Trans-Pacific Partnership Secrecy: Is US Negotiating Sell-Out on Environmental Issues?

May 16, 2012–Various citizen groups have protested the lack of transparency as negotiators meet for the 12th time in Dallas May 15-18. The 26-chapter draft treaty includes provisions on the environment. But nobody on the outside knows what they are.

Cool Data Tools: EPA Releases NEPAssist Mapper

May 2, 2012–For reporters wanting to pry open the worm-cans of local environmental stories, EPA's new GIS tool lets you map Environmental Impact Statements project information against a rich backdrop: layer after layer of geographic, demographic, environmental, and economic context. And, it can be used in conjunction with EJView, EPA's environmental justice online mapping tool.

BP To Get Gulf Oil Spill Information Withheld from Public

April 18, 2012–After complaints from BP, the US government agreed to give the company evidence of the basis for its calculation of the flow rate from the stricken Deepwater Horizon well in the Gulf of Mexico. The government will hand over to BP some 100 documents about the size of the 2010 oil spill that have not yet been made public.

Data Accumulates Slowly on What's in Fracking Fluid

April 18, 2012–If you have a fracking story in your beat, getting information about what's in the controversial fracking fluids may be like pulling teeth. But there are a few resources that can help, such as the "FracFocus" chemical disclosure registry.

Denver Post Exposes FDA Secrecy on Food Threats to Public Health

April 18, 2012–Reporter Michael Booth's story resurrected the old issue of whether the public has a right to know the identity and source of foods in commerce that government agencies actually know may be causing fatal illness. The FDA refused to comment on the story.

New Arizona Law Limits Disclosure of Companies' Environmental Self-Audits

April 18, 2012–The information would still have to be provided to the state. Companies would not gain immunity from enforcement merely by auditing themselves.

Boots on the Ground at Annual SEJ Gathering

April 15, 2012–

Financial Challenges Ahead, But So Too Opportunities To Tap Our ‘Network’

April 15, 2012–

Are Data Behind Companies' Greenhouse Gas Emissions Trade Secrets?

April 4, 2012–EPA's upcoming rulings on confidentiality for data going into the companies' GHG calculations will be important. Those determinations may impact whether companies' reporting is accurate — and whether they can ever be held accountable for their emissions.

Mining Industry Threatens Journals To Keep Diesel Exposure Data Secret

February 22, 2012–The Patton Boggs lobbying firm, which represents the mining industry, has sent letters threatening unspecified legal action against four scientific journals if they publish results of a study about the exposure of miners to diesel emissions, according to Science magazine.