What a coincidence! It so happened that I was just beginning to learn how to explore the Internet and how to get information onto it. So I took on this project. I actually got pretty excited about networking our county's many environmental groups, information and issues with other people around the state and the world. Think of the immediacy of communication possible between people on the Internet. When you put something onto the net it is accessible across town or anywhere else in the world almost instantaneously.
The Mendocino Ecology Web is now up and running on the Internet in its beginning stages.
What is the World Wide Web
There are many different ways to communicate with people and information on the Internet but the one that is the most user-friendly and visually interesting is called the World Wide Web. And that is where the Ecology Web resides.
The World Wide Web (or the WWW) is graphical, colorful, and interactive. You quite literally jump around the world accessing information and people by simply clicking the mouse on words, phrases or graphics on the screen to jump to associated information. The ability to make text and graphics hot is called "hypertext" and represents the future of information access. Because of the use of hypertext, you can think of the WWW as really a huge collection of electronic pages of information that are cross-linked but located all over the world. When you click on a hot name, you can be taken anywhere in the world almost instantly and it doesn't matter where you went to or how you got there. It's quite amazing technology.
Hundreds if not thousands of new people a day are connecting to the Internet because there is now a navigation environment as easy to use as the WWW. Who is designing and putting on the Internet the thousands of screens of information (called web pages) that everyone is exploring and jumping around between all over the world? The answer is educational institutions, libraries, the government, businesses, non-profit groups, citizen groups, and individuals.
What's on the Mendocino County Ecology Web?
Our county's Ecology Web will contain the following information about the county:
´ General information about the county: its natural history, geography, weather, geology, etc.
´ A hypertext "hot" index of county environmental groups with the ability to click on any group name and be taken to a contact and any additional information about that groups' work.
´ A hypertexted index of articles (and the articles) from present and past MEC newsletters.
´ A hypertexted index of articles (and articles) from any other environmental group and publication around the county interested in being online.
´ A hypertexted index of links to many other environmentally related sites/groups on the Internet, covering everything from alternative energy to sustainable economics to non-profit organizations. Many of these sites are simply lists of other sites. There are also many search tools for finding specific information.
Help make the Ecology Web a great resource
We need your involvement in the gathering of information. For example, it turned out there was no current database of information on environmental groups in the county and a MEC volunteer has taken on the arduous task of phoning groups for current data. Besides contact information, the vision is to have groups present a history of their successes and learning experiences. Help by providing us with that.
Some reasons why the Ecology Web is valuable
Why should the environmental community here make use of the Ecology Web? Environmental groups can share their experience with others in the county, and the information can be updated instantaneously. The Web can be a way to archive information that is of long term value. Environmental groups can share their accomplishments and goals. Local publications can have a readership that extends way beyond the county's borders. Other people in the state and the country can learn what is happening in Mendocino County. The environmental links area is a one stop access tool to other groups and information around the world. The possibilities are endless. Check it out (The Mendocino County Ecology Web address is: http://www.pacificsites.com/~dglaser/ENVIR/*envir.html).
Mission Statement of the Northern California Ecology Web
The greatest source of information on the environment is interested local people. More than government authorities, university professors, or reference librarians, local experts know the ecology of their area. If you want information about the salmon in a river or the shrubs in a mountain range, there will be a person or a group who can help you find the answers to your questions.
The problem is in finding these local experts. Unlike the government, the universities, or the libraries, there is no plan of organization for our environmental knowledge. The mission of the Ecology Web is to give everyone access to this vast body of knowledge. Basically, any group or person who wants to be listed in the Ecology Web can present a page of information. This information will be organized by county or region at first. Later, the information will be organized by subject, as well.
Another virtue of Ecology Web will be its access to action. Those same people who are most conscious of the environment are those most aware of the damage we have done to the earth. Most knowledgeable environmentalists have banded together to redress the wrongs that they see. Grassroots activist organizations have sprung up along every shore, and in every range and basin. The Ecology Web will also serve as directory to this spontaneous legion of activist organizations.
Copyright Mendocino Environmental Center 1995