A few weeks ago, I created a post discussing ten exceptional websites pertaining to the sustainability movement. Further research of the web has led me to return with ten additional websites, which were analyzed using the IMSA and Webby Awards Criteria and have conveniently been added to my ever expanding linkroll on the left hand side of this page. I have attempted to find a balance between well written blogging sites as well as reputable organizational websites and will discuss each one briefly. However, I encourage each person to take the time to visit these websites; there is a repository of unique information available for every source listed here. One of the organizational websites discovered in my search was GreenerCars.org. Living in the car obsessed city of Los Angeles prompted me to find this website that provides consumers with information about how environmentally friendly every car on the market is. Well designed, easily navigable, and with a wealth of useful knowledge, GreenerCars.org makes an excellent resource. Similar in quality is The Alternative Energy Store. Although it is more directed toward those do-it-yourself types who enjoy building and working on things at home, The Alternative Energy Store is an online retail store that provides green materials to anyone interested and also has information to help those less adept in their mechanical skills. Keeping my last post on hydrogen power in mind, I came across the U.S. Department of Energy Hydrogen Program page, and granted, it contains some bias as to the effectiveness of government hydrogen programs, it is nonetheless a good source of information about hydrogen energy in our country. Earth 911 is a mass notification platform that aims at relaying messages on a large scale regarding sustainability. At first glance, the site appears to be overly broad and unfocused in its purpose, but further investigation reveals a highly developed networking webpage that is extremely user friendly. Lastly is a rather unusual source for green information. The Sundance Channel, an institution for small independent films, contains a branch of their website called Eco-mmunity where visitors can read up on the latest environmental news as well as get involved in various environmental causes. Eco-mmunity understandably does not delve as deeply into the subject as some of the previous websites listed do, but I love and appreciate the fact that this significant entity in Hollywood is exercising some social responsibility and finding a way to incorporate sustainability into the movie industry.Coincidentally enough, where my discussion on green organizational websites ends is where my discussion on green blogging sites begins. The Sundance Channel also has three blogs on their Eco-mmunity section. The Green is an up to date blog discussing a myriad of environmental issues all across the globe. Despite the fact that there is no information about who is writing the posts, the blog appears to present legitimate information and is maintained daily. The second blog, Environmental News, focuses on just that. Rather than broadly discussing issues as The Green does, Environmental News focuses on the politics of sustainability around the world. However, the same criticisms about The Green also apply to this blog as well. Moving away from the Sundance Channel, I came upon Green Option, a blog site that covers every topic, from money and business to food and health. The upside of this site is there numerous bloggers who keep Green Option updated daily, often with more than one post per day. The negative is that not all seem to be experts in the field. Gristmill is another environmental journal meant to inject humor in a field that is too often characterized as dull and overly serious. They attempt to keep things interesting by covering the unconventional but still pertinent sustainability news. The problem with Gristmill is that seemingly anyone can post an entry, regardless of their qualifications or lack thereof. Lastly is MTV Switch blog, a branch of MTV that covers green news of relevance to the younger generation. Not one of my most favorite sites, I still believe it is important and admirable for MTV to have this online resource that continues to inject important issues to our youths in a manner that is relatable to them.
1 comment:
KC-
I really appreciate your personal and genuine approach to this post. Not only do you present ten very relevant and interesting websites, but you specifically address the reader and how the sites can cater to their needs and interests. Additionally, I liked that you discussed the purpose for selecting each site that you did and they weren't just random choices. I also really enjoyed the connections that you made with previous posts and topics discussed, which I felt made the post congruent with your blog as a whole. After looking into some of the sites mentioned on the Linkroll, I agree with your evaluations and I think you did a great job of analyzing the important aspects of each one. I thought that you did an especially good job of picking apart the blogs that you chose. I think the most important aspect of a blog is the credibility of the authors, and you certainly used that as a common judging criteria. On a more technical note, I think you are an excellent writer with a well-developed tone and good variation in sentence structure. However, while I liked having detailed descriptions of each site, I also think that you could work on making your post more concise by focusing on the main strength or weakness of each link. Another suggestion might be to try to combine shorter sentences that are linked in relevance to make the writing more crisp. Lastly, the hyperlink on your graphic does not lead to the source page, which I would have liked to have seen because it is an interesting collection of logos and I'm curious to see where it came from. Overall, I think you did an excellent job. Keep up the good work!
-KLK
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