This Week's Show

October 5, 2008

Back on June 8 I talked about how the Bush administration had begun emptying and closing down the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s network of technical libraries.

Thanks to groups like the American Library Association and the not-for-profit Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, those libraries are now slowly opening again...AFTER TWO YEARS! But the story is far from over and there may not exactly be a happy ending. Executive Director Jeff Ruch of PEER was on the program in June and while his organization applauds the reopenings, its statement reveals that those facilities may be mere shells of what they were.

A group that has an obvious interest in what happens to the libraries is the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE). John O’Grady is the Treasurer of the AFGE National Council 238, which represents more than 600,000 Federal and D.C. government workers nationwide and overseas. He’s also President of AFGE Local 704, which covers workers in Illinois, Michigan and Wisconsin. Their press release in part states:

“AFGE Council 238 is pleased that the previously shuttered EPA libraries have been reopened, but our fight to have them fully reopened is not over,”.... Another area of concern for Council 238 is ensuring input from the general public...“It is still unclear what involvement if any, the public has had in this whole process, so we have asked Congress to stay on top of EPA's activity in this regard.” AFGE Council 238 has urged Congress to ensure that the Agency seeks input from the general public with respect to reopening the previously closed libraries, as well as any further “modernization” of the EPA Library Network.

Clearly, unless we remain vigilant, the Bush Administration will do as much damage as it can to the cause of scientific openness in its remaining months in office. They are shameless.

Healthy Green Goodsis the Green Business of the Week. You can find out more about this eco-friendly company by going to the Green Business of the Week on my home page.

Speaking of green stuff, the City of Chicago is offering another Green Homes Fair next Saturday, October 11, at the Chicago Center for Green Technology. Whether you live in a condo, greystone, bungalow, recent renovation or new construction, the Chicago Green Homes Fair at Chicago Green Tech will help you learn how to incorporate environmentally friendly practices and products into your home.