Policy

EPA's public release of the latest Toxics Release Inventory data -- and rollback of Bush-era cutbacks on the amount of information chemical companies must report -- may have marked the beginning of a new era for the embattled program.

Carrying out a January 21 order by President Barack Obama, Attorney General Eric Holder has reversed the so-called "Ashcroft Memo," which had encouraged agencies during the George Bush presidency to err on the side of secrecy.

After years of effort, and despite a last-minute gambit by the outgoing President Bush, US policy for offshore energy development is going back to the drawing board. DOI is extending by six months the public comment period on the country's 5-year plan.

The Association of Health Care Journalists wrote the Obama administration asking it to end the practice of making reporters go through public affairs offices to arrange interviews with federal experts and, in some cases, having public affairs people monitor those interviews.

SEJ and science journalism groups expressed opposition to a bill that would reverse current policy of free publication of scientific results coming from federal agencies.

Corporations are using a dispute resolution provision of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) to circumvent environmental regulations in the US, Canada, and Mexico.

This database is useful for environmental and energy reporters looking for mischief perpetrated by government officials and the industries who influence them with money.

The Energy Department in December 2008 published an 11th-hour proposed amendment to the Bush administration's secrecy rules that shroud the policies that brought Americans Enron, California blackouts, and $4 gasoline.

Environmental policy, legislation, and regulation are likely to be different under the Obama administration than the Bush administration. It's difficult to know yet what the priorities will be, or what shifts will occur. This is the first half of potential topics for journalists to keep an eye on.