Feds Have Sent Nearly $650 Million to Private Forest Owners

May 12, 2010–The USFS Forest Legacy Program has awarded a total of $72 million to 36 property owners in 33 states and territories to apply conservation easements to their land, with the goal of preventing development or other uses of the land that would reduce its forest value.

Greenwashers, Beware: FTC Updating Its "Green Guides"

May 12, 2010–The 2010 update to the Federal Trade Commission's Guides for the Use of Environmental Marketing Claims is expected to feature new guidance for marketing carbon offsets and renewable energy certificates, green packaging, textiles, building products, and building.

Gulf Dispersants Called Trade Secret

May 5, 2010–The exact ingredients of the chemical mixture being sprayed on and pumped into the spreading BP oil spill are secret, even though some are rated toxic and may endanger the health of Gulf residents and ecosystems.

Boaters and Fishers Pay Taxes, Get Rewards

April 28, 2010–Dept. of Interior/US Fish and Wildlife Service awards $12 million for construction of docks, boat slips, and other recreational boating facilities at 13 locations in 10 states.

Several More States and Provinces Hit by Fatal Bat Disease

April 28, 2010–Bat losses can have major impacts on ecosystems, as they routinely consume large quantities of insects and themselves provide food and nutrients for other plants and animals. There also are economic impacts as caves close to recreational use, in an effort to combat the spread of the disease.

Inside Story: Small Texas Daily Tackles Complex Issue By Focusing on a Basic Human Need: Safety

April 15, 2010–Denton Record-Chronicle city hall reporters Lowell Brown and Peggy Heinkel-Wolfe tackle environmental issues as part of their everyday coverage. SEJournal has the inside story on their award-winning shale-gas-drilling series, which revealed through one neighborhood's ordeal how land deals really work in Texas and the impacts of the controversial technology.

EPA Makes TSCA Inventory Available Online for Free

March 24, 2010–But the list — the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) Chemical Substance Inventory — is still minus some 17,000 chemicals that manufacturers allege are trade secrets.

More Than 550 Utilities Now Using Potentially Safer Chemicals

March 17, 2010–The plants, ranging from very large to very small, are now using chemicals and processes such as liquid chlorine bleach, calcium hypochlorite, or ultraviolet light — allegedly making ~40 million people living nearby safer.

States Push Congress, EPA To End Toxic Trade Secrets

March 10, 2010–Do commercial products we have body contact with contain toxic chemicals? In too many cases, states and environmentalists are saying, the federal government forbids consumers from knowing.

USGS Minerals Report: A Tale of Economy and Environment

March 3, 2010–Many story leads are tucked away in this 196-page report: recession impacts from drops in extraction and consumption, increases in importation of key materials, insights on stories related to climate change and air pollution, and much more.