Find Out for Yourself

There are literally hundreds of directories of sites that contain supposedly unbiased information about a variety of political and environmental issues. My purpose isn't to create another, but to save you some homework. When I read a site, I want to know who's behind the information, what they have to gain, and where the money is. That's what this site will try to accomplish. Issues will be added as I have time.

primary sources

analysis and responses

• Climate Change
  
• The US Chemical Industry

Climate Change

	Carbon Dioxide Information Analysis Center
	cdiac.esd.ornl.gov	Site description: Carbon Dioxide Information Analysis Center is the primary global-change data and information analysis center of the U.S. Department of Energy. Large amounts of primary research.
	Whois registrant: Oak Ridge National Laboratory P.O. Box 2009 MS 8227 Oak Ridge, TN 37831-6298	Registrant description: The Oak Ridge National Laboratory is a US government-sponsored research laboratory.

 

	The Greening Earth Society
	www.greeningearthsociety.org/ www.greeningearthsociety.org/climate ("World Climate Report")	Site description: The site "promotes the optomistic scientific view that CO2 is beneficial to humankind and all of nature."
	Whois registrant: Western Fuels Association Inc. 4301 Wilson Blvd. Arlington, VA 22203 US	Registrant description: An organization whose members are public utility companies in the US.

 

	Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
	www.ipcc.ch	Site description: Provides details analysis and interpretation of data from a wide variety of scientific sources.
	Whois registrant: Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Narasimhan Sundararaman WMO/OMMB Ave de la Paix, 7 bis CH-1211 Genève 2 Switzerland	Registrant description: The IPCC is a joint project created by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) in 1988. "It is open to all members of the UNEP and WMO. The role of the IPCC is to assess the scientific, technical and socio-economic information relevant for the understanding of the risk of human-induced climate change. It does not carry out new research nor does it monitor climate related data. It bases its assessment mainly on published and peer reviewed scientific technical literature."

 

	The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change
	www.unfccc.de/resource/iuckit/index.html (climate change info) www.unfccc.de/resource/convkp.html (Kyoto Protocol) www.unfccc.de/resource/ghg/tempemis2.html (greenhouse gas emissions) www.unfccc.de/resource/process/index.html (structure/process)	Site description: Text of the Kyoto Protocol and other official UN documents and findings, as well as disclosure about the structure of the UNFCC.
	Whois registrant: United Nations Framework Convention Climate Change Martin-Luther-King-Str. 8 D-53175 Bonn DE	Registrant description: Branch of the United Nations.

 

The US Chemical Industry

	About Trade Secrets
	www.abouttradesecrets.org/	Site description: The American Chemical Council's responses to Trade Secrets including legal correspondance with Bill Moyers.
	Whois registrant: American Chemistry Council 1300 Wilson Boulevard Arlington, VA 22209-2307 US	Registrant description: The American Chemical Council is a trade organization that is made up of almost all major chemical corporations in the US.

 

	Behind Closed Doors
	www.chej.org/BCDReport.html	Site description: Provides documented information about the US chemical industry's interactions with the EPA regarding the health effects of dioxin.
	Whois registrant: Essential Information P.O. Box 19405 Washington, DC 20036 US	Registrant description: Essential Information is a non-profit founded in 1982 by Ralph Nader with the goal of encouraging citizens to become more active in community and government. CHEJ.org itself is the home site for the Center for Healh, Evironment, and Justice, which exists to "provides people with information," "guide people through the process of putting information into action," "help community organizations achieve their goals," and "help groups band together for mutual aid and support."

 

	Chemical Industry Archives
	www.chemicalindustryarchives.com/	Site description: Huge research site providing 37,000 fully searchable pages of internal chemical company documents as well as editorial information.
	Whois registrant: Environmental Working Group 1718 Connecticut Ave., NW #600 Washington, DC 20009 US	Registrant description: The Environmental Working Group researches, prepares, and writes reports for "public interest groups and concerned citizens who are campaigning to protect the environment."

 

	The Environmental Protection Agency Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics
	www.epa.gov/opptintr/opptpub.htm www.epa.gov/opptintr/library/ppicdist.htm	Site description: Provides reports, fact sheets, and other research data collected and endorsed by the EPA.
	Whois registrant: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency NC 54 at Alexander Drive Research Triangle Park, NC 27711	Registrant description: US governmental agency.

 

	PBS: Trade Secrets
	www.pbs.org/tradesecrets/	Site description: The companion site for a PBS/Bill Moyers documentary that examines previously undisclosed information from and about the US chemical industry. Focuses on undisclosed health effects of various chemicals, the US government's regulatory process, and political connections within the industry. The site includes a large amount of primary-source material.
	Whois registrant: Public Broadcasting Service 1320 Braddock Place Alexandria, VA 22314-1698	Registrant description: PBS is a private, nonprofit corporation whose members are America's public TV stations. Details on their funding can be found here.

 

	The Right-to-Know Network
	www.rtknet.org/	Site description: Provides free access to goverment databases containing information on housing, census, pollution, etc.
	Whois registrant: Unison Insititute 1742 Connecticut Ave. NW Washington, DC 20009	Registrant description: No info found on the Unison Institute, but the site states that it's sponsored by OMB Watch, a non-profit organization originally formed to examine the actions of the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and currently acts as a public interest lobby and information provider. RTKNET.org is also affiliated with the Center for Public Data Access, a non-profit designed to: "designed to: increase civic participation, improve public access to government information, and strengthen government accountability."