Summit County Citizens Voice

EPA updates, inspirational messages from President Obama and links to commenting on government plans are just a few of the things you’ll find on Twitter these days

"The idea of wilderness needs no defense. It only needs more defenders." (Edward Abbey) http://go.usa.gov/jep—
NationalParkService (@NatlParkService) May 24, 2011

SUMMIT COUNTY — I nearly fell out of my chair this morning when I saw a tweet from an official government agency quoting one of the country’s most subversive writers. The message in this political quote is not particularly inflammatory, but  anyone who has read Edward Abbey knows that it’s just the tip of the rhetorical iceberg. My first thought was, “I hope that tweeter doesn’t get in trouble with his or her boss for posting that.”

Then I got to thinking about all the political tweets I’ve seen streaming across the Twittersphere lately. It’s a new battleground for ideology, with President Obama using the medium to sound presidential, while the right-wing ideaologues in charge of the House Natural Resources Committee use tweets to try and rile up populist sentiments over gas prices and jobs, like this:

https://twitter.com/#!/NatResources/status/73134809991495680

I set up a political Twitter list that lets me look over the latest at a glance. My list is far from complete, but I have some of the primary sources that I use for news, including the EPA, the Forest Service, the National Park Service and the Department of Interior.

Along with those sources, there’s great stuff from NOAA, like this link to tornado stats:

NOAA tracking 2011 #tornado stats: http://go.usa.gov/juX—
NOAA (@usnoaagov) May 24, 2011

And it’s interactive, like this NOAA response to someone looking for specific geographic weather info:

@arlenarlenarlen @midendian perhaps try http://www.ndbc.noaa.gov/ for data from NOAA observing stations on/near SF Bay—
NOAA (@usnoaagov) May 24, 2011

You can follow my Twitter list by clicking here (if you’re already on Twitter).  And by the way, the @bberwyn and the @summitvoice accounts are followed by 200 lists. Sometimes, the stories I post just after 12 p.m. have been tweeted and retweeted as many as 25 times by the time I wake up to start my social media day.

Filed under: Colorado, endangered species, energy, gas drilling, journalism, oil drilling, renewable energy, social media, Summit County Colorado, Summit County news Tagged: | Edward Abbey, journalism, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, National Park Service, NOAA, Summit County Colorado, Summit County News, Twitter, United States Forest Service