On May 21, 2008 many Twitter users participated in a Twit-Out in protest to the many problems the service has been having recently. In response Sarah Perez, of ReadWriteWeb, wrote How to Use Social Media for Social Change. Sarah thought that the anger users were displaying toward the Twitter outages and instability could have been directed in a more positive manner toward social causes.
I was pleased to see this article because I was feeling the same sentiment. I am addicted to and dependent on Twitter but it is a free service. And then I think about everything going on in the world and realize that Twitter hiccups are trivial in light of war, famine, food and gas prices, and the degradation of the environment. Personally, I’m trying to stay focused on the big picture
Postings on Twitter, however, are just a, hopefully, small part of an individual’s life and just because someone is complaining about outages doesn’t mean she isn’t involved in social causes. It just starts to seem that way when all the tweets are twitter complaints and not complaints about the environment and social injustice.
I started to wonder how many individuals and organizations are using Twitter to improve the world and bring awareness to environmental issues. I knew they were out there because I post as eleblog for my elephant news site in addition to kwbridge for this site and for personal use. I came up with the following list of Green and Environmental resources using twitter. There were some that I purposefully left off the list because they have not used Twitter in months. I am sure that there a lot of others that I missed, so please let me know about them in the comments and I will add them.
So, maybe start following some of these resources and getting involved with them in order to help make the world a little bit better. It will give you something to do when Twitter is down ;-) I have listed the Twitter user name and the website of the individual or group. In addition, I have created an opml file for these sites, if you would like to add them to your RSS reader.
- 100KHouse –100KHouse An attempt to build a modern and green home in Philly for $100,000 in construction costs.
- 3rblogging – 3r Blogging The blog for the owner of 3r Living, a store specializing in eco friendly products.
- aidg – Appropriate Infrastructure Resource Group The Appropriate Infrastructure Development Group (AIDG) helps individuals and communities get affordable and environmentally sound access to electricity, sanitation and clean water.
- BBC Earth – BBC Earth Nature News from the BBC
- BigGreenSwitch – guide to “greening” up your lifestyle
- CAGW – Crafting A Green World Crafting a Green World features do-it-yourself projects that incorporate reused, recycled, and natural materials
- EcoTechDaily – Green Technology, Gadgets and News and Elaine Hsieh Senior Green Building Consultant
- eleblog – eleblog Elephant News and Information (this site also belongs to me)
- globalwarming Global Warming News and Information
- gogreentube Go Green Tube Broadcast Planet Earth
- greatgreen – Great Green Goods All Products Created from Recycled Materials
- greenlagirl – Green LA Girl Siel Ju’s blog about living green in LA
- greenmom – Green and Clean Mom Reaching out to Moms to help them be more eco-savvy
- GreenPrint – Print Greener
- GreenRater – Show Me Home Energy Solutions home energy performance tests in the St. Louis metropolitan area
- greensblog – Greensblog the official blog of the Australian Greens Senators
- GreenLiving Green Living Tips and Environmental News
- greenews News about green products and trends from sciencenewsblog.com
- greenoptions – Green Options is a community and network of blogs dedicated to sustainability
- GreenSmith – Green Smith Consulting Helping forge sustainable businesses
- greenyourdecor – Green Your Decor A guide to green products for your home.
- grist – Environmental Journalism
- jcolman – The Nature Conservancy
- jejaquot – Tree Hugger
- jetsongreen – Jetson Green blogging the green building revolution
- marcalt – Marc Alt+Partners Sustainable Innovation
- MariaEnergia – Maria Energia Companies, innovations and policies leading the world toward more efficient, reliable, and secure energy in the 21st century.
- michaeldestries – EcoRazzi Companies, innovations and policies leading the world toward more efficient, reliable, and secure energy in the 21st century.
- MomGoesGreen – Mom Goes Green A Mom’s Journey to Green Living.
- NWF – National Wildlife Federation
- NikkiJade – The Green Rocket An Online Green Community
- organicmaven – Biodynamic Treechange – sustainability and organic farming in Australia
- PPnG – Planet Pink and green Where High Design Meets the Ethical Mind
- planetrelations – Public Relations for Earth Minded Businesses
- polizeros – Politics in the Zeros Musings on Politics: Anti-War, Global Warming and Otherwise
- railstotrails – Rails-to-Trails Working with communities to preserve unused rail corridors by transforming them into trails
- ReGeneration – ReGeneration sustaining the world’s natural environment
- RhinosIRF – The International Rhino Foundation
- Scott Edward Anderson – EarthFirst
- solveclimate – Solve Climate Chronicles Solving Global Warming
- starfocus – starfocus works for the National Wildlife Federation
- sustainablog – Sustainablog Blogging a Greener World
- thegoodhuman – The Good Human Sustainability, the Environment, and Progressive Politics
- tinychoices – Tiny Choices the tiny choices we make that impact the environment
- Wilderness – guide to “greening” up your lifestyle
- worldchanging – WorldChanging Real Solutions to Build the Future that We Want
- worldresources – World Resources Insititute Working at the Intersection of Environment and Human Needs
Other Lists of Twitter Resources
- Ten News and Information Twitter Feeds You Should Follow
- A List of News Organizations Using Twitter
- 50 Designers to Follow on Twitter
- Corporate Twitters Worth Following
- 31 WordPress Users to Follow on Twitter
Don’t know what twitter is? Read the Newbie’s Guide to Twitter by Webware.
What about Twitter are you so addicted and dependent on?
Good list of environmental blogs; I have some more you may wish to list on my own blog.
-Ari
Ari,
Thanks for the list of other environmental blogs.
I suppose addicted is a strong word to use – I enjoy the stream of conversation from people that I probably wouldn’t have met in real life. I also find that I can obtain really useful information by following people with similar interests. For example, I primarily follow politics, news, environmental resources, and blogging / social media information.
Politics, news, the environment, and social media… sounds like we write of similar things.
Great article!
I’m a rather obsessive Twitter follower and it can be a good way to keep up with environmental news and tidbits that you miss through your RSS reader. Best Green Blogs has a growing list of green and sustainable themed blogs out there as well.. My green Twitter list is up to 300 people..
Timothy Latzs last blog post – Style Saves The World
Timothy,
Thank you for letting me know about Best Green Blogs – I will definitely be visiting the site.
PB Wiki has a great twitter pack resource: http://twitterpacks.pbwiki.com/Twitter+Pack+by+Topic You’ll find many of the same tweeters you’ve listed here and more… like me:
http://www.twitter.com/grizzarkhov
http://www.twitter.com/railstotrails
Jennifer,
Thanks for the information. I am familiar with twitter packs, although I’m not sure if I was when I wrote this article, but prefer to still examine each user individually rather than adding them all at once.
And thank you for adding your information. I really do need to update the list. I have added and encountered a number of green twitter users that have not been added to the list. Hopefully I will find the time this week.
Great article! Thanks for the list.
Daniel Delaneys last blog post – Playing the Park
Hi Daniel (rittenhouse) :-)
I’m glad you liked it!!
Can you add my wife’s green blog to this list?
http://www.momgoesgreen.com
And her twitter is http://www.twitter.com/momgoesgreen
Jim “The Green Husband” Kukrals last blog post – How To Start An Ecommerce Store From Scratch?
Hi Jim,
Thank you for letting me know about your wife’s site. I have added her to the list and to the opml file.
Kim,
These types of green blogger and twitter lists are very helpful for locating new resources and individuals in the green movement. Thanks for your efforts.
I am new to both the twitter and green blog world. Please take a moment to review my green legal blog: http://www.greenbuildinglawupdate.com. I am also twittering: http://www.twitter.com/chrischeatham.
Best,
Chris
Chris Cheathams last blog post – Aspen Codes Ahead of the Green Building Curve
Thx for putting together this list. It’s nice to know where the greenies are! Would you consider adding me as well?
@thegreenparent
Thx,
Jenn
Jenn (The Green Parent)s last blog post – Kids and Gardening
@Chris – Thanks for visiting. I had not even thought about the legal aspects of green building standards. I will add you to the list with my next update.
@Jenn Hi! Thanks for letting me know about your site. Finding people via Twitter can be a challenge. I will add you as well to the next update.
Thanks for including Green Your Decor!
Jennae @ Green Your Decor’s last blog post – Green Steal of the Week: Organic Cotton Selvedge Window Panel
Hi Jennae – Thanks for stopping by and commenting. Whenever I get a new comment on this post it reminds me that it’s about time to update the list. :-)
Thanks for this list Kim.
I’ll be visiting the sites you’ve recommended :)
Hi Haroun – Thank you visiting. I’m glad that you found the list to be useful.
Great list. Can you add our twitter account to that list? http://twitter.com/greenergood
Justin Chen´s last blog post – jc22: @greenergood DONE (27) had a veggie burrito for lunch. will try to keep it up the rest of the week.
@Justin – Thank you for visiting and commenting. I am very behind on updating this list but as soon as I do, I will add you to it.
Found this blog and thought it would be a good resource in addtition to all the fantastic posts you have.
“10 Environmentalists on Twitter (You Need to Follow)” http://bit.ly/WT9mc (@2morrowknight’s new post)
Hi Megan – Thanks! And thanks for the link.
Nice post, and very glad to get the list of green tweeters. I’m excited that this is finally in the public consciousness, and interested in getting into the green community in Boston as a way to use my software engineering skills to help a green cause or product. Anybody have good contacts or groups they know if in the Boston area?
Hi Art,
Keep in mind that this list hasn’t been updated in quite some time.
It is, however, a great starting point. For many of these people on this lists I would also look at who they are following to find even more environmentalists on twitter.
An advanced twitter search on the right keywords limited to the Boston area might help you find some local people with similar interests.
http://search.twitter.com/advanced
You missed by far the largest one of all …….
@EcoInteractive From the Eco Preservation Society ……. the largest following of all Environmental Twitters with more than 65,000 followers.
http://twitter.com/EcoInteractive
Other Large Followings:
@EcoActions
@RealClimate
@WindBaron
.-= Eco Interactive´s last blog ..EcoPreservation Society =-.
Hi – How old is the account? This post is over a year old now – there are
a lot that have been “missed”.