The Green SociaList

by Scotter Bragg

April 30th, 2008 in Conservation, Energy, Environment, Green, Living, Newsletter, The SociaList Issue

share
print
pdf (beta)
comment rss
trackback

Green is a movement. Green is a new way of living. And green is all over the internet. Here are 10 of our favorite sites that connect you to eco-friendly friends and resources that really matter.

1. Treehugger - There isn’t a better place to start than Treehugger. Dedicated to “driving sustainability mainstream,” Treehugger offers all the green networking and educational resources you could possibly need, including e-newsletters, audio and video podcasts, contests, and a very active forum where you can share your thoughts on new green products or stories about your personal sustainability struggles and successes.

2. Hugg - Launched by Treehugger last year, Hugg is the Digg of green news. This social bookmarking site asks users to rank the importance of submitted green news articles by voting for, or “hugging,” them. With a proliferation of green publications and news over the past few years, it’s nice to have a bookmarking site dedicated solely to these stories.

3. Greenedia - If Hugg’s completely democratic approach to highlighting eco-content on the web leaves you with a dubious feeling, then Greenedia (green + media) may be more to your liking. Greenedia asks tried-and-tested experts to vet the aggregated content they choose to highlight, and then offer lots of social media tools for users to add relevant links and commentary.

4. Sierra Club’s Cool Cities - On a local level, the most effective political action you can take to fight climate change is to get involved in the Sierra Club’s Cool Cities campaign, especially if your city’s mayor has not signed on yet. Twenty-one Michigan cities are already on board, but there are some very large cities that haven’t (Hey Detroit, Kalamazoo, Livonia, Pontiac, Clinton Township, Dearborn! Don’t think we haven’t noticed!).

5. 1Sky - Formed in 2007, 1Sky is a social activist networking site that organizes national campaigns, allowing people from all over North America to organize locally and find partners to fight climate change. The seeds of this organization can be found in popular campaigns from 2007 that utilized robust websites to rally activists to attend events and report back with their achievements and stories.

6. MakeMeSustainable - MakeMeSustainable is a social networking site that offers tools to help you lower your carbon footprint and energy costs. You’ll be asked for info about your lifestyle to enable the site can calculate your carbon rating and give you tips to lower it. With its focus on reducing your personal environmental impact through group support, MakeMeSustainable is kind of like Weight Watchers for the carbon heavy.

7. Slow Food USA - No one is saying that green living isn’t pleasurable. Slow Food USA (as opposed to “fast food”) is a worldwide group with six Michigan-area chapters, or “convivia,” you can join for tastings and other events. Green gourmands will also want to visit Detroit Evolution Laboratory, now offering vegan and raw food cooking classes online.

8. Green Maps - Ever wish you had a convenient map to help you find vegetarian restaurants and environmentally friendly businesses in your area? Green Maps offer the tools and resources you need to create maps or find existing maps that detail the various green oases in your area. There are only a handful of Michigan green maps so far, but these exercises in collaborative cartography can be a great service to those who seek out greener pastures of the urban wilderness.

9. Michigan Environmental Council - The Michigan Environmental Council is a Michigan-focused environmental advocacy and activist organization that works for political change to help preserve our state’s natural resources. A comprehensive list of its member groups will help you find the advocacy groups in your area.

10. Great Lakes Bioneers - Go north, young men and women! Well, at least this year. Perhaps the best opportunity to meet hundreds of Michigan green advocates in person is at the annual Great Lakes Bioneers conference, taking place on October 17-19 in Traverse City and featuring local and national activists, expert speakers, and green companies looking to promote their environmentally friendly wares.

Do you know of other great green networks? Leave a comment and let us know.

Scotter Bragg was born and raised in the suburbs of Detroit and moved to Washington, DC, for four years after college. Returning to Michigan in 2007, he also writes for the music blog The Post-Rockist and Metroblogging Detroit. He enjoys and writes about green living and sustainability, the Detroit music scene, and the arts in Michigan. He currently lives in Detroit.