As media, politics, and civic activity shift online, a new cadre of opinion leaders is stepping forward to shape public discourse about nature protection and pollution control. This week, I’ll interview five of them — individuals who make their mark on community opinion through participation on blogs, listservs, social networking and bookmarking sites, and other online forums where people gather to exchange news and views.

I hope that Water Words That Work fans can use this information to identify the characteristics they are looking for when they want to groom one of their own to become an online community opinion leader, and also to develop more successful relationships with the online community leaders that have already emerged.

The individuals interviewed for this series live in different corners of the country, focus on different issues, and participate in different online communities. Nevertheless, some common themes emerged in these discussions. These individuals are:

• Avid & Influential. All five expressed stronger identification with the “environmental movement” than most Americans do. They relish using the Internet to share their opinions with dozens, hundreds, or even thousands of their fellow citizens.
• Self-Directed & Independent. Despite generally favorable attitudes towards mainstream environmental organizations, all five have elected to participate in their online communities on their own terms. Two started their own organizations. One turned down opportunities to blog for pay. Another adopted a pseudonym in order to operate independently of his employer, a nonprofit environmental group.
• Collaborative & Provocative. All five reported a strong desire to hear different points of view – and some reported deliberately provoking others to get them to speak up.
• Methodical & Curious. All five have achieved their influence through a steady commitment of time each week. Most reported well-developed routines for gathering and sifting through information from around the web to contribute to their communities.
• Specialized. All five have settled on a community or two that suits their circumstances. None reported wide participation across many different types of communities.

The Interviews:

• Monday, June 18. Joy Towles Ezell. An electronic heiress to Erin Brokovich’s legacy, Joy uses a suite of Yahoo! groups to rally her neighbors and hound polluters in her rural Florida community.
• Tuesday, June 19, Tom Elko. Combining his original reporting with news he gathers from around the web, Tom proves that environmental journalism will survive — even if newspapers don’t.
• Wednesday, June 20. Glenn McAnamana. With just a Meetup group and a simple website, Glenn has formed a convincing civic organization in New York’s Upper East Side.
• Thursday, June 21. Ginny C. Special education teacher by day, environmental newshound by night, Ginny C. has transformed her Care2.com account into a potent forum for advancing the causes she believes in.
• Friday, June 22. the_real_yaki. A one-man truth squad, the_real_yaki haunts the Craigslist environmental board, dispelling myths and assisting the curious.