Environmental Science: Env. Science

"EarthSky Science Podcasts is the Web site for EarthSky Communications, the producer of the syndicated Earth and Sky radio program that began in 1991. The site bills itself as the "Web community for a thoughtful future" and advertises that its podcasts are heard 14 million times a day. Site content is distributed via podcasts, Sky in Google Earth pop-up balloons, Mobilcast, and blogs; EarthSky also communicates via Twitter and Facebook. Fresh, attractive, and clear, the EarthSky home page presents actively updated content covering the breadth of the science field.

The main page features blogs; podcast feeds; a list of most actively viewed pages; an EarthSky Tonight teaser image; tabs for Top Stories, Daily Earth and Sky, and Clear Voices; a Spanish-language option; and more. The vertical menu on the left-hand side of the page is composed chiefly of subject topics with stories related to 11 areas such as Climate, Oceans, Photos, and even Bizarre. Visitors will also find an option to subscribe to podcasts, e-mail newsletters, and RSS feeds. The page-top horizontal menu is composed chiefly of media topics (news, blogs, podcasts, and radio shows) as well as links to the EarthSky store, information on what's going on in the sky tonight, and background information about the site. Additionally, the home page offers resources for children and teachers. The site is very easy to navigate. Every page except the News page uses a consistent color scheme, and the site is free from advertising except on the Store page. The only broken links found were on the 11 menu selections for subscriptions under EarthSky Channels. EarthSky is a useful resource for obtaining science news and exploring and learning about the different areas of science." Choice December, 2009.

"Sponsored by the journal Nature (CH, Apr'09, 46-4191), the Nature Online Video Streaming Archive is a treasure trove of well-made, informative, and educational videos that feature summaries of research as detailed by the scientists who conducted the work. At the time of this review, only 27 productions (based on articles featured in Nature) were available. Videos cover such topics as the biodiversity of deep-sea organisms, ancient tsunamis and their relevance to the 2004 event, and the DNA of Neanderthals and what it reveals about human ancestry. All videos are free and can be played at low or high resolution, depending on one's Internet connection. They do, however, require the Macromedia Flash plug-in. Videos can also be viewed on Nature's YouTube channel.

As one would expect from Nature, all productions are of excellent quality. They include interviews with research scientists, fabulous photography, and explanatory graphics that detail various scientific processes. Each presentation provides links to more information about the research, including access to the original work as published in the journal (subscription required or articles can be purchased). In addition to offering an interesting way to learn about ongoing research, the videos can provide an excellent way to introduce students to the work of field biologists. This reviewer can easily envision the videos being incorporated into class as part of a discussion on careers in science--a great way to bring the scientist into the high school or undergraduate classroom. The site's only disadvantage is the lack of a search engine. This is not a problem as there are only about two dozen titles to browse, but it could be problematic with the addition of more titles to the archives." Choice, August 2009.

YouTube + Science = ScienceHack. A database of scientist approved videos.