Green Blogs and the Nature of Blogging

So I’ve been reading a lot of blogs lately, partly in research for these posts, and partly out of interest of what people have to say about the green movement and living sustainably. It got me thinking about some things. First being how overwhelming the amount of information that is at the tips of our fingers is. Second being the question of the worth of that overabundance of information.

In reference to my first thought, if you can- try to think back to a time before the internet. A time before everyone’s opinions, however valid they might be, were being shouted from forums and blogs. A time when the information people received was either from word of mouth and therefore obviously based in opinion, or the newspaper, TV, and radio, all very controlled and filtered mediums usually firmly rooted in the journalistic ideal of neutrality and objectivity. Now think about the wealth of information readily available to anyone with access to the internet. It really is overwhelming. The news media have scrambled to up their output in order to remain competitive, thus the 24 hour news cycle was born. And since anyone who has access to the internet has a platform from which to inform others, we have the blogosphere. Anyone with an opinion (including this particular blogger) has access to more or less an instant audience. As most people are opinionated about something or other, you can understand why so much information is thrown around. Also worth considering is how the anonymity of the internet provides protection for those who might not otherwise speak up. Opinion, rather than objectivity, has become the norm of today’s communication stream, particularly in the realm of environmental issues (think about the ridiculous, continued debate over climate change).

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Personally, I think this is both a good thing and a bad thing. Not a catch 22, more of a trade off. With the wealth, and I do mean wealth, of information readily available to us comes a price. That price is the responsibility to consider the source, and the source’s opinion, before making your own decision on the validity of that information. In particular, be sure to look out for greenwashing, companies falsely spinning products as environmentally friendly, and articles that fail to provide references or sources.

That said, I want to open a discussion on the good environmental blogs on the web. I have a number of favorites that I have found to be very knowledgeable and even entertaining, because no one wants to read boring blogs right?

Here’s my list. Don’t forget to share yours in the comments!

Grist – Gloom and doom with a sense of humor.

The Good Human – Encouraging people to be better humans through working to clean up the environment, being active in political issues and being more aware of one’s life and surroundings.

Treehugger – Mainstream sustainability, a one-stop shop for green news, solutions, and product information.

Eco-Chick – Ecofashion, beauty and green goodness.

EcoStiletto – Tips that make choosing green alternatives a no-brainer.

EcoSalon – Proving that environmental consciousness doesn’t have to mean granola, that style and sustainability belong in the same sentence and that living green is fun, not frumpy.

and of course, The Chic Ecologist… but then again, I’m biased.