Enviros Sue EPA for Dropping Collection of Livestock Data

September 11, 2013–The groups said that EPA's proposed rule was needed to control pollution, under the Clean Water Act, from more than 20,000 concentrated animal feeding operations across the country. EPA initially published the rule in October 2011, but then withdrew it July 20, 2012.

Paragliding Photojournalist Arrested Near Kansas Feedlot

July 17, 2013–Award-winning photojournalist George Steinmetz was arrested June 28, 2013, after flying a motorized paraglider over a cattle feedlot in Finney County, Kansas, while on assignment for National Geographic magazine.

Congressional Research Service Reports on Environment Leaked

June 19, 2013–Topics of the latest CRS reports shared by the Federation of American Scientist's Project on Government Secrecy include GMO wheat, earthquake risk and highway infrastructure, carbon capture and sequestration, the regional greenhouse gas initiative, regulation of fertilizers, and more.

Groups Oppose North Carolina "Ag-Gag" Bill

June 5, 2013–NC's Senate is considering an industry-sponsored bill that would extend restrictions on undercover investigations beyond livestock operations to include other categories of industry. The state's Chamber of Commerce supports it, saying industries beyond agriculture want protection from the reporting of workplace abuses.

State 'Ag-Gag' Laws Spreading, Protect Misdeeds from Scrutiny

May 22, 2013–While a Tennessee governor vetoed "ag-gag" legislation in that state, bills criminalizing the collection of information about abuses in livestock operations are still being pushed in other states — and the mechanism may be extended to stifle reporting on other environmental abuses.

Texas Fertilizer Explosion Re-Raises Buried Hazmat Disclosure Issues

April 24, 2013–News stories about the April 17, 2013, explosion of a fertilizer storage plant in the town of West, Texas that killed 15 people have so far focused on the plant operator's risk-disclosure failure, instead of the likely fact that government agencies knew the nature and magnitude of the hazard — or should have known. The bigger story is the regulatory failure — and industry's decades-long campaign to keep the public ignorant of the threats they face. Photo: AP/LM Otero/Available through Creative Commons.

Covering Sprawl, Science, and Chickens

April 15, 2013–

SEJournal Spring 2013, Vol. 23 No. 1

April 15, 2013–In this issue: Special report on energy and climate change; first installment of new column 'Freelance Files' on goal setting; database helps track illegal parkland conversions; members cover sprawl, science and chickens; annual Sundance Film Festival report; and six book reviews.

Recent Secret CRS Reports Liberated

March 13, 2013–Now you can read reports on key topics on the environmental beat — compiled by the Congressional Research Service and paid for with your tax dollars. Congress does not allow CRS to release them to the public. Thanks to the Government Secrecy Project at the Federation of American Scientists for making them available.

Beef Company Sues ABC for Defamation Over 'Pink Slime'

September 19, 2012–Beef Products Inc. filed suit for defamation over stories about its 'finely textured beef' product, known to headline writers as 'pink slime.' Legal experts say the company will have a hard time winning the case, which harkens back to the famous hamburger libel case of the late 1990s, in which Oprah Winfrey won the right to dislike beef in public.