Publication Items

Men in Trees in Indie Films [1]

SEJ Publication Types:
Features [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Activism [3]
Disasters [4]
Energy & Fuel [5]
Forests [6]
Journalism & Media [7]
Natural Resources [8]
Nuclear Power & Radiation [9]
Visibility:
Public [10]
- Read more about Men in Trees in Indie Films [1]
Railroads Still Don't Want Public To Know Oil Train Danger [11]

If you want to know whether an oil train is going by your community, just go down to the railroad tracks and watch for it. But don't ask the railroad or the state. In many cases, they don't think you can be trusted with this secret.

SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet [12]
Topics on the Beat:
Disasters [4]
Energy & Fuel [5]
People & Population [13]
Transportation [14]
Visibility:
Public [10]
- Read more about Railroads Still Don't Want Public To Know Oil Train Danger [11]
EPA Crisis Communications Plan: Accurate, Timely, Approved Information [15]

EPA's Plan, approved back on January 15, 2009, mandates giving "understandable, timely, accurate, and consistent information to the public." The plan laudably emphasizes coordination with other agencies — but it also leads to strong message control.

SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet [12]
Topics on the Beat:
Disasters [4]
Environmental Politics [16]
Government [17]
Journalism & Media [7]
Visibility:
Public [10]
- Read more about EPA Crisis Communications Plan: Accurate, Timely, Approved Information [15]
SEJ Urges Agency Openness During National Spill Crises [18]

At the Spills of National Significance (SONS) Draft Communications Strategy forum on June 8, and in a June 30 letter, SEJ urged SONS communicators to release data fully and promptly, to acknowledge uncertainties and gaps, and to give journalists good access to officials, experts and places.

SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet [12]
Topics on the Beat:
Chemicals [19]
Disasters [4]
Environmental Politics [16]
Pollution [20]
Water & Oceans [21]
Visibility:
Public [10]
- Read more about SEJ Urges Agency Openness During National Spill Crises [18]
E-Beat Explainers: For Congress' Eyes Only [22]

The Congressional Research Service, a taxpayer-funded agency, produces a steady stream of fact-filled and objective background reports on many issues of interest to environment and energy reporters but refuses to share them with the public. But there are other ways to access them...

SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet [12]
Topics on the Beat:
Agriculture [23]
Disasters [4]
Energy & Fuel [5]
Government [17]
Visibility:
Public [10]
- Read more about E-Beat Explainers: For Congress' Eyes Only [22]
Do Firefighters Have a Right To Know About Hazmats They Face? Do You? [24]

The watchdog group Center for Effective Government offers data tools that partly offset government failures to protect people from dangerous materials that poison or injure people, burn, or explode. They are also tools for journalists trying to inform their communities.

SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet [12]
Topics on the Beat:
Chemicals [19]
Disasters [4]
Visibility:
Public [10]
- Read more about Do Firefighters Have a Right To Know About Hazmats They Face? Do You? [24]
Need to Know? Eight Reports from the Congressional Research Service [25]

Congress does not release reports done by the Congressional Research Service to the public, even though taxpayers fund them. Thanks to the Federation of American Scientists' Government Secrecy Project, you can read them anyway.

SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet [12]
Topics on the Beat:
Disasters [4]
Economy & Business [26]
Energy & Fuel [5]
Natural Resources [8]
Nuclear Power & Radiation [9]
Science [27]
Technology [28]
Region:
Antarctica & Arctic [29]
Visibility:
Public [10]
- Read more about Need to Know? Eight Reports from the Congressional Research Service [25]
New Oil Train Regs Go Backward on Public's Right to Know Risks [30]

Since U.S. oil production started booming, the news has been full of tanker trains blowing up. Under a May 2014 emergency order, the Federal Railway Administration increased requirements that railroads disclose oil train routes. But a new regulation issued May 1, 2015, leaves the public — and firefighters — with less information about the risks they face. Photo: The latest oil train derailment and explosion, today, in ND/Curt Bemson via AP.

SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet [12]
Topics on the Beat:
Disasters [4]
Energy & Fuel [5]
Laws & Regulations [31]
People & Population [13]
Planning & Growth [32]
Transportation [14]
Region:
Great Plains (IA KS ND NE MO SD) [33]
Northwest (OR WA) [34]
Visibility:
Public [10]
- Read more about New Oil Train Regs Go Backward on Public's Right to Know Risks [30]
BP Deepwater Horizon Anniversary: Follow the Science [35]

In this, the second of two special SEJ TipSheets, the Advocate's Amy Wold provides you with a plethora of science-based information to cover the ongoing story of the Deepwater Horizon disaster, on the eve of the five-year anniversary. Photo: Officials assess sample processing and chain of custody protocol for handling specimens associated with the oil spill. Credit: NOAA.

SEJ Publication Types:
TipSheet [36]
Topics on the Beat:
Disasters [4]
Energy & Fuel [5]
Environmental Health [37]
Fish & Fisheries [38]
Natural Resources [8]
Science [27]
Water & Oceans [21]
Wildlife [39]
Region:
SE (AL AR FL GA KY LA MS NC PR SC TN) [40]
Visibility:
Public [10]
- Read more about BP Deepwater Horizon Anniversary: Follow the Science [35]
BP Deepwater Horizon Anniversary: Follow the Money [41]

April 20, 2015, marks the fifth anniversary of the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, one of the largest environmental disasters in U.S. history. The story is far from over. If you are covering the legacy of the spill, SEJ is offering two special TipSheets by the Advocate's Amy Wold that will help you get the facts and background. Photo: Oiled endangered Ridley's turtle. Credit: Carolyn Cole/ LA Times; courtesy NOAA.

SEJ Publication Types:
TipSheet [36]
Topics on the Beat:
Disasters [4]
Energy & Fuel [5]
Environmental Health [37]
Fish & Fisheries [38]
Laws & Regulations [31]
Natural Resources [8]
Pollution [20]
Water & Oceans [21]
Wildlife [39]
Region:
SE (AL AR FL GA KY LA MS NC PR SC TN) [40]
Visibility:
Public [10]
- Read more about BP Deepwater Horizon Anniversary: Follow the Money [41]

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