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(NOTE: See the follow-up to this article.)

Fellow blogger Steve Rubel announced today in MicroPersuasion that, beginning this Sunday, he plans to go on a special blog-only news diet for one week. Will he end up well-informed or suffering from info-malnutrition? We’ll find out, because Rubel has invited people (especially journalists) to quiz him on major current events at the end of that week.

After I wrote this up for Poynter’s E-Media Tidbits blog today, my colleague Steve Outing (editor of Tidbits) volunteered to quiz Rubel. Watch out, Rubel – I’m sure Outing’s questions will be a challenge!

Hmmmm… I think I’ll throw my hat into that ring too – with a twist. Steve Rubel, would you be up for an extra-credit challenge quiz? Here’s what I have in mind: I would like to quiz you on the major environmental news of the week.

I don’t doubt for a minute that Rubel will be able to keep up fairly well on news categories such as U.S. top stories, business, entertainment, and sports solely by reading weblog entries.

However, as far as I can tell, environmental issues haven’t yet hit the blogosphere in a very big way. While there are plenty of sources of environmental news and information online, there simply aren’t many environmental webblogs yet. Those that do exist tend to focus narrowly on a small set of environmental issues, or on either a very small or very large geographic region (from a few states to the entire globe, without much in between). Not surprisingly, most also are published by environmental advocacy groups. This tends to make environmental news in the blogosphere rather spotty.

I mention the environment beat for a reason. For more than a decade I’ve worked closely with the Society of Environmental Journalists (SEJ). This organization supports environmental news coverage done by journalists of all media, as well as environmental journalism education. I’ve seen the environment beat evolve, thrive, and adapt in the face of many challenges and new opportunities.

In the last year, my friend, colleague, and editor Joe Davis began publishing Your Right to Know, SEJ’s 1st Amendment “Watchblog” covering US information access issues concerning the environment, natural resources, and energy. This is primarily intended for working journalists, but I’m sure it appeals to other audiences as well.

I would love to see more environment-oriented weblogs, representing a variety of viewpoints and targeting many different audiences. I think this could become an important and influential complement to traditional environmental news coverage.

Any would-be eco-bloggers out there? For your inspiration, here are some other examples of environmental weblogs:

• WorldChanging is a group-authored weblog (a multiblog) that covers “models, tools, and ideas for building a better future.” The overall content quality is pretty good. The authors are mostly journalists and technology consultants.

• Cascadia Scorecard Weblog is an excellent blog from the environmental group Northwest Environment Watch offering news and perspectives on environmental issues – as they affect the Pacific Northwest region only. I’d love to see this approach adopted by blogs from other regions. (Hint hint hint!)

• Haciendo Punto En Otro Blog. This biligual (Spanish/English) weblog by Puerto Rican journalist Carmelo Ruiz covers several environmental issues, especially the environmental implications of biotechnology.

• The Greenpeace Weblog. This is pretty much dedicated to current activities of Greenpeace and its sister organizations around the world.

• SEE Environment Info. This news filter blog links to news coverage of environmental issues in southeastern Europe.

• The Daily Grist. OK, its publishers don’t call this publication a “weblog,” per se, and I don’t think they produce it using weblog software – but in terms of content and format, that’s pretty much what this is.

• Peterson Blog: Resiliance Alliance. This rather academic blog publishes occasional articles concerning the work of the Resiliance Alliance: “a research organization of scientists and practitioners from many disciplines who collaborate to explore the dynamics of social-ecological systems.”

…You get the picture. So far, there’s no real eco-blogging equivalent of Boing Boing. (Worldchanging is probably the closest thing to that.)

So, Steve Rubel: Following environment news via the blogosphere is likely to be a special challenge. (And no, reviews of The Day After Tomorrow do NOT count as environment news!) Are you up for it? Can I quiz you on it?

(NOTE: See the follow-up to this article.)