the issue. Each link will bring you to a page of new links to websites citing studies, legislation, ect. At first glance, it may seem like a jumbled mess, but when you really analyze it, the depth of thought that went into designing the page becomes apparent.
Climateark.org is the sort of website that anyone with even a slight interest in climate change can loose themselves in. It's a lot like the Mall of America, or any other shopping center. You may go to buy just one thing, and can easily end up spending an entire afternoon there. The site presents viewers with so many options that it can be difficult to just learn about one thing and be done with it. You can find just about anything you ever wanted to learn about global warming. (Except, of course, arguments against it.)
Climate Ark also makes their website very accessible for the general reader. With a cartoon at the bottom of the home page, a banner very clearly contrasting photos of forests on fire and people pumping gas with green trees and snow-capped mountains, and the very simplistic language used when summarizing news articles or other websites, you don't need any background in science to understand the point they are trying to get across; climate change is bad, and if you want to learn more about it this is the site you want. At the same time, the website rejects the common stereotype that those who are knowledgeable about climate change are elitist and will only talk over your head if you're not already in the loop.
Overall, Climate Ark's website appeals to the everyman. It appeals to our desire to have everything we want (in this case, information) to be in one convenient place and making that information understandable to anyone who comes across it, whether or not they know even the basics of the carbon cycle or meteorology. Heck, they even have a kids section. They are trying to reach the undecided middle-ground, and do so in a very seductive manner not often found on most pro-global warming reform websites that prefer to only present their facts, but that the anti-reform groups have been reaching out to for years.
I checked out this website after reading your blog post. I personally found it a little overwhelming, kind of a jumbled mess as you said... but it definitely does provide access to a huge volume of information if nothing else. However I found it interesting that one of the most clearly presented messages was the "donate here" on the home page.
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