Skip to main content

The Government as Lighthouse

A Summary of Federal Risk Communication Programs

  • Chapter
Effective Risk Communication

Part of the book series: Contemporary Issues in Risk Analysis ((CIRA,volume 4))

  • 270 Accesses

Abstract

Since early times, certain activities have been undisputed as important functions of governments, such as conducting foreign relations and warfare and managing a monetary system. Another classic function of government has been to operate lighthouses, which can be considered one of the first and archetypical kinds of risk communication. A light or a foghorn indicates that danger is present. The lighthouse provides an interesting analogy for the various risk communication programs that the federal government has developed since the founding of the Republic.

The opinions expressed here are the author’s and not necessarily those of the agency.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 129.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 179.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 169.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Preview

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 1989 Plenum Press, New York

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Allen, F.W. (1989). The Government as Lighthouse. In: Covello, V.T., McCallum, D.B., Pavlova, M.T. (eds) Effective Risk Communication. Contemporary Issues in Risk Analysis, vol 4. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4613-1569-8_7

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4613-1569-8_7

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA

  • Print ISBN: 978-0-306-48497-1

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4613-1569-8

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

Publish with us

Policies and ethics