News Feature, July 2006
The Big Green Web
Where to find eco-news online
by Mary Grady
Chances are, if you're reading Natural News, it's because you want to know more about what's going on with your environment. It's easy to get tangled and lost in the World Wide Web, so we've done the navigating for you. Here's a road map to our favorite sites.
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Local newspapers:
Peter Lord is the Providence Journal's veteran environmental reporter, so watch for his stories there on a regular basis. His weekly Environmental Journal has its own home online, or find it in the newsprint Sunday Journal on Page 2 of the Local News section. He covers the day-to-day news, from weather to political wrangling at the Department of Environmental Management to the recent lead-paint trial and the the controversy over expanding Champlin's Marina on Block Island.
Peter also writes occasional in-depth series -- he was a contributor to this week's six-part story about the state's hurricane preparedness, for example. His lyrical 2005 series about how Block Island residents rallied to save the island from rampant development is a pointed reminder about the importance of paying attention to what's going on in your own backyard. A story about endangered right whales from October 2000 was one of projo's first multimedia projects.
Peter's an active member of the Society of Environmental Journalists and co-director of journalism at The Metcalf Institute. The Journal often hosts an intern from the Institute who is assigned to the environmental beat. These are newer reporters who stay for just a 10-month stint, and they work closely with Peter. Also, veteran business reporter Tim Barmann covers energy topics.
The state has plenty of local newspapers, and they do great work week in and week out covering the issues that matter in your neighborhood. If you want in-depth information about what is going on with land-use issues and conservation, don't overlook these local sources. The Providence Business News and the Providence Phoenix also sometimes cover environmental issues from a different perspective.
The Narragansett Bay Estuary Program publishes the Narragansett Bay Journal four times a year. This summer's issue includes a special report on the "state of the bay," and a nice color map depicting all the major rivers in the watershed. It's a newsprint product that runs about 20 pages. You can look for it in your neighborhood, read the pdf version online, or sign up for a free subscription at the NBEP Web site.
Local groups and bloggers:
Rhode Island has an abundance of environmental organizations, and you can find links to them in our Community Links page (that page is a work in progress... if you have links or info to add, please contact us). Most of these sites don't post a lot of news, though. One exception is Save The Bay, which not only has frequent site updates, but offers a free e-newsletter. The STB e-news will bring you occasional action alerts and announcements of upcoming special events. Anyone can sign up, member or not. RIPIRG, the Rhode Island Public Interest Group, also posts frequent updates at their site, mainly about lobbying efforts for local green legislation.
The blog community is growing fast, and Rhode Island already has a few that focus on the environment. Here are the ones we know of, if you have more to add, please let us know.
John Torgan, the Baykeeper for Save The Bay, hosts a blog about, naturally, Narragansett Baykeeper issues.
A useful site for anyone who spends time on or around the Bay is Susan Genett's Daily Bay custom weather forecast. You can sign up online to get an email alert every time the forecast is updated.
Caroline Brown, a Natural News contributing writer and master gardener, writes about sustainable gardening, plus whatever other issues catch her attention, at her Earth-friendly Gardening blog.
Susan Korte also hosts a gardening blog, where she is working to consolidate the diverse bunches of information about what's going on locally. The Providential Gardener has lots of event listings, links to related sites, brief profiles of relevant groups, etc. A former librarian and textbook editor, her gifts of clarity and organization make for a readable and useful site. The two blogs by Caroline and Susan, though they are about generally the same topic, actually overlap very little and complement each other well.
There must be other relevant blogs out there, but we couldn't find them. If you write one, or know of one, please let us know.
For world and national news:
Here at NNN we know the local scale is really where it's at when it comes to environmental issues, but it's also good to have the bigger picture. For national news, there's no competition, really. Grist, "a beacon in the smog," has the best online eco-mag out there. It's fun to read, solidly reported, and comprehensive. You get the latest news updates, interviews with movers and shakers, rightfully award-winning special reports -- the latest series was about poverty and the environment -- and lots, lots more. Nobody else is doing anything close to what Grist does. You can sign up for their free e-newsletter, and customize how often you want it to arrive. No ads on their site, but that means they will occasionally hit you up for a donation. No obligation, though, all their content is available free to all.
Another good source is the Environmental News Network. ENN rounds up eco-stories from a variety of sources, mainly the big wire services like Associated Press and Reuters. The selection is diverse and global. ENN also provides a separate section called Network News where green groups can post press releases. They also have RSS and newsletter options, and EarthNews Radio podcasts.
Reuters, a global wire service, has its own PlanetArk site where it gathers eco-news from around the world. You can sign up for daily headlines by email. The site also offers an easy-to-use topic archive. If there's a particular topic you'd like updates on -- climate change, deforestation, whaling -- just click on the menu and read.
If you want to keep up with a topic in the news, Google News Alerts do a great job. You can type in any combination of search terms, choose whether to monitor news and/or the Web, and select a frequency. I get these daily for topics that I write about and it works great.
Another interesting site is Treehugger, "dedicated to everything that has a modern aesthetic yet is environmentally responsible." It's well-written with a global panache and a trendy, hip style. It was featured in the famous green issue of Vanity Fair last April. It's laid out like a blog with lots of opportunity for interaction. Contributing writers come from all around the world (including R.I.). While the focus remains on green products and design, lots more ends up in the mix. Treehugger TV has great short video features, too. Worth a look!
Did we miss any?
Do you have a favorite site that we missed? Write and let us know about it.
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photo credits: blue marble and hurricane piks courtesy of NASA; whale, NOAA.
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All text and graphics Copyright 2006 by Natural News Network.
