"Supreme Court: Corporations Don't Have 'Personal Privacy' Rights"
"The Supreme Court of the United States ruled Tuesday that AT&T and other corporations do not have personal privacy rights under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA)."
"The Supreme Court of the United States ruled Tuesday that AT&T and other corporations do not have personal privacy rights under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA)."
The sprawling Philadelphia metro area got Forbes' "most toxic" rating, mostly because of its 50-plus Superfund sites in 4 states. But California claimed four of the top 10 slots, mostly because of smog. Not all of the cities rushed to accept the distinction.
"The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's ability to protect citizens from premature death and other health problems would be gutted if Congress slashes funding as threatened by Republican lawmakers, its chief said on Wednesday."
USDA's atlas provides data, at the county level, on scores of agricultural, demographic, and economic topics. Or on the national map, pick any given category and get an initial feel for national patterns, then click on individual counties for more detail. All data can be downloaded so you can work with it any way you want, and maps can be downloaded for your use.
States and territories have just been allocated about three-quarters of a billion dollars for their use in building facilities, providing services, and conducting planning and research related to fishing, hunting, wildlife conservation, and recreational opportunities. This is a gold mine for local environmental stories.
EPA is conducting a study of fracking, no matter where it is used (e.g., gas shale, oil shale, coalbed methane, tight sands). Public comment is being allowed as the agency's Science Advisory Board meets March 7-8, 2011, to review the draft study plan. Initial study and research results are possible by the end of 2012, and a report may be published some time in 2014.
"Just over a month ago, the Department of Agriculture announced that it will allow American farmers to plant genetically engineered alfalfa, which is widely used as feed for dairy cows and horses. Organic food producers opposed the USDA's decision — some more fiercely than others. That split has provoked angry debates within the organics community, with some activists accusing organic businesses of 'surrendering' to the biotech company Monsanto. And it has reopened some old arguments about what's most important in the label 'organic.'"
"A hydrofluoric acid leak from an oil refinery in Ohio last week sent a worker to the hospital and required the use of a 'water cannon' to disperse the poisonous gas, underscoring the potentially perilous nature of a chemical used at 50 refineries across the country."
"Baltimore, where thousands of buildings contain lead-based paint that can poison young children, has lost federal funding for abatement programs due to mismanagement of its most recent grant, officials said Monday."