New Ozone Standards Could Have Big Impact

October 27, 2010–If EPA's health-based primary standard is reduced from its current level of 75 parts per billion to 60 ppb, which is the low end of what the agency's science advisors have recommended, about 67% of the US population would live in monitored counties that would be out of compliance.

Feds: People Can Take Photos Outside Court Houses

October 20, 2010–Photojournalists doing environmental stories have been harassed and blocked by federal police for a decade or more when they try to take pictures of federal facilities from public spaces. Now, under a court settlement, the federal government is publicly acknowledging that it is acting illegally when it does this.

Taxpayer-Funded Research Remains Available — for Now

October 6, 2010–SEJ was one of the groups that opposed HR 801, a bill by House Judiciary Chairman John H. Conyers which would allow private journal publishers to copyright scientific articles based on federally funded research.

Calif. Climate Ballot Fight: National Ripple Effects Either Way

September 29, 2010–If Proposition 23 passes, it could disrupt plans for many green companies and their suppliers in CA and around the US — not to mention weakening political will in other states, or at the federal level, for tougher green energy policy.

Court: BLM Must Release Names of Grazing Permit Holders

September 22, 2010–The decision could eventually force disclosure for holders of some 18,000 permits across 160 million acres in the West.

Federal Cops to Gulf Journos: Don't Dig, It's Illegal

September 22, 2010–Watch the video: Pensacola TV reporter Dan Thomas is accosted by USFWS and NPS after finding layers of crude oil (with his toy shovel) less than a foot below the surface — giving the lie to BP and government claims that beaches had been cleaned.

Pipelines Spill Millions of Toxic Gallons Each Year

August 18, 2010–A round-up of resources: from the recent Enbridge spill in Michigan to multiple spills over time by Houston-based Plains All American Pipeline; hearings of the US House Subcommittee on Railroads, Pipelines, and Hazardous Materials; availability of pipeline maps; Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration info on safety standards, inspections, stakeholder communications; and much more. 

Appeals Court Nixes Permits for Free Speech in National Parks

August 11, 2010–A federal appeals court has ruled that the National Park Service is violating the First Amendment with its current rules requiring permits for demonstrations, gatherings, and public "expressions of views" on National Park System lands.

Forest Service Gags Employees, Belies Obama Openness Vow

May 19, 2010–Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility obtained and disclosed a USFS memo ordering its law enforcement personnel not to talk to reporters about anything without first getting clearance from its Washington director and press office.

Judge Backs Chevron's Grab for Documentary Out-takes in Ecuador Case

May 19, 2010–A federal district judge in New York ordered film-maker Joe Berlinger to turn over more than 600 hours of raw footage from his documentary "Crude," about a lawsuit by natives in Ecuador charging Chevron with polluting the Amazon rainforest there.