Earth, Baseball and the Federal Blogger

What is it about government bloggers and baseball? I can't explain the connection, but the correlation appears to be growing. Peruse the evidence for yourself:

The folks over at the Smithsonian American Art Museum started off the trend almost two years ago with not one, but two, different entries on baseball in art.

I followed by blogging about baseball field designs back in InfoFarm's early days, and then, the very next day, the Department of State's blog, Dipnote, trotted out its own baseball reference.

Last month, the Library of Congress blog stepped on the field with an entry on their impressive collection of baseball-related photos and artifacts.

Then, a few weeks later, Colleen, one of the GovGab bloggers, covered our national pastime with an entry aligned with the Opening Day.

Finally, today, the Environmental Protection Agency launched its new blog, Greenversations, with a posting that brings together baseball and Earth Day.

Must be something in the water at federal buildings. Or maybe baseball still is the national pastime, despite some suggestions to the contrary.

Whatever the case, I'm psyched to be joined by so many baseball fans in the federal blogosphere.

I'm psyched, too, since it is Earth Day, to read that the EPA has worked with the New York Mets to identify the latest green technologies and practices that will be incorporated into the Mets' new stadium.

The Mets aren't the only team considering our environment though. From what I've read, brand new Nationals Park, home of our very own Washington Nationals, was built with green design principles. According to the team's site:

Nationals Park will strive to become the first major stadium in the United States accredited as a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Green Building Rating System™ certified ballpark. The new ballpark will pay particular attention to issues affecting the health of the Anacostia River, such as stormwater management and minimization of water pollution.

Newsweek covered the greening of the new ballpark last week. And earlier USA Today provided a neat graphic detailing the various environmental design measures that have gone into Nationals Park, from the lighting to the green roof, from the building materials to the cleaning products, to the water filtration system alluded to above.

But the earth-friendly improvements don't stop there. Larry DiVito, Head Groundskeeper for the Nationals, did his homework when it came to field maintenance equipment. He acquired an outfield mower that runs on biodiesel and a utility vehicle powered solely by electricity.

So worry not, Nats fans, the home turf -- Kentucky bluegrass for those who care -- will be well cared for.

But if you'd like some tips on keeping your own fields "green," check out the environmentally friendly techniques the Nationals' DiVito provided for Earth Day 2007, along with a great collection of turf-related sites from my NAL colleagues. Do your part to help make every day Earth Day.

Posted by Mary Ann Leonard

Added to Blogging and Natural Resources & Environment on April 22, 2008 EST | Permalink

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This blog does not represent official communications from the National Agricultural Library, the Agricultural Research Service or the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

You're Only as Young as You Feel

You've seen those lists every fall describing the experiences of that year's class of college freshmen, haven't you?

The most recent, for the class of 2011, hightlight that "they've never 'rolled down' a car window," and "never saw Johnny Carson live on television." Hard to believe, but there it is.

The annual update is meant to help bridge the generation gap, to set the historical and cultural context of the campus newbies for those about to meet them.

Sure, okay ... but what it seems to do even more successfully is to make the rest of us feel old. (Never saw Pete Rose play baseball? Jeesh!)

But if you really want to get a sense of time's furious pace, check out Steve Abram's quick recap of the Internet era:

• Web sites (as we've come to think of them) have been around only about 14 years.
• Blogs, as a form, debuted almost 10 years ago.
• Google has helped us search for the last nine years.
• Wikipedia joined the world in 2001.
• MySpace began in 2003, Facebook in 2004. [Sidebar: Abrams places MySpace back to 1999, citing Wikipedia, but more authoritative sources support the later date.]
• And YouTube joined us just three years ago, in February 2005.

Quite the reality check, isn't it?

Compare all that to the history of libraries, these august institutions that have been around since time immemorial, performing nearly the same functions through the centuries -- collecting materials and serving as a repository of knowledge.

Is it any wonder that our heads are spinning trying to integrate the young and fast-moving Web?

And yet, when looked at against the warp speed infiltration of all things Internet, libraries have adjusted rather quickly.

But what's in our future? Who knows, but take the jump to gain some street wisdom on the matter.

Then come back and offer some insights of your own. If you're a librarian, what are you doing to stay technologically young and nimble? If you're not, what do you want to see libraries do to meet your Web-adjusted expectations?

Think young. Be young. We're gonna need it.

Posted by Mary Ann Leonard

Added to Blogging and Libraries on January 25, 2008 EST | Permalink

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Lively discussions and different opinions are encouraged within the bounds of respectful civil discourse. Questionable language, personal attacks, off-topic comments, and gratuitous links will either be edited or deleted. Comments are moderated and will not appear on InfoFarm until they have been approved.

Do you know where one would find the final rule, published in the Federal Register, addressing the implementation of the Food Security Act of 1985?

Submitted by: William Arens on February 25, 2008 04:45 PM

Submitted by: Mary Ann on February 25, 2008 05:16 PM

Pull Up a Chair

Today is October 1st, an auspicious day if there ever was one.

In 1890 Congress officially created Yosemite National Park, preserving some of California's greatest natural wonders.

In 1924 Jimmy Carter was born, taking his first breath of Georgia air on his way to becoming the 39th President of the United States.

In 1940 the Pennyslvania Turnpike opened for business as America's first toll superhighway, cutting three hours off the trip from Pittsburgh to Harrisburg and setting new standards for highway design.

In 2007, like every year before, the federal government started a new accounting period, this time launching FY08. (That's Fiscal Year 2008 for the uninitiated.)

And today, this blog hits the Web, joining the estimated 120,000 other blogs born each day, but becoming only the 16th active blog within the federal government.

I guess that makes us commonplace and extraordinary all at the same time.

But why blog in the first place?

We want to give this great national library a human, personal voice; to give you a fresh glimpse into what we do; and to give us a chance to hear from you.

We want to have a conversation, one that's more like a chat on the front porch and less like a meeting in the boardroom. From the library side, we'll share a bit about what we do, how our day went (professionally speaking, of course), some nifty thing we learned, or a compelling story in the news. In return, we hope to hear from you. Share your experiences with us as an institution, with your efforts to find information, or with your life and work in the world of agriculture, food, nutrition, animal care, the environment, whatever. The result, we believe, will be a mutually beneficial dialogue, a compelling exchange of ideas and maybe even an entertaining break in your day.

I trust you'll be willing to join us on the porch. Today or some day in the future, take a few minutes to respond to a post or simply offer a suggestion about what we can do to make the National Agricultural Library -- or this blog -- more relevant to you.

Posted by Mary Ann Leonard

Added to Blogging on October 01, 2007 EST | Permalink

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Lively discussions and different opinions are encouraged within the bounds of respectful civil discourse. Questionable language, personal attacks, off-topic comments, and gratuitous links will either be edited or deleted. Comments are moderated and will not appear on InfoFarm until they have been approved.

Great job Mary Ann. Keep on rocking!!!! pjb

Submitted by: P.Blake@nal.usda.gov on October 2, 2007 08:33 AM

Submitted by: Mary Ann on October 2, 2007 08:52 AM

Submitted by: Peter Young on October 2, 2007 09:40 AM

Submitted by: Sherry Paige on October 29, 2007 09:01 AM