1. Civic Rhetorics and Technology Literacies Effecting Change
April Conway
Bowling Green State University
@aprilrconway

2. Exigencies of Environmental Sustainability
Natural:
Institutional: “technical knowledge (is) a legitimate form of humanistic thought…rhetoric theory and critical humanistic thinking contribute value to web-based production and design” (Porter 207).
“Waiting for Climate Change” sculptures by Isaac Cordal

3. Literacies
Literacy "is the ability to gain access to information and to use this information variously to articulate lives and experiences, and also to identify, think through, refine, and solve problems, sometimes complex problems, over time" (Royster 45).
Digital/technological literacy: Not only the instrumental skills of using digital and analog technologies, but also how to critically analyze, evaluate, and effectively make meaning with technological tools and digital spaces.

4. Civic Rhetoric
“Public work of rhetoric might be to support the work of others—to help others write speak, and make new media and other material objects effectively”(Grabill).
There is a need for “the responsible actions of citizens” in regards to civic engagement, social justice, and the environment. (Pangsapa and Smith)

5. Public Laboratory of Open Technology and Science
“Public Lab is a community where you can learn how to investigate environmental concerns. Using inexpensive DIY techniques, we seek to change how people see the world in environmental, social, and political terms” – Public Lab.org

6. Public Lab DIY Kits Aerial Mapping using a weather balloon and an
inexpensive
digital camera
Spectrometry bundle
for chemical analysis
which includes hard-
and software
Infragram Filter Pack
for analyzing photosynthesis.
Includes filters to alter
digital cameras

7. Additional Public Lab Sites of Literacy
Homepage of Public Lab’s
website.
Google newsletter
for regional community
(Baltimore/D.C.)

8. Public Lab Literacy Practices
Digital: Website maintenance, GIS, composing
Technological: Re-purposing hardware
Programming: Software (Map Knitter)
Alphabetic: Twitter, newsletters, journal publications
Rhetorical: Grant writing, design, public speaking, invention
Interpersonal: On- and offline
Ethical: Open access sources
Earth Sciences: Temperature and pollutant measurements

9. Pedagogical Implications
Digital: Website design (Arola)
Technological: Audio/video equipment (Halbritter)
Programming: Code (Cumings)
Rhetorical: Public speaking (Simmons and Grabill); invention and multimodal compositions (Sheridan, Ridolfo, Michel).
Interpersonal: Online civic engagement(Dadas), offline (Cushman)
Ethical: Reciprocity (Cushman)
Earth Sciences: Collaborattion with STEM colleagues, students, community partners.

10. Conclusion
I look forward to seeing how rhetoric and composition continues to evolve and adopt new literacies, ones we may not have yet considered, but which Sheridan, Ridolfo, and Michel would encourage us to think over “in response to new cultural practices and new technologies” (xvii), and, I would add, new environmental realities.