New Data Site Maps "Dirty Energy Money"

August 24, 2011–Oil Change International invites you to look up campaign donations from energy companies to members of Congress with data sourced from the Center for Responsive Politics and the Federal Elections Commission.

Projects in 6 States Selected To Help Pioneer 3 Biofuels

August 17, 2011–USDA continues to expand its Biomass Crop Assistance Program that provides financial incentives for producers of various biomass products with the latest selected project areas for growing camelina in CA, OR, WA, and MT, poplar trees in OR, and switchgrass in KS and OK.

EPA To Issue Long Overdue Standards for Oil & Gas Facilities

July 20, 2011–Two and a half years after being sued, EPA is under a twice-extended court deadline to release by July 28, 2011, proposed standards which will address air toxics from oil production facilities and natural gas production, processing, transmission, and storage facilities.

BP Blowout

July 15, 2011–

Central U.S. Is Home to Miscanthus Biomass Crop Projects

July 6, 2011–The US Dept. of Agriculture is providing financial support for farmers to grow the grass in four project areas in four states. The goal is to substantially increase production of the crop, and USDA estimates about 4,000 jobs will be created.

Feds and Private Sector Funding Major Solar Panel Projects

July 6, 2011–Project Amp, expected to lead to the installation of photovoltaic solar panels on about 750 industrial buildings in 28 states, would feed enough energy to the grid to power 90,000-100,000 homes. Taking a different approach, Google and a company called SolarCity are teaming up to spur installation of solar panels to power individual homes, committing $280 million to the project.

Pa. Radio Host Says Criticism of Shale Fracking Got Him Fired

June 15, 2011–Robert Foltz, host of the "Let's Talk" show on WMBS in Uniontown for 10 years, told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette he was fired just moments after a local municipal official said on his show that drilling for gas in the Marcellus shale formation had contaminated the local groundwater supply with bromine.

EPA Releases Coal Ash Pond Survey in Database Form

May 18, 2011–The spreadsheet covers 676 coal combustion waste impoundments at 240 facilities — making it much easier to cover the issue. After assessing many ponds, EPA rated at least 50 of the ponds as having high hazard potential.

Fracking Companies Withhold Baseline Well-Water Data

May 18, 2011–ProPublica reporter Abrahm Lustgarten (left) revealed that some of the biggest fracking companies have been collecting extensive baseline data since 2008, keeping it concealed from public knowledge — including denying Duke University researchers the data when asked for it. The withheld data could either exonerate the companies or prove them responsible for pollution.

NRC Publishes List of FOIA Requests Related to Japan Nuke Meltdown

May 18, 2011–By publishing the list promptly, NRC lived up to the "reading room" provisions of FOIA — which require agencies to actively publish information likely to be the subject of multiple FOIA requests. As a reporter, see what your competitors are doing. As a FOIA requester, you may learn a lot about how to write a FOIA letter that is realistic yet effective.