In a historic step forward, EPA's proposed rule would require disclosure of ALL pesticide ingredients — which has not been required for decades.
But apparently confidentiality claims will only be rejected in cases where the chemicals have already been disclosed in the Toxic Substances Control Act inventory.
This includes three new datasets from EPA, PLUS many other datasets relevant to environmental issues, released in response to a Dec. 8, 2009, White House open government order.
By BILL DAWSON
The Beat usually examines recent coverage of environmental issues. This time around, though, The Beat looks at the environmental beat itself — specifically, at a couple of recent developments related to the training of journalists to cover environmental issues.
The first event was the October announcement that Columbia University was suspending for review its two-year, dual-degree graduate program leading to one master's degree in journalism and another in environmental science.
The digital age of environmental journalism has brought with it an ugly underbelly characterized by increasingly bitter personal exchanges and accusations and a sucking-up of countless hours of productive reporting time and effort. How reporters handle these distractions may shape how well the American public understands, or doesn't understand, the climate challenge they and future generations will face.
As SEJ enters its 20th anniversary year, it's worth remembering why we exist, what principles we started out with in 1990 and still retain, what has changed, and what should change. Read more from SEJ President Christy George.
