Publication Items

EPA Gives Public an Environmental Justice Mapping Tool: EJView

This new tool allows any user online to create custom study areas based on a wide range of variables: address, ZIP code, county, city, township, facility, watershed, or geographic coordinates. Other environmental data can then be mapped onto that study area.
SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet
Topics on the Beat:
Technology
Pollution
People & Population
Health
Government
Environmental Health
Chemicals
Visibility:
Public
- Read more about EPA Gives Public an Environmental Justice Mapping Tool: EJView
TRI Offers New "Comparative Query" Tool

The beta tool allows anyone to compare TRI information from a facility to air pollution data from the same facility or a related one. For example, an investigator could find inconsistencies in the amount of pollution reported by a facility under the two separate laws.
SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet
Topics on the Beat:
Technology
Pollution
Government
Chemicals
Visibility:
Public
- Read more about TRI Offers New "Comparative Query" Tool
Envirofacts Warehouse Gets Geographic Makeover, Update

This newly powerful, easy-to-use mapping tool can help environmental journalists find and report great local and regional stories.
SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet
Topics on the Beat:
Technology
Pollution
Government
Chemicals
Visibility:
Public
- Read more about Envirofacts Warehouse Gets Geographic Makeover, Update
As TRI Goes Electronic, Speed Records Fall

The new record for getting raw data reported by industry to the general public: 28 days. Nearly 95 percent of reporting companies filed their reports electronically.
SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet
Topics on the Beat:
Technology
Pollution
Government
Chemicals
Visibility:
Public
- Read more about As TRI Goes Electronic, Speed Records Fall
Cool Tools for Reporters Showcased at 2010 TRI Meeting

The WatchDog attended EPA's annual training conference for government workers on the Toxics Release Inventory, Nov. 1-3, 2010. See a preview of the showcased offerings, which have extra emphasis on environmental justice and EPA data tools ranging far beyond TRI.
SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet
Topics on the Beat:
Technology
Government
Chemicals
Visibility:
Public
- Read more about Cool Tools for Reporters Showcased at 2010 TRI Meeting
Feds: People Can Take Photos Outside Court Houses

Photojournalists doing environmental stories have been harassed and blocked by federal police for a decade or more when they try to take pictures of federal facilities from public spaces. Now, under a court settlement, the federal government is publicly acknowledging that it is acting illegally when it does this.
SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet
Topics on the Beat:
Laws & Regulations
Journalism & Media
Government
Region:
National (U.S.)
Visibility:
Public
- Read more about Feds: People Can Take Photos Outside Court Houses
Toolbox: Following the Secret Money Can Be a Hard Job. Here's Help

The new buzzword is "dark money." Since the US Supreme Court's decision to override Congress and allow unlimited secret cash from corporations (even from foreign governments) to influence US elections, following the money has gotten hard.
SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet
Region:
National (U.S.)
Visibility:
Public
- Read more about Toolbox: Following the Secret Money Can Be a Hard Job. Here's Help
Congress Too Busy Electioneering To Make Mandated Reports Public

It's hard to believe that some of the reports Congress demands of federal agencies are not available to the public. But it's true — not because the reports are classified but because neither the agencies nor Congress bothers to publish them.
SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet
Topics on the Beat:
Government
Region:
National (U.S.)
Visibility:
Public
- Read more about Congress Too Busy Electioneering To Make Mandated Reports Public
Report: Despite Promises, Obama Hasn't Improved Open-Info Much

As soon as he arrived in office, President Obama promised to bring an unprecedented openness to the federal government. A mid-term report by a watchdog group, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, concludes that Obama's promise has yet to be met.
SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet
Topics on the Beat:
Government
Region:
National (U.S.)
Visibility:
Public
- Read more about Report: Despite Promises, Obama Hasn't Improved Open-Info Much
MSHA Watchdog Journalist Gets FOIA Records After 7 Years

Is the federal government covering up mine disasters? The Mine Safety and Health Administration was certainly not going out of its way to dispel that impression when it waited seven years to produce records sought by Ellen Smith, editor of Mine Safety and Health News.
SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet
Topics on the Beat:
Journalism & Media
Government
Region:
National (U.S.)
Visibility:
Public
- Read more about MSHA Watchdog Journalist Gets FOIA Records After 7 Years

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