Infrastructures

Infrastructures -- the divisions, connections, and relationships between physical and human resources -- are crucial to the health and growth of any advanced society. If we understand the inter-relatedness of these structures and ourselves, we will better understand the world; and we will have more to say -- more intelligently and more accurately -- in the media we create.

The word "infrastructure" was, and is, most commonly used in reference to transportation. But in recent years, people have realized that this same concept could be used more broadly, in many areas. The following sections contain just a few starting points to stimulate further exploration.

Information and Technology

• Blogging is a new type of public discourse with an immediacy enabled by new technology. It has been credited for changing the face of politics in 2004, particularly in the candidacy of Howard Dean. To see how blogs help focused interest groups share experiences, check out the John Kerry Blog or Blog for America.
• The Electronic Frontier Foundation "is a non-profit civil liberties organization working in the public interest to protect privacy, free expression, and access to public resources and information online, as well as to promote responsibility in new media."
• Rhetoric, Community, and Cyberspace examines the ways that technology affects interpersonal communication, and changes our ability to build a sense of community based on shared values.
• The Information Economy page, at Berkeley's School of Information Management and Systems, studies "The Economics of the Internet, Information Goods, Intellectual Property and Related Issues"
• The Ten Commandments of Computer Ethics of the Computer Ethics Society are published by the Computer Professionals for Social Responsibility.
• The National Institute of Standards and Technology supports domestic research and product development with a variety of services, and links to lots of fascinating stuff, including its own Information Technology Laboratory, which studies (among other things) Information Access and User Interfaces.
• The Global Information Infrastructure Commission is a high-level trade association of CEOS from "firms that develop and deploy, operate, rely upon, and finance information and communications technology infrastructure facilities."

Transportation

• The Infrastructure Technology Institute at Northwestern University provides many insightful and easy-to-read articles about the relationship between society and its physical infrastructure, particularly transportation. It's also a good resource for researchers and professionals.
• The National Transportation Library [revised URL] is a major site that can be browsed or searched internally.
• Intelligent Transportation Systems, according to the U.S. Dept. of Transportation, "offer the next major leap forward in improving the safety, convenience, and productivity of our personal and commercial travel."

Water

• Water Resources of the United States: great information and links of all kinds, on a well-done website provided by the U.S. Geological Survey.
• The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency offers Sustainable Water Infrastructure for the 21st Century and Model Ordinances to Protect Local Resources, among many other things.
• In the Drink offers information on water quality issues in any part of the U.S., although the interactive online "Where You Live" tool is now a simpler printed report.

Air

• The National Park Service [revised URL] looks at many aspects of environmental science, including an Air Resources Division. It has also raised its geek appeal by adding air quality webcams, so you no longer have to go outside to see polluted air. Now, that's progress!
• The Environmental Working Group offers Clean Air, a resource which ironically leads to many reports about dirty air, and possible solutions. The site can also be searched for many related topics.
• The Auto Emissions Fact Sheet is informative and thorough, and is just one of several useful documents provided by the National Safety Council's Environmental Health Center.

Energy

• Proof that showbiz is not all fluff: Actor Edward Norton has begun the BP Solar Neighbors Program, donating time and money to get other celebrities and private enterprise involved in an effort to bring solar power to low-income households. He's working with the Enterprise Foundation, a nonprofit group whose goal is to improve the quality and availability of housing for low-income families.
• The On-Line Renewable Energy Education Module [revised URL] is a user-friendly interactive introduction to this topic. Other resources are also hosted by its creators, the Center for Renewable Energy and Sustainable Technology[revised URL], now a subset of the Renewable Energy Policy Project.
• The Energy & Environmental Research Center at the University of North Dakota has numerous activities, such as the National Alternative Fuels Laboratory, the Center for Biomass Utilization, wind energy projects with Native Americans, and a lot more.
• The Energy & Environment [revised URL] section of the Bureau of Transporation Statistics library (see above) has many good links showing the relationships between these two areas.
• The "Electronics Library" also covers many varied topics related to Energy and Environment with multiple pages of user-submitted links.
• The Department of Energy Home Page is a good place to find out what the U.S. government is doing in this area, officially speaking.

Learn Offline All the topics on this page receive frequent media attention. Here are just a few sources for further viewing or reading:

• The Video Project, a non-profit source for videos relating to various environmental and related issues.
• The American Wind Energy Association has a Complimentary Resource Library as well as an Online Bookstore of publications and videos.
• Bullfrog Films: a searchable catalog from an independent distributor specializing in Ecology, Science/Technology In Society, Energy, and similar topics.
• Science-related Videos from Ambrose Video Publishing, a commercial distributor of many familiar shows from PBS and elsewhere.
• OnEarth is an "award-winning environmental magazine [that] explores politics, nature, wildlife, science, the threats to our planet and the solutions that promise to heal and protect it." Published by the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), it was formerly called The Amicus Journal.