Nobody has ever explained why Congress refuses to release the tax-funded explainers produced by the Congressional Research Service. They are a gold standard for journalists needing quick background. Here are some recent CRS reports relevant to environmental journalists, helpfully released by the Federation of American Scientists.
You may have read in recent WatchDogs about controversial federal laws and rules that could restrict photojournalism in federal parks, forests, and rangelands. Now comes the "Ansel Adams bill" that would make it legal to do an activity that is Constitutionally protected. Only someone has to introduce the bill. Photo: Ansel Adams, by J. Malcolm Greany. [3]
The industry got Congress in 2005 to block the public from knowing about these chemicals, which can end up in people's drinking water. But the enviro groups, led by the Environmental Integrity Project, want to use a different law to help unlock the data.
One way to deal with bad press is to make it illegal. Exposés of inhumane conditions at feedlots and slaughterhouses are being made illegal by state legislatures that pass "ag gag" laws. Now a case in Utah is challenging whether industrial agriculture's claims of secrecy trump the eating public's right to know. Image: Sows in 7'x2' Smithfield Foods gestation crates. By Humane Society of the US [CC], 2010. [6]
"Their beards have grown full. Their hair, greased with sweat and brushed only with mountain air, stands on end. Their fingers, raw and ragged from grasping at sharp crevasses in the stone, are bandaged and bleeding."
"New legislation to allow member states of the European Union to restrict or ban the cultivation of crops containing genetically modified organisms on their own territory, even if this is allowed at the EU level, was passed by the European Parliament on Tuesday."
"The Environmental Protection Agency on Tuesday proposed new requirements for testing the toxicity and effectiveness of chemical dispersants used to break up oil spills."
"The Indian government has launched a crackdown on Greenpeace and other U.S.-linked environmental groups after intelligence officials accused climate activists of harming the country’s economic security."
"So, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) was just named to be the chairman of the Subcommittee on Space, Science, and Competitiveness as Republicans take over the Senate. This subcommittee (which used to be just Space and Science but was recently renamed) is in charge of oversight of, among other things, NASA."
"Mike Boots, the acting chairman of the White House Council on Environmental Quality, will leave the administration in March, according to a CEQ spokesperson."
Links
[1] https://www.sej.org/publications/watchdog-tipsheet/more-secret-reports-congressional-research-service
[2] https://www.sej.org/publications/watchdog-tipsheet/waiting-ansel-adams-will-114th-congress-legalize-park-photography
[3] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ansel_Adams#mediaviewer/File:Ansel_Adams_and_camera.jpg
[4] https://www.sej.org/publications/watchdog-tipsheet/groups-sue-epa-data-toxic-fracking-chemicals
[5] https://www.sej.org/publications/watchdog-tipsheet/arrest-four-near-hog-farm-tests-utahs-ag-gag-law
[6] http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Gestation_crates_3.jpg
[7] https://www.sej.org/headlines/2-exhausted-climbers-close-summit-el-capitan%E2%80%99s-3000-foot-granite-wall
[8] http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2015/01/14/two-exhausted-climbers-close-in-on-summit-atop-el-capitans-3000-foot-granite-wall/?tid=hp_mm
[9] https://www.sej.org/headlines/european-parliament-backs-gmo-choice-member-states
[10] http://ens-newswire.com/2015/01/13/european-parliament-backs-gmo-choice-for-member-states/
[11] https://www.sej.org/headlines/epa-proposes-new-rules-oil-spill-dispersant-chemicals
[12] http://www.houstonchronicle.com/business/energy/article/EPA-proposes-new-rules-oil-spill-dispersant-6013145.php
[13] https://www.sej.org/headlines/india-cracks-down-greenpeace-other-environmental-groups
[14] http://www.latimes.com/world/asia/la-fg-india-crackdown-greenpeace-20150113-story.html
[15] https://www.sej.org/headlines/two-climate-denying-senators-will-now-supervise-nations-climate-science
[16] http://www.motherjones.com/environment/2015/01/climate-change-ted-cruz-marco-rubio-nasa-noaa
[17] https://www.sej.org/headlines/white-house-environmental-adviser-resign
[18] http://www.nationaljournal.com/energy/white-house-environmental-adviser-to-resign-20150113
[19] https://www.sej.org/search_results
[20] https://www.sej.org/search_results?page=3158
[21] https://www.sej.org/search_results?page=3155
[22] https://www.sej.org/search_results?page=3156
[23] https://www.sej.org/search_results?page=3157
[24] https://www.sej.org/search_results?page=3160
[25] https://www.sej.org/search_results?page=3161
[26] https://www.sej.org/search_results?page=3162
[27] https://www.sej.org/search_results?page=3163
[28] https://www.sej.org/search_results?page=4945