Guest Blog: Wiki Wiki Wiki!

Molly O’Neill is EPA’s cheeky Chief Information Officer.

Marcus asked me to do a guest blog, but secretly, I think Marcus wants my job! He is incredibly enthusiastic about how the Agency might use new Web 2.0 technologies to collaborate with our partners, as well as to implement and automate performance measures.

Being EPA’s Chief Information Officer, I get to build small “sandboxes” to learn. These are places where we can try out new technologies before we deploy them in production environments. But, sometimes you have to step outside the sandbox to learn more.

In November, we did just that with the Puget Sound Information Access Challenge. We wanted to use Web 2.0 technologies to engage a broad audience on an environmental issue, but we also wanted to show how these technologies can support networking and collaboration in government. Without notice, the Challenge was announced on stage at EPA’s Office of Environmental Information National Symposium. We challenged the audience and anyone watching over the Internet to help us pull together information for the Puget Sound Leadership Council. The Council’s goal is to draft and implement a plan for a healthy Puget Sound by 2020.

We followed up the announcement with an e-mail to all Symposium participants and encouraged them to forward the message to others who could help. We set up a wiki site (Web 2.0 collaboration tool) so that we could bring all this information together quickly over the Internet. Understanding that not everyone was tech savvy, we also set up an e-mail, Web form, and a temporary phone number. Over the 36 hour Challenge, we received 17,000 views to the wiki, and more than 175 contributions – ranging from information found in libraries to development of new environmental models.  Contributions were submitted by states, federal agencies, and citizens - including a discussion in a blog from Germany.

One of the many important lessons we learned from this Challenge is that Web 2.0 technologies pose incredible opportunity for collaborative work at EPA. Sorry Marcus, I won’t give up my job, but perhaps we can negotiate a new role for you as a WIKIMASTER!

Comments

[Chas]

Molly, this sounds like a great project, congrats! We've recently launched a river glossary wiki (wiki.americanrivers.org) on mediawiki, but the spam is unbelievable.

For your project what software did you use? Was spam ever an issue?

Thanks!
Chas
American Rivers

[Chas]

Marcus, thank you for this blog, I'm a new reader (thanks to al kamen) and really enjoy it. I've read secretary mike levitt's blog before, and admire his efforts, but do you know of other gov't agency sponsored blogs?

Thanks,
Chas
American Rivers

[Molly]

Chas, we used mediawiki as well. No real problem with spam because it was only open for contribution for a few days - The Access Challenge was time boxed. If I may answer the question you posed to Marcus, here is a link to federal government blogs. http://www.usa.gov/Topics/Reference_Shelf/News/blog.shtml If you google government blogs, you will get a list of really good state and local government blogs as well. I look forward to reading your wiki!

[Marcus]

Chas, there is a list of Federal Govt blogs at USA.gov: http://www.usa.gov/Topics/Reference_Shelf/News/blog.shtml

I don't know how often it's updated because I see they don't have the most recent member of the family: TSA.

[burritt s lacy jr]

My comment got , somehow, deleted. I feel strongly that nothing should , or can, stop my state of Kansas, or any other, from establishing state regulations to slow global warming, the number one catastrophe for the USA and the world.

[David Rosenstein]

It is great that Mr. Peacok wants to have a blog to facilitate transperancy and communication. It is hard to believe that is really the case when ignoring of EPA scientists and analysts on an issue as central as global warming pollution from vehicles takes place......hmmm. what a way to “encourage risks and test innovative ideas.” .... politics trumps science again!

[Peter]

The PRIMARY concern of our nation-the USA- and of the world is WATER. Potable Water. Industry is responding as is the Military Strategists for consumer profits and conflicts as we speak.

Our society, the Western Industrial Society, must arrange our laws, commerce and social-cultural strategies to protect and improve our collective behavior with water.

Ours must a concern for ourselves and more for our children. Our children are already starting to urgently ask why did we destroy our water and Earth? What were we thinging? Why did we do it this way?

We must be educated about the facts and the causes and effects of our behavior.

We presently are sheep following our chosen "leaders" who are not acting for the highest good. Our leaders are always concerned for their risk created by ancillary, profit strategies. We must raise our collective awareness and need for action. Our leaders and our blind consumer mentality is threatening all of us.

Potable Water IS the power like OIL WAS in the 1900's until now. Global wars will be created around water and other needed resources.

I live in THE GREAT LAKES region and the weather pattern and water distribution pattern is already acting to lower the water levels of the lakes and the environmental food chains of this region.

New Mexico, Arizona, etc. in the Southwest are working to gain "rights for our water" as well. The U.S. has a hidden battle for water distribution rights for our Great Lakes already underway.

The world has strong and strange water battles happening as well. This is alarming on many levels.

See, refer to, hold and work from and with THE WORLD WATCH INSTITUTE. These people advise our CIA, our NSA and Whitehouse. This is a powerful bell tower our leaders need to embrace and work with.

Please arrange our leadership strategies and our consumer behavior!

Sincerely and Urgently,

Peter

[David Landskov]

Global climate change is a crucial problem that should not be ignored. Scientists speak truth to power.

Thanks for hosting this blog.

Mr. Peacock, As an American citizen, I urge you to use your scientists' information -- they are the experts, and know the facts. Only they are qualified on EPA decisions. These are perilous times, and we must rely on experts, not political ideas, on EPA issues. Thank you.
Martha Eberle, Dripping Springs, TX

[Terry Cookro]

What ever happened to the Republican party, it use to be known for fiscal responsibility and being proponents of states rights. All of that seems to be gone. Our States have a right to be good citizens especially when it comes to critical issues like global warming. They should be allowed to reduce emissions.

Director Johnson seems to know a lot more about the dangers of exhausts than scientists do. Did he get his education from George W. Bush?
He should explain to the nation, especially to California, why it is not allowed for them to be more restrictive in their pursuit of lower emissions than he and Bush require. California is concerned with the health of their citizens. What is it that concerns Director johnson?

[Jl McKinnis]

I'm glad we're talking about these issues. The state of our environment and the toxic loading that we're doing to it is a critical issue. But, it's not just our environment that is being adversely affected. It's us. The millions of toxic fumes we are dispersing into our air, soil and water are just as negatively imacting our health and welfare too. I'm one of 140 million Americans that suffers from the "fastest growing segment of the disabled population" (Pacific NW region ADA 2005). We have become severly and life threateningly disabled by Consumer Product Toxins. The EPA isn't listening to this documented and relevant information either. When I called my EPA investigator searching for answers and assistance, they insisted that they put a lawyer on the phone to listen to my call. Both the lawyer and the "investigator" did every thing they could to resist giving me the help, information or even answer my questions. I'm just trying to survive. What's up with that? Come to find out, Chlorothalanil, the most widely used fungicide in both agricultural and manufacturing industry kills all cells by uptaking glutathione. It doesn't matter whether those cells are bacterial or mammal. 47 documented university studies support this. Yet the EPA registers this fungicide as Hazard Catagory 1, least toxic. This highly volatile toxic chemical has been measured at 4 miles from application site on a windless day! It has been documented to be seriously and adversely affecting fish, amphibians, birds, & mammals in pristine wilderness areas far from the application sites. Yet we can't get the EPA to reassign the hazard catagory on this or other noxious chemicals that are being produced in the millions of tons annually. These chemicals are adversely affecting us and our environment and play a key role in the global warming issue. They are being ignored as we focus all of our attention on "emissions."

[David Courtenay]

Mr. Peacock, if you truly want to "encourage risks and test innovative ideas", then I hope you and administrator Johnson understand that ignoring EPA scientists and analysts on an issue as central as global warming pollution is not the way to do so. Please listen to your own informed and unbiased scientists and allow states to further regulate the amount of greenhouse gases that are released into their skies. Thank you.

[Dolores Brabbs]

The EPA desperately needs more respect from the present administration to do its job. There must be a way to enforce the policy on auto emissions.Instead of the farce that is currently being forced on Americans who care about our very existence.

[Aajonus Vonderplanitz]

Deputy Administrator Peacock that ignoring EPA scientists and analysts on an issue as central as global warming pollution from vehicles is not a way to “encourage risks and test innovative ideas.”

[dan reed]

clean air, come on how important is it?? oh yea, we breathe it to live!!! what's more important? the only other two things are water and food, which by the way will suffer greatly bad polluted AIR!!!!

COME ON, ENUFF ALREADY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Keith Razack]

The furtive nature of this blog should not be allowed. Environmental regulation should be institutionalized by the government. The EPA director should not stymie regulations that promote the protection of our planet.The scientists have also advocated this view that if the pollution standards aren't enfoced then we will see an increase in the gas emissions we loathe.

[Sarah Franklin]

Perhaps you have forgotten that EPA stands for Environmental Protection Agency? You're supposed to be protecting the environment, not the polluters. So quit trying to stop the states from adopting more stringent pollution standards. This is an area where the states have to lead the way, because the federal government is not doing its job.

[Bloggy]

He should explain to the nation, especially to California, why it is not allowed for them to be more restrictive in their pursuit of lower emissions than he and Bush require. California is concerned with the health of their citizens. What is it that concerns Director johnson?

[Abi]

Why to say global warming just a threat to California. It’s an overall problem for whole world and he should let scientists to do their own work.