Publication Items

Film Festival Puts Indie Enviro Films in Spotlight [1]

JoAnn Valenti reports on the best of the 2012 Sundance Film Fest offerings on pesticides, climate change, nuclear power, interactive art installations, and more. © Photo by Yoni Brook of women on a dying lake in India, topic of "Valley of Saints," co-winner of the Sloan science award and a Sundance award winner.

SEJ Publication Types:
Features [3]
Visibility:
Public [4]
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Getting into the (Clean Water) Act [5]

InvestigateWest's Robert McClure gets into the (clean water) act by asking, "Four decades later, is our water cleaner?" You'll find shocking answers and a flood of ways to localize this issue.

SEJ Publication Types:
Backgrounders [6]
Topics on the Beat:
Laws & Regulations [7]
Water & Oceans [8]
Visibility:
Public [4]
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COOL TOOL: Poligraft Helps Journos Sniff out Slanted Sources [9]

The system was developed by the Sunlight Foundation, the National Institute on Money in State Politics, and the Center for Responsive Politics. Just paste in some text or the Web address of an online article, and within seconds Poligraft supplies much of the missing context.
SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet [10]
Topics on the Beat:
Technology [11]
Environmental Politics [12]
Visibility:
Public [4]
- Read more about COOL TOOL: Poligraft Helps Journos Sniff out Slanted Sources [9]
Directory of Open Access Journals a Boon for Environmental Reporters [13]

The rebellion against commercial and subscription-only publishers over public access to articles based on taxpayer-funded research is gaining ground. The Directory — free, searchable and online — already includes some 819742, full-text, scientific or scholarly articles in 7885 journals.
SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet [10]
Topics on the Beat:
Science [14]
People & Population [15]
Journalism & Media [16]
Government [17]
Visibility:
Public [4]
- Read more about Directory of Open Access Journals a Boon for Environmental Reporters [13]
E-Mail Disclosure Could Play Role in BP Gulf Spill Case [18]

A federal judge has denied BP's bid to see 21 e-mails and other documents sent between the White House and other federal agencies. More chilling, perhaps, was BP's effort to get e-mails sent by two private-sector scientists in an apparent effort to discredit their work.
SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet [10]
Topics on the Beat:
Energy & Fuel [19]
Disasters [20]
Region:
SE (AL AR FL GA KY LA MS NC PR SC TN) [21]
Visibility:
Public [4]
- Read more about E-Mail Disclosure Could Play Role in BP Gulf Spill Case [18]
International Energy Agency Calls for Fracking Transparency [22]

A new report from the IEA includes guidelines emphasizing transparency and the monitoring of environmental and social impacts. That includes full disclosure of fracking fluid ingredients and testing of baseline water and air conditions before drilling begins.
SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet [10]
Topics on the Beat:
Water & Oceans [8]
Environmental Politics [12]
Energy & Fuel [19]
Chemicals [23]
Visibility:
Public [4]
- Read more about International Energy Agency Calls for Fracking Transparency [22]
Enviros Challenge Transparency of Virginia Uranium Mining Deliberations [24]

A company wants to mine Virginia's major uranium deposit so the state formed a multi-agency panel to study ending the three-decade ban on uranium mining. That panel hired a consulting firm that critics say was stacked with experts affiliated with the nuclear industry.
SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet [10]
Topics on the Beat:
Nuclear Power & Radiation [25]
Natural Resources [26]
Laws & Regulations [7]
Environmental Politics [12]
Energy & Fuel [19]
Region:
Mid-Atlantic (DC DE MD PA VA WV) [27]
Visibility:
Public [4]
- Read more about Enviros Challenge Transparency of Virginia Uranium Mining Deliberations [24]
Justice Department Says Citizens Can Record Police Activity [28]

The JD said that individuals have a First Amendment right to record police officers in the public performance of their duties. It also said police can not seize or destroy such recordings without a warrant and due process.
SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet [10]
Topics on the Beat:
Laws & Regulations [7]
Journalism & Media [16]
Visibility:
Public [4]
- Read more about Justice Department Says Citizens Can Record Police Activity [28]
Clear Channel Mounts FBI Billboards Promoting Trade Secrecy [29]

Claims of trade secrecy — often unsubstantiated — are a huge barrier to environmental reporters and others trying to find the truth about chemicals that may harm human health and the environment. But the FBI's billboards urge Americans to be vigilant against corporate insiders who may appear suspicious, and presumably to turn them in.
SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet [10]
Topics on the Beat:
Laws & Regulations [7]
Health [30]
Environmental Health [31]
Economy & Business [32]
Chemicals [23]
Visibility:
Public [4]
- Read more about Clear Channel Mounts FBI Billboards Promoting Trade Secrecy [29]
Data.gov Keeps on Giving Gifts to Gumshoe Reporters [33]

The federal Data.gov, while not perfect, has grown over three years especially strong in datasets from federal agencies that deal with the environment, energy, natural resources, health, and science. Many of them are downloadable, so that you can crunch them on your own computer. Several are map layers or geo-tagged in some way. See a few randomly chosen examples here.
SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet [10]
Topics on the Beat:
Wildlife [34]
Water & Oceans [8]
Science [14]
Nuclear Power & Radiation [25]
Natural Resources [26]
Health [30]
Government [17]
Energy & Fuel [19]
Disasters [20]
Visibility:
Public [4]
- Read more about Data.gov Keeps on Giving Gifts to Gumshoe Reporters [33]

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