"Aides from the two House committees with jurisdiction over the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration are working together to draft legislation to overhaul and authorize the agency for the first time, according to House Science Chairman Bart Gordon (D-Tenn.)."
New NEPA policies proposed in February by the Council on Environmental Quality cover climate impacts; findings of no impact and requirements for monitoring; categorical exclusions; and better tools for reporting to the public on NEPA activities.
George Washington University's Project on Scientific Knowledge and Public Policy (SKAPP) followed up with 37 scientists at 13 federal agencies to see if conditions had improved at their agencies post-Bush. Survey says: Not really, or not yet.
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.
In honor of Sunshine Week, which began March 14, the WatchDog serves up a meaty list of essential resources for journalists working to expose governmental secrets voters and taxpayers have a right to know about.
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.
The site offers some improvements over poring through the Federal Register, but it's not comprehensive, topics are too broad, and there's poor differentiation between topics and constituencies. On the plus side, visitors can comment on in-process regulations, get alerts about specific regulations, attend online public meetings, and sort in-process regs.
The site includes news, studies, reports, fact sheets, data, predictions, educational tools, an events calendar, and images. The agency says it will adapt the site in response to comments, so feel free to provide feedback.
