Workers in the "Vessels of Opportunity" Gulf spill cleanup program had to sign a contract prohibiting them from talking to the news media or disclosing "proprietary and confidential" information.
Anne Womack Kolton, who as former VP Dick Cheney's press aide defended the secrecy of his energy task force, has been brought in to fix BP's PR problems in the Gulf oil spill.
Dispersant manufacturer Nalco failed to disclose the chemical identity of the ingredients to the news media or public, and ignored a US EPA order to stop using the product in the Gulf.
US EPA withheld information, and twice during the five-day operation BP cut off the mud pumps for long periods without letting the public know, making statements that left the impression the operation was ongoing.
The WatchDog's special Gulf oil spill issue includes stories on media access problems, withholding of information by US EPA and misleading statements by BP, mystery dispersant ingredients, BP's new ex-Cheney spokesperson, prohibiting cleanup workers talking to media, and detaining rig survivors till they sign two statements.
Still covering aspects of the BP Gulf of Mexico oil spill? SEJ's tracker blog The Daily Glob has compiled a list of important Gulf-related research programs: institutes, academic programs, and labs working on marine science, gulf ecology, oil spill response and recovery, coastal ecosystems, wetlands, and more.
"Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) was joined by executives from Google Inc., Wal-Mart Stores Inc., YouTube LLC, and designer chairmaker Herman Miller Inc. yesterday to launch a nonprofit group created to help scrub hazardous chemicals from consumer products."
"Tesla Motors and Toyota Motor announced on Thursday that Tesla had bought the recently closed Nummi assembly plant in Fremont, Calif., where it intends to make its Model S luxury electric sedan and other future models. Also, Toyota said it had agreed to buy $50 million of Tesla common stock upon the completion of its planned initial public offering."
The USFS Forest Legacy Program has awarded a total of $72 million to 36 property owners in 33 states and territories to apply conservation easements to their land, with the goal of preventing development or other uses of the land that would reduce its forest value.
The 2010 update to the Federal Trade Commission's Guides for the Use of Environmental Marketing Claims is expected to feature new guidance for marketing carbon offsets and renewable energy certificates, green packaging, textiles, building products, and building.
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