The Huffington Post is currently ranked as Technorati's number one authority blog. This means that it has more blogs that link to it than any others according to Technorati's links count. This distinction makes the recent addition of a separate page on Green News and Opinions within The Huffington Post particularly noteworthy to the environmental research community.

Huffpo readers are familiar with the format of the blog. RSS (Real Simple Syndication) feeds are collected under theme pages related to Breaking News (Home), Politics, Media, Business, Entertainment, Living and now Green. Each page also lists news sources and featured commentators and their blogs in a thematically organized Links box at the bottom of each page. The blog permits searches by topic/keyword and contributor. Also, there is a pull down menu that permits category searches.

The Green page is new and obviously will undergo enhancement and development over time. Our current observation is that the a Green lifestyles focus dominates the page, implying that  improving environmental quality should be centered on the task of educating consumers about their ecological footprints and  fostering their eco-friendly consumption. The inclusion of Ecofabulous as a news source and No Impact Man on the blogroll of the Green page reflects this approach.

Several highly visible nongovernmental organizations focused on wildlife, environmental, and ecological conservation are also featured as news sources. Among these are Conservation International, Greenpeace, The National Geographic, World Wildlife Federation, and the Environmental Defense Fund. It appears that among those missing from the news sources and blogrolls are environmental scientists, scientific organizations, experts on environmental problems and environmental advocates. We anticipate that this will change as the Green page evolves due to the large digital footprint of the environmental research community on the Internet.

No Impact Man lists Best Green Blogs on its blogroll. In keeping with our month-long focus on citizen cartography and GIS, we call attention to the Green Blog Map and what it represents to us as academics focused on how information technology shapes community empowerment with respect to environmental quality. The map shows the locations of green bloggers around the world. Bloggers request to have their blog locations entered on the map. (Our own request to be added to the map is pending!). The criteria for inclusion are that blogs: (a) post regularly on topics of interest to the environmental community, (b) have an RSS feed url, and (c) have content that is substantive in terms of the environmental issues and topics. Many of the bloggers focus on local environments. The project to map green bloggers does not have a direct connection with mapping environmental problems or with citizen environmental monitoring and mapping activities.  Moreover, not many of the mapped bloggers represent the environmental research community.

Few researchers would dispute that grass roots activism and environmental reporting are important backbones of contemporary environmentalism. However, given the viral pathways that are emerging in a user defined content driven web 2.0 world, perhaps more researchers should consider such approaches for disseminating their work and perspectives about environmental problems and issues. Originally posted 6/11/08.

Michele Masucci and Caroline Guigar
Temple University

While The City of Brotherly Love observes a near meltdown of its nationally touted city Wi-Fi initiative called Wireless Philadelphia, the Los Angeles Fire Department  marks over 1,500,000 visitors to its blog. The LAFD Blog is not just any online information resource. It is a fully interactive communication and response system built on a series of free web, cross connecting 2.0 applications that supports real-time information flows through the network nodes. Integrated features include live Twitter Tweets, Youtube videos, Blogtalk Radio broadcasts, and live news feeds related to fire safety and prevention, fire events and statuses, and other emergency management news from around the region and country. The current post provides basic information about Twitter, a popular mini-blog and message system application.

Posts also feature embedded interactive fire maps developed in Google.  An example of one of the LAFD maps related to wildfires in Los Angeles last October is embedded below. The map includes citizen reports and photos of fires. It also depicts the status of road openings and closings and updates on reported fires. Citizens can report fires via Twitter, phone or email or through creating their own Google Map that can be linked with the one managed by the Fire Department. The map can be viewed in Google Earth as well as in Google Maps. The map has been viewed over 880,000 times.

The LAFD approach for connecting web 2.0 and geographic information system and internet mapping tools has been recognized in the field of emergency management as the state of the art for reciprocal communication among responders and citizens. Such applications are no-doubt among the many that the city of Philadelphia had in mind when its wireless initiative was implemented.

Philadelphia's experiment in digital inclusion via the Wireless Initiative adds dimension to the LAFD participatory model. The Wireless Initiative's aim to broaden the citizen participatory umbrella through improving information technology access and skills among the least connected groups could have improved access to information and quality of services on the ground in some of the cities poorest neighborhoods.

ITSRG's focus on citizen mapping throughout June aims to continue the discussion about how to move the theme of digital inclusion forward by highlighting examples of citizen involvement in mapping.  Originally posted 6/11/08.

Michele Masucci and Caroline Guigar
Temple University

ITSRG announces the start of its Citizen Cartographers 2.0 Program. One of the most exciting developments in the web 2.0 community is the rise of user created map resources that can be shared, commented on, and integrated in websites, blogs, and e-newsletters. ITSRG will showcase examples of maps created that pertain to community interests and information needs. If you would like to submit a map, please email us at: itsrg2007@gmail.com or send a link to your map using the comments function of this post. We will feature your posts throughout the month of June.

Farmers Markets in Philadelphia

The City of Philadelphia recently opened a new Farmer's Market in the center of City Hall (see photo).  This new attention on the importance of providing high quality foods for local communities in Philadelphia inspired us to work with Harrison Campus Compact staff members and local community organizations to create a Google Maps mash-up of local farmers markets throughout the city of Philadelphia. Our map features smart markers that show information about seasonal days and hours of operation of local markets, the street address, contact information for the market management, and whether or not food stamps and WIC are accepted forms of payment. Just click the marker to find out more information about the market in your neighborhood. If there is no market nearby, contact Farm to City to learn about hosting a local market.

Originally posted 6/4/08.

Michele Masucci and Caroline Guigar
Temple University