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• 1st Headlines culls its environmental news articles [http://www.1stheadlines.com/environment.htm] from such sources as the BBC, World Wildlife Fund, Environmental News Service, Environmental News Network, the Globe and Mail, Los Angeles Times, and Environmental Data Information Exchange, to name but a few. You can also retrieve items by source [http://www.1stheadlines.com/environment-sources.htm].
• Headline Spot [http://headlinespot.com/subject/environment/] functions much in the same way as 1st Headlines/environment-sources, with links to sources listed by category: Headlines (from Moreover, Environment News Service, NewsNet-21); Newspapers (New York Times, Earth Times, Washington Post); Online; Magazines; Television stations and programs (MSNBC, BBC Nature, PBS, Futurewatch, Greenworks); and Radio (EarthNews, EarthWatch Radio, ENN Radio, Great Lakes Radio Consortium, Living on Earth).
• Rocket News [http://www.rocketnews.com/register-bin/agnitio_categories.cgi?idx=Environmental%20Services&ct=1016369846766] approaches news about the environment from a business services perspective, focusing on such matters as contract awards and specific pollution sites and spills.
• The World News Network [http://www.wnnetwork.com/]is best known for its WorldNews.com[http://www.wn.com] Web site featuring news from around the world. Link out to its World Environment site [http://www.worldenvironment.com] and you reach one of the more robust environmental portals on the Web, with links to news by headline or subject (e.g., global warming, animals, forests, oceans, pollution, etc.). There are sections for "breaking news" and "green politics," with links to environmental Web directories. (Note: While the news portions of the site are quite current, links in the environmental Web directories may be somewhat dated or have ceased to exist at all.)
• OneWorld is a community of over 1,000 organizations working for social justice. Browsing by themes [http://www.oneworld.net/themes/topic/], click on "environment" to retrieve current news collected from Yahoo!, Worldwatch Institute, Global Exchange, and the Latin American Center Social Ecology, and many more.
• If you have a small screen, you may not find environmental news on GeoEarth.com [http://earth.geoportals.com/] at first glance. Simply scroll about halfway down the home page to view the Environmental News section, which includes links to CNN — Nature, Environmental News Network, The Earth Times, GeoTimes, EnviroLink, EDF.org, PlanetArk, Lycos Environmental News Service, EarthWatch, and Planet Save. Just below, you'll find Resources (Journals, Magazines, Links) and a section dedicated to Environmental Professionals.
• For general science news, try ScienceDaily [http://www.sciencedaily.com], featuring news by topic (health and life sciences; physical and earth sciences; and science and society). To search archived news, use the "Advanced Search" page.
• If you want to set up a feed of environmental stories with a scientific bent for your Web site, try Moreover [http://p.moreover.com/cgi-local/page?c=Environment%20news&o=xml].
Environmental Portals and Links
Identifying an environmental portal (a site with an extensive list of links to Web-based environmental resources) might be difficult for the novice searcher, but not for the information professional. Targeted to the layperson, Cool Science's Cool Science Links [http://www.eskimo.com/~billb/amateur/coolsci.html#idx] is an eclectic collection to interesting science sites, including museums, magazines, and archives. Acquainting yourself with some of the sites mentioned on this page may help many of your own library patrons, particularly young students.
The Environmental Site [http://www.envirosite.com] features an extensive set of easy links to Internet-based Environmental Resources: Online Tutorials, Glossaries, Fact Sheets, Online Publications, Current Events, Professional Organizations, Educational Institutions, Books, Software, Electronics, Federal and State Agencies, Pollution Prevention, Environmental Justice, Green Chemistry, Conferences, Environmental Advocacy, and Environmental Services Directory.
One expects a great deal from a Web site named Eco-Portal — The Environmental Sustainability.Info Source: The Gateway to Information Empowering the Environmental Movement [http://www.eco-portal.com/]. The navigation bar on the right contains links to current articles concerning the environment. The number of categories (and sites within each category) is impressive. Each site listing includes a rating and a feature that lets users of the Eco-Portal rate the site, though few seem to have taken the time to do so. The home page looks informal, but the sites included are consistently of high quality.
Often overlooked, EnviroOne — Your One Stop Environmental Center[http://www.enviroone.com/envsearch/] presents headline news on its front page, plus access to its Enviro!Forums (for researchers, environmental professionals, concerned citizens, students, and teachers), and "hot programs/issues" pages (air quality, superfund, brownfields, urban sprawl, global warming). Enviro!Categories permit directory-like access to environmental information sites within an extremely detailed subject tree.
The National Association of Environmental Professionals provides a clearinghouse for Web resources of interest to its members [http://www.naep.org/RESOURCES/Resources.html], organized by subject. The Association's annual conference program typically covers public policy environmental management issues, including brownfield redevelopment, land and watershed management, sustainable development, environmental education, urban ecosystem restoration, "green" transportation, and GIS-based decision-support tools. Proceedings from past conferences are available on CD-ROM.
While developed specifically for environmental consultants and remediation professionals, visitors to the Environmental Professional's Homepage[http://www.clay.net] will be led directly to collections of links: governmental agencies, regulations, legislation, health and safety issues, professional associations, conference announcements, environmental training courses. One of the best sections of the site is the EP Virtual Desktop [http://www.clay.net/ep1.html], with its collection of "quick references" and "new net links."
Academic Info: Environmental Studies [http://www.academicinfo.net/environst.html] provides links to indexes and directories, organizations, resources available from the EPA, digital libraries, databases, and electronic journals dedicated to covering and supporting various aspects of environmental studies. There are subject-specific breakdowns to Web sites devoted to such topics as environmental law, environmental history, ozone depletion, animal studies, water resources, and global warming and climate change, as well as a growing list of related subjects (e.g., earth sciences education). Should you find Academic Info a valuable site and wish the endeavor to continue, you might make a donation (payments made via credit cards are accepted through PayPal). Contributions go to defray the cost of maintaining the site, permitting it to remain free of advertising.
Billed as "the source for environmental information," Earthsystems[http://www.earthsystems.org] is "dedicated to the advancement of environmental information and education to the world community." In addition to carrying environmental news and offering online purchase of environmentally sound products and services on its Web site, the organization "develops, compiles, categorizes, and delivers environmental education and information resources." Through Earthsystems, you can connect to the World Wide Web Virtual Library —Environment [http://earthsystems.org/virtuallibrary/vlhome.html]. Search for sites by subject — a long list of discrete categories stretching from acid rain to weather — or simply review the List O' Lists of Environmental Resources, a collection of environmental indices concerning biodiversity, earth sciences, energy, forestry, landscape architecture, oceanography, and sustainable development. This list especially helps to verify environmental sites most recently updated. (For access to the WWW Virtual Library of Ecology and Biodiversity, go to http://conbio.net/vl.)
The National Council for Science and the Environment [http://www.cnie.org] "promotes a new crosscutting approach to environmental science that integrates interdisciplinary research; scientific assessment; communication of science-based information to decision-makers and the general public; and environmental education. As a neutral science-based organization, NCSE promotes science and its relationship with decision-making only and does not take positions on environmental issues themselves." The National Library for the Environment link, made available on this site [http://www.cnie.org/nle/], permits visitors to do the following:
• Search environmental news stories [http://www.cnie.org/news] on The Daily Planet. Topics range from agriculture and climate change to sustainable development and water quality.
• Link to a number of brief papers on specific "hot topics," each of which contains citations (with abstracts) to key papers (a "bibliography") and related Web sites. This section also helps users correspond with the editor of the paper/site. Developed jointly with Cambridge Scientific Abstracts,CSAHot Topics: Environmental [http://www.csa.com/csa/hottopics/hottopics-main.shtml] covers such "hot topics" as the Arctic National Wildlife RefugeDevelopment Issues (August 2001) and Brownfields: Redevelopment of Contaminated Commercial and Industrial Properties (August 2000).
• CSA's Web site also carries detailed summaries of Environmental Sciences and PollutionManagement journal titles available from CSA and access to Environmental RouteNet [http://www.csa.com/routenet/subaccess-new.html], including searchable CSA abstract databases, a current awareness service, and reference desk pointers to material available on the Web. CSA's latest partnership with the Center for Applied Biodiversity Science (CABS) will yield a new and extensive database in the area of biodiversity within the next 3 years.
• Search for Congressional Research Service Reports [http://www.cnie.org/NLE/CRS/]. When we last checked, there were 1,240 reports on environmental and related topics.
• Consult the Internet Reference Desk: Environment and Natural Resources
[http://www.cnie.org/nle/info-7/InternetRes/enrpage.html].• Query Online References, including Toxicology Resources and Environmental News.
• View News and Announcements from the CNIE.
Readers of this magazine should especially appreciate the Environmental Education Programs and Resources page [http://www.cnie.org/education], with its links to academic programs, resources and class syllabi for educators, organizations, projects, and jobs and grant opportunities. While not the only source for such listings, it is extensive and well maintained.
Academic Institutions
Using academics to point the way to resources is always a good notion. Academic departments all over the world have Web sites that researchers should consult to find coursework, research projects underway, completed publications, and even experts.
Sponsored by the North American Association for Environmental Education, Environmental Education on the Internet [http://eelink.net/] features professional resources, class resources, and organizations and projects. (At the time of publication, the ee-calendar was not active.) Its GeneralEnvironmental Information page [http://eelink.net/environmentalinformation-general.html] provides links to Web sites suggested by the public, but thoroughly vetted by the staff. Environmental Links — General [http://eelink.net/environmentallinks-general.html] may sound the same, but these linked resources are organized by topic (air and climate; wildlife and biodiversity; forestry and agriculture; energy and transportation; waste and toxics; population; consumption; and urban and environmental justice).
• For a link
to colleges and universities with environmental studies programs, check
the Yahoo! directory [http://dir.yahoo.com/Society_and_
Culture/Environment_and_Nature/Environmental_Studies/
Education/College_and_University/Departments_and_Programs/].
• Course
syllabi from environmental programs around the world can also be
retrieved from
http://www2.h-net.msu.edu/~environ/syllabi.