This week, we've been gathering resources for reporters looking to put the Deepwater Horizon explosion and oil spill into context. While the Department of Transportation's Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) doesn't have jurisdiction over the safety of the offshore wells themselves, they do enforce safety regulations for oil pipelines and can tell us if BP has violated any of these regulations of late.
The records show that civil penalties have been levied on BP pipelines for safety violations ten times since 2002 (the earliest year the data is available online), and three more have been ...
Oil Spill: Wildlife data shows several species may be affected
As the millions of gallons of oil continues to spill into the Gulf of Mexico, the Department of Interior’s Fish and Wildlife Services has started an uphill battle with their rescue efforts. The agency has deployed a 200-person workforce in the area who are reviewing the natural habitats affected by the oil spill.
For environmentalists and reporters covering the vast and prolonged damage the oil spill can cause, here’s a list of wildlife refuges that can be affected released by the Fisheries and Wildlife Services.
And, to check on various species of endangered wildlife that could be affected ...
Search new Subsidyscope database on federal aid to nonprofits
In fiscal year 2008, the federal government gave $38 billion in grants to nonprofit entities and spent $10 billion on non-competed contracts with nonprofits. Billions were also taken in tax expenditures benefiting nonprofits, representing foregone revenues of $50 billion in 2008.
Excluding contracts, that means that the average U.S. household spent $430 a year on programs to nonprofit entities such as universities, hospitals and charities in 2008.
Loans and loan guarantees made by the government, known as risk transfers, also represent a subsidy. In 2008, the federal government lent at more than $7 billion to ... Continue reading
BP blamed in 8,000 spill reports, federal data shows
British Petroleum and its subsidiaries have been the subject of roughly 8,000 reported incidents of spills, emissions and leaks of oil, chemicals and gases into the environment, according to a government database. (download them here).
The National Response Center, which takes reports on oil spills, radiation
leaks, chemical emissions and other environmental accidents, shows dozens of reports stemming from the April 20 explosion at British Petroleum's Deepwater Horizon. In addition to the crude oil flowing into the gulf , benzene, ethylbenzene, caustic soda solution and six other chemicals have been released into the water and air, according to incident ...
Senators Appointed to Conference Committee Connected to Financial Industry
Senators selected to work to combine the House and Senate financial regulation bills in a conference committee are some of... View Article
Continue readingThe Design for America Winners
The Design for America contest led to the most compelling, interesting visualizations of any of our contests. With about 72 entries, the design community stepped up and showed amazing ways for us to view government and imagine new ways for government to serve citizens.
Read about all the winners after the jump.
Continue readingDOE site up to date: President Bush’s goals for 2005
The Reporting Group spent the day digging through government websites looking for resources for reporters covering the Deepwater Horizon oil disaster. Tonight I started looking for useful data sets on the Department of Energy's website. Put the word "oil" in the site's search interface, and the first result (as of this writing) explains...
Oil is the lifeblood of America’s economy. Currently, it supplies more than 40% of our total energy demands and more than 99% of the fuel we use in our cars and trucks. The Department of Energy’s Office of Fossil Energy focuses on two ...Continue reading
Hack for Humanity June 4-6 in DC
Hackathons are pretty much a dime a dozen these days. I just moved back to DC from the Bay Area, and I always say that what differentiates this area from Silicon Valley is the consistency with which you meet people who have a clear and specific purpose, mission, issue area or raison d'etre.
Random Hacks of Kindness (RHoK) is a joint effort between some of the biggest names in the tech community (NASA, Google, Microsoft, Yahoo!, and the World Bank to be precise). RHoK's mission is to, "mobilize a world-wide community of technologists to solve real-world problems through technology". On June 4-6, right here in DC, RHoK's first global hackathon will kick off with a reception at the State Department and continue with a weekend of programming apps and utilities related to disaster response.
If you're excited and want to get a head start, check out tomorrow's panel at the Web 2.0 expo, which will give some more background and context about the international initiative.
The hacker community that has emerged around disaster response perfectly captures that impression I described of DC: as a place for people with passion and purpose, and it's why RHoK is not Just Another Hackathon. So please join us-- sign up to Hack for Humanity, and show the rest of the world what the DC hacker community stands for!
Continue readingOil spill resources: Local reporting
We're pulling together resources for covering and following the Deepwater Horizon disaster. Here's some coverage from local papers in the Gulf region--there's some fantastic local reporting going on. A sampling:
(Monroe) News-Star
The Obama administration's point man on the oil spill rejected the notion of removing BP and taking over the crisis Monday, saying the government has neither the company's expertise nor its deep-sea equipment. To push BP out of the way would raise a question, to replace them with what?" Coast Guard Commandant Thad Allen, who is heading the federal response to the spill ...
House Republicans Launch “America Speaking Out”
House Republicans are today launching a new site, America Speaking Out. The site provides a forum for a broad, public... View Article
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