New Blogs Alter News-O-Sphere, Open More Info to Journalists (Review)

November 5, 2008–As the corpses of newspapers litter the American landscape, they seem to fertilize the sprouting of a bumper crop of new blogs devoted to environment and energy. If you are looking for environmental news, you are mostly likely to find it online.

Coalition of Groups Readies Openness Agenda for Next Administration

November 5, 2008–A broad coalition of open-government groups is finalizing an ambitious agenda to improve public access to information in the next administration.

Covering Congress: House Committee Phone Numbers

November 5, 2008–Committee staff are crucial to covering environmental issues. Here are some current House committee phone contacts relevant to the environment beat.

DOJ Guidance Offers Hook for Your FOIA Requests

November 5, 2008–Journalists' Freedom of Information Act requests will have more clout if they demand specific justification for each redaction. A new Justice Department guidance document makes clear this is mandatory for most agencies.

Gumshoe Tools: Sunlight Foundation's Party Time Database

November 5, 2008–Those U.S. representatives and senators really know how to party. Especially the ones running for re-election or under indictment. Now journalists who want to follow the money have a new "Access Washington" snooper-tool to use in their investigative projects.

EPA, OSHA Flunk Science Openness Rating from UCS

October 22, 2008–EPA, FWS and OSHA are among the least open of 15 different federal agencies covered most frequently by environmental reporters, according to the Union of Concerned Scientists.

Info on Clean Water Priced Like Gold in Alaska

October 22, 2008–"When an environmental group, Alaskans for Clean Water, asked for copies of state records about an unsuccessful ballot proposal to limit mining pollution, officials initially said they would turn over the documents — for $50,000," the Associated Press reported October 20, 2008.

Judge Rules Sandia Landfill Pollution Can't Be Secret

October 22, 2008–A new ruling by a New Mexico state district judge requires that a report on groundwater pollution from a mixed-waste landfill at Sandia National Laboratories be made public.

TOOLBOX: Foreign Agents Database and More

October 22, 2008–This database is useful for environmental and energy reporters looking for mischief perpetrated by government officials and the industries who influence them with money.

EPA Libraries Open Doors

October 8, 2008–EPA reopened five libraries September 30, 2008, after fighting its own scientists, enforcement lawyers, open-information groups, and eventually Congress for two years in an unsuccessful effort to keep them closed.