EJToday is SEJ's selection of new and outstanding stories on environmental topics in print and on the air, updated every weekday. SEJ also offers a free e-mailed digest of the day's EJToday postings, called SEJ-beat. SEJ members are subscribed automatically, but may opt out here. Non-members may subscribe here. EJToday is also available via RSS feed. Please see Editorial Guidelines for EJToday content.
"How Murdoch's Aussie Papers Cover Climate Change"
NPR, 04/09/2012Most Australiams read a newspaper owned by conservative tycoon Rupert Murdoch. New research by a journalism professor indicates that those readers are not getting a balanced or diverse view of climate change.
"Q&A: The NYT’s Justin Gillis"
Columbia Journalism Review, 04/04/2012“We’ve never seen newspaper stories like this and we’re using them in our classes to teach students the basics of environmental science.”
"US Biosecurity Board Revises Stance on Mutant-Flu Studies"
Nature, 04/02/2012"The US National Science Advisory Board for Biosecurity (NSABB) today recommended the publication of two controversial avian flu papers."
"Japan in Uproar Over Censorship of Emperor's Anti-Nuclear Speech"
Atlantic, 03/27/2012"There is a particularly sensitive accusation reverberating through online discussion boards and social media in Japan: that Emperor Akihito's speech on the one year anniversary of the earthquake and tsunami was censored on TV for his comments about the nuclear disaster at Fukushima."
"Enviros Challenge Trade Secret Protections for Hydraulic Fracturing"
FuelFix, 03/27/2012"Environmentalists have mounted a legal challenge against Wyoming regulators they say are improperly approving oil and gas companies’ 'overly broad,' boilerplate requests to shield information about the chemicals they use in drilling operations."
"For Pennsylvania's Doctors, a Gag Order on Fracking Chemicals"
Mother Jones, 03/26/2012"Under a new law, doctors in Pennsylvania can access information about chemicals used in natural gas extraction—but they won't be able to share it with their patients. A provision buried in a law passed last month is drawing scrutiny from the public health and environmental community, who argue that it will "gag" doctors who want to raise concerns related to oil and gas extraction with the people they treat and the general public."
During Sunshine Week, Justice Dept Urges New Category of Gov’t Secrets
AP, 03/14/2012"In the middle of Sunshine Week, when news organizations and advocacy groups promote government transparency, the Obama administration urged Congress on Tuesday to keep secret a whole new category of information even under the Freedom of Information Act."
"Big Oil Trade Group Flooding Airways With Pro-Industry Propaganda Ads"
Think Progress, 03/09/2012"Gasoline companies -- driven by oil speculation and profits -- continue to charge more and more for their product every day. How is the industry spending the money it’s taking from customer’s wallets? In recent weeks, they have flooded television programs with television ads promoting the causes of the industry."
"Animals: Iowa, First State To Criminalize Undercover Investigation"
LA Times, 03/06/2012"On Friday, Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad signed into law a bill designed to thwart activists who go undercover to report animal abuse. This makes Iowa the first state in the country to pass such a law; Illinois, Indiana, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, New York and Utah are considering them. Undercover investigations, including videos and photographs, are a principal tool used by activists of all stripes to document abuse cases and have led to legislative reforms, prosecutions and even facility closures around the country."
"Tobacco Health Labels Unconstitutional: Judge"
Reuters, 03/02/2012"A U.S. judge sided with tobacco companies on Wednesday, ruling that regulations requiring large graphic health warnings on cigarette packaging and advertising violate free-speech rights under the U.S. Constitution."
"Will Your Kid Be Taught That Climate Change Is a Hoax?"
Wash Post, 02/24/2012"One revelation from the recent Heartland Institute document leak is that the group is crafting a K-12 curriculum to teach kids that global warming is 'controversial.' Heartland officials have confirmed this. So is climate change set to join evolution as the next big classroom controversy?"
"The Lorax: Blowing Smogulous Smoke"
Mother Jones, 02/24/2012"Fans of The Lorax have raised concerns that the new big-screen version is neglecting the environmental message of the beloved Dr. Seuss book. The movie doesn't come out until March 2, but the initial trailer and promotional materials ignited a round of complaints on the web. Now people are having a (rather justified) heart attack about the fact that The Lorax is now being used to cross-promote a new SUV."
"Faulty Wire Error Blamed for 'Faster-Than-Light' Particles"
af, 02/24/2012"A European experiment that in September showed particles moving faster than the speed of light has been exposed as a mistake due to a faulty wire connection, the US journal Science said Wednesday.
'A bad connection between a GPS unit and a computer may be to blame,' said the report on the magazine’s website section Science Insider, citing 'sources familiar with the experiment.'
Canadian Climate Scientists 'Muzzled' Writers, Researchers Tell AAAS
IPS, 02/22/2012"VANCOUVER -- Amid revelations of a well-funded U.S. organisation's plans to deliberately distort climate science, scientists and journalists at a major scientific conference called on the Canadian government to stop its muzzling of scientists. For the past four years, the Canadian government has been denying timely access to government scientists even when their findings are published in leading scientific journals, said scientists and journalists in a special session of the American Academy for the Advancement of Science meeting here in Vancouver, British Columbia."
UK: Climate Skeptic Lobby Not 'Influential' Enough To Reveal Funder
Guardian, 02/22/2012"The climate sceptic thinktank chaired by former chancellor Lord Lawson, the Global Warming Policy Foundation (GWPF), has been ruled not 'influential' enough to warrant making the Charity Commission disclose its seed funder, an information rights tribunal ruled on Tuesday."

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