How Muzzling Scientists Helps the Chemical Industry

May 16, 2012–A Chicago Tribune investigative series on flame retardant chemicals helps illustrate how federal agency control of what scientists say to reporters can help the chemical and tobacco industries. By reporter Michael Hawthorne.

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.

Boots on the Ground at Annual SEJ Gathering

April 15, 2012–

New US Strategy for Coping with Climate Change Open for Comment

February 1, 2012–NOAA, the USFWS, and the NY State Dept. of Environmental Conservation (representing all state and wildlife agencies) released on Jan. 19, 2012, a draft of the first national strategy for responding to climate change effects on plants, fish and wildlife. The public comment period is open until March 5, 2012, and public meetings and a webinar will occur until Feb. 22, 2012.

Lejeune Secrecy May Have Caused Dead Marines

January 25, 2012–CDC's Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry has been investigating a Navy cover-up of cancer-causing drinking water at its Lejeune, NC, base. Now, Project on Government Oversight has released a January 5, 2012, letter from Marine Major General J.A. Kessler asking ATSDR to redact its report in the name of "force protection."

Documerica, Lost and Found

January 15, 2012–Read this excerpt from the Winter issue of SEJournal, about EPA's long dormant photojournalism project containing thousands of color photographs depicting a nation and its environmental problems in the early 1970s — and the new State of the Environment Photo Project this rediscovery has spawned, inviting participants worldwide to submit their work. By SEJournal photo editor Roger Archibald.

Feds Try To Nudge 100 "Great Outdoors" Projects Toward Completion

November 9, 2011–The chosen include 24 improving recreational access to rivers and waterways; 23 to construct new trails or improve recreation sites; 20 to create and enhance urban parks; 13 to conserve significant landscapes; and 11 to establish new national wildlife refuges; national park units, etc.

2010 Bicycle Commuting Stats Available for 375 U.S. Cities

October 12, 2011–Commuters who travel to work via bicycle put a dent in petroleum consumption and air pollution, and likely have a leg up on not becoming part of the obesity epidemic. Davis, CA, residents are at the head of the pack of the 375 largest US cities surveyed, with 22.1% of the city's residents commuting by bike, according to US Census Bureau statistics compiled by the League of American Bicyclists.

Many Are Claiming Health Problems Caused by Smart Meters

October 12, 2011–Numerous allegations of health damage from people in the US and around the globe, the common threads in the descriptions of health damage (often appearing to involve the neurological, immune, and/or endocrine systems), and the evidence from thousands of published studies that address a wide range of electrical, magnetic field, and radio-frequency impacts suggest this could be a major public health issue that warrants coverage.

Groups Recommend Measures for "Environmental Right-to-Know"

May 18, 2011–More access was urged for records on oil and gas leasing, government-issued permits and leases related to metal mining, grazing livestock on public lands, harvesting ocean fish, operating chemical plants, drilling for oil, logging, building roads or strip malls, coal mining, filling wetlands, and more.