Publication Items

41 New Trails Span About 650 Miles [1]

Just in time for summer, 41 new segments of the US National Recreation Trails system in AL, AR, CT, FL, IL, IN, KS, MA, MD, MI, MN, NJ, NM, OK, PA, TN, and WV, covering about 650 land and water miles in 17 states, are open for business. These are part of a much larger system of about 1,100 trails spanning 13,000 miles.
SEJ Publication Types:
TipSheet [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Natural Resources [3]
Region:
Great Lakes (IL IN MI MN OH WI) [4]
Great Plains (IA KS ND NE MO SD) [5]
Mid-Atlantic (DC DE MD PA VA WV) [6]
Northeast (CT MA ME NH NJ NY RI VT) [7]
SE (AL AR FL GA KY LA MS NC PR SC TN) [8]
Southwest (AZ NM OK TX) [9]
Visibility:
Public [10]
- Read more about 41 New Trails Span About 650 Miles [1]
Several Tools Available To Check Drinking Water Quality [11]

EPA has updated its Enforcement and Compliance History Online database so that federal standards violations through 2009 can be quickly identified. For example, pick a county and quickly get a customized listing of systems that fall into categories such as serial violators, or occasional violators of things such as health-based standards or monitoring requirements.
SEJ Publication Types:
TipSheet [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Water & Oceans [12]
Pollution [13]
Visibility:
Public [10]
- Read more about Several Tools Available To Check Drinking Water Quality [11]
Major Update of Local U.S. Climate Data Due by June 30 [14]

Each decade, NOAA's National Climatic Data Center updates its data for 30-year averages for a range of climate indicators. The most widely used "normals" for the period 1981-2010 (including temperature, precipitation, snowfall, snow depth, and heating and cooling degree days) are scheduled to be released at the end of June 2011, with the rest by year end.
SEJ Publication Types:
TipSheet [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Climate Change [15]
Visibility:
Public [10]
- Read more about Major Update of Local U.S. Climate Data Due by June 30 [14]
For FOIA-Phobic: MuckRock Will File It for You [16]

If you find using the Freedom of Information Act daunting, try this open government tool conceived by journalist Michael Morisy and start-up guru Mitchell Kotler. It will embargo a journalist's request before story publication.
SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet [17]
Topics on the Beat:
Government [18]
Visibility:
Public [10]
- Read more about For FOIA-Phobic: MuckRock Will File It for You [16]
House OKs Secret Contributions from Govt Contractors [19]

The vote came on an amendment by Rep. Tom Cole (R-OK) to the defense authorization bill, in response to a draft executive order from President Obama that would require federal contractors to disclose their campaign contributions. The matter remains unresolved.
SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet [17]
Topics on the Beat:
Government [18]
Visibility:
Public [10]
- Read more about House OKs Secret Contributions from Govt Contractors [19]
Budget Cuts Will Mean Scrapping Open-Government Sites [20]

Washington Post reporter Ed O'Keefe reports that White House negotiators from both parties substantially slashed the Electronic Government Fund which "helps finance government sites that track federal data, government contracting, government information technology and overall performance."
SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet [17]
Topics on the Beat:
Government [18]
Visibility:
Public [10]
- Read more about Budget Cuts Will Mean Scrapping Open-Government Sites [20]
Univ. of Virginia Bows to Denier Group on Climate Science FOIA [21]

In a court agreement filed May 22, 2011, University of Virginia agreed to release documents of former U.Va. researcher/climate scientist Michael Mann. The plaintiff is American Tradition Institute, which raises funds with the slogan "Crush Gang Green and their anti-business allies."
SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet [17]
Topics on the Beat:
Science [22]
Climate Change [15]
Region:
Mid-Atlantic (DC DE MD PA VA WV) [6]
Visibility:
Public [10]
- Read more about Univ. of Virginia Bows to Denier Group on Climate Science FOIA [21]
Is FCC Slow To Reveal Cell Phone Risks? [23]

A World Health Organization panel finds cell phone radiation might present a cancer risk , and spotlights ongoing reluctance by the Federal Communications Commission to share publicly all the health information it has on the subject — and possible complicity with industry in hushing the research.
SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet [17]
Topics on the Beat:
Technology [24]
Nuclear Power & Radiation [25]
Health [26]
Economy & Business [27]
Visibility:
Public [10]
- Read more about Is FCC Slow To Reveal Cell Phone Risks? [23]
"Escape from the Ivory Tower: A Guide to Making Your Science Matter" [28]

SEJ Publication Types:
BookShelf [29]
Topics on the Beat:
Science [22]
Visibility:
Public [10]
- Read more about "Escape from the Ivory Tower: A Guide to Making Your Science Matter" [28]
"The Lizard King: The True Crimes and Passions of the World's Greatest Reptile Smugglers" [30]

SEJ Publication Types:
BookShelf [29]
Topics on the Beat:
Biodiversity [31]
Wildlife [32]
Visibility:
Public [10]
- Read more about "The Lizard King: The True Crimes and Passions of the World's Greatest Reptile Smugglers" [30]

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