After complaints from BP, the US government agreed to give the company evidence of the basis for its calculation of the flow rate from the stricken Deepwater Horizon well in the Gulf of Mexico. The government will hand over to BP some 100 documents about the size of the 2010 oil spill that have not yet been made public.
If you have a fracking story in your beat, getting information about what's in the controversial fracking fluids may be like pulling teeth. But there are a few resources that can help, such as the "FracFocus" chemical disclosure registry.
The information would still have to be provided to the state. Companies would not gain immunity from enforcement merely by auditing themselves.
Reporter Michael Booth's story resurrected the old issue of whether the public has a right to know the identity and source of foods in commerce that government agencies actually know may be causing fatal illness. The FDA refused to comment on the story.
The Environmental Law Institute invites you to join them in Washington, DC to celebrate the release of a new book by former ELI Senior Attorney Philip Warburg. Wine, beer, and hors d'oeuvres will be provided. RSVP.
In this session, part of the Environmental Law Institute's Ocean Seminar Series, panelists will discuss the key challenges facing fisheries law enforcement agencies and the regulated industry, ongoing reform efforts, and what additional actions and solutions may be necessary to ensure that the system maximizes fisheries compliance. RSVP by April 25th.
Fishermen -- and LSU Prof. Jim Cowan -- say that eyeless shrimp and fish with lesions are becoming common in the Gulf of Mexico, with the 2010 BP oil pollution believed to be the likely cause.
"In a worrisome development for citrus growers in California, or anybody there who has a beloved lemon or orange tree in the yard, the citrus disease huanglongbing, or citrus greening, has been found in southeastern Los Angeles County, the California Department of Food and Agriculture reports. It's the first time the disease, one of the most serious scourges of citrus, has been reported in the state."
"The world's ice sheets serve as cold-storage for creatures the Earth hasn't seen in eons. Scientists don't expect another Contagion or Andromeda Strain, but the release of unknown life forms does pose new concerns about effects of global warming."
"Greenpeace released its latest report today asking, 'How clean is your cloud?' The annual report examines the server farms built by the largest Internet companies -- including Amazon, Apple, Facebook, Google, Microsoft and Yahoo -- and ranks them according to how efficient their cloud facilities are, and where they get their electricity."
