The World Wide Web
has turned out to be one of my most important journalistic sources. At least
once a day, I get on the hypermedia system to search for information of one
kind or another. Here are a few of the websites that I use, and that I think
are useful for anyone interested in environmental issues.
Austin360 Sure it’s owned by Cox Enterprises, owners of the local daily, but
it’s a worthwhile stop. The site lists a host of local environmental groups,
including the Travis Audubon Society, Sierra Club Lone Star Chapter, Texas
Renewable Energy Industries Association, and the Hill Country Foundation, among
others. Most of these sites include hot links to other sites. For instance, the
Travis Audubon site has links to pages on bird feeders and hummingbirds.
(http://www.austin360.com)
Environmental Working Group (EWG) Want to know how much money a candidate has
received from political action committees? This is the place to go. An
interesting fact from this site regarding the Doggett vs. Doggett race for the
10th Congressional District in Texas: Republican Theresa Doggett has received
nine times more money from out-of-state individuals than has Democratic
incumbent Lloyd Doggett. According to EWG’s figures through Sept. 4,
Doggett the Challenger has taken in $87,094 from out-of-state contributors.
Doggett the Incumbent has taken in just $9,800 from non-Texans.
EWG’s web page will also alarm you with the fact that PACs opposing
wetlands protection have given $25.4 million to political candidates of both
major parties since 1990. The page includes a list of the companies that are
members of the National Wetlands Coalition(NWC), a PAC with a lovely but
misleading name which gives big contributions to politicians that agree with
its anti-environmental agenda. Among the members of the NWC is the Chevron
Employees PAC, which gave $179,764 between 1994 and 1996 to House members who
voted against protection for wetlands. The EWG page also includes other
information, including a breakdown by Zipcode of farm subsidies and toxic
releases.(http://www.ewg.org)
Society of Environmental Journalists This home page may have more hot links on
it than any I’ve seen. It includes links to pages with info on everything from
global warming and government agencies, to forests and bio-diversity. It has
links to dozens of environmental groups, and it includes several links to
documents that review the best in environmental websites.
(http://www.sej.org)
Edwards Aquifer Research and Data Center This site, run by the limnologists
and biologists at Southwest Texas State University in San Marcos, offers
one-stop shopping for people interested in the southern (non-Barton Springs)
section of the Edwards Aquifer. At this site, you can get water consumption
totals by county, water-usage stats, estimated recharge levels for the aquifer,
and the current level of the aquifer’s main monitor well, the one in central
San Antonio known as J17. The site contains a comprehensive look at the
endangered species that depend on the aquifer, as well as an overview of the
San Marcos River ecosystem. A new feature includes the latest information about
spring flows at Comal and San Marcos Springs. It also has the latest drought
statistics and links to other sites like the Texas Water Development Board and
the Texas Natural Resource Conservation Commission, that have drought-related
info. (http://eardc.swt.edu)
AltaVista If you’re looking for information on the Web, you need a capable
search engine and AltaVista is simply the best there is. But to make it work
efficiently, you need to utilize the site’s advanced features. When you get to
the site, click on the “advanced” box. Once there, enter several words or
phrases, using Boolean connectors like and, or and not.
These limiters allow you to dramatically reduce the number of hits you get.
(http://altavista.digital.com)
League of Conservation Voters(LCV) Want to know why U.S. Rep. Steve Stockman
(R-Friendswood) is included in the LCV‘s list of the “Dirty
Dozen?” This site includes information about the bills that Stockman sponsored
during the last session, including one that would have allowed the refineries
and petrochemical plants in his district to release more toxins into the air.
The site has an analysis of the presidential race from an environmental
perspective, and it clearly favors President Bill Clinton over Bob Dole.
“Dole’s lifetime average voting record on LCV‘s National Environmental
Scorecard is only 19%, and it was 0% in 1994 and 1995,” says the LCV. “In no
instance has Sen. Dole taken a stronger pro-environmental position than
President Clinton.”
The site has voting records on every member of the House and Senate on
environmental issues. For instance, Texas’ two Republican U.S. Senators, Phil
Gramm and Kay Bailey Hutchison, each scored a paltry 7% on the LCV‘s tally sheet. Five senators, all Democrats — Paul Sarbanes of Maryland, Frank
Lautenberg of New Jersey, John Kerry of Massachusetts, John Glenn of Ohio, and
Russell Feingold of Wisconsin — scored a perfect 100. Lloyd Doggett slipped
from 100% last year to 96% this year. (http://www.lcv.org)
Politics Now Want to know U.S. Rep. Henry B. Gonzalez’s birthday (it’s May 3,
1916), or Gov. George W. Bush’s birthplace (New Haven, Connecticut), or the
number of registered voters in Texas (8.92 million)? You can get those factoids
and lots more at this website, which used to be known as PoliticsUSA.
The site includes an almanac of American politicians as well as state profiles
(population, ethnicity, median age, etc.) The day after the debate between
vice-presidential candidates Jack Kemp and Al Gore, Politics Now had a
searchable, full-text transcript of the debate, including reactions from
various spin doctors. The site also has a comparative analysis of the latest
polling data, and a comprehensive guide to the financial contributions of every
member of Congress. It even contains a directory called “The Capital Source”
that can help locate Washington phone numbers and addresses for PACs, lobbyists
and special interest groups. (http://www.politicsnow.com)
General Accounting Office No one would call this an environmental page, but
the GAO offers some of the best no-bullshit summaries of environmental
programs. For instance, this page includes the full text of a July 22 GAO
report regarding the failures of the NAFTA-created entities, BECC and NADBank,
to deal with many of the environmental problems on the border.
(http://www.gao.gov)
Securities and Exchange Commission Another page that doesn’t have anything to
do with the environment, but if you want to know what a publicly traded company
is doing with regard to the environment, there’s no better place to go. From
here, you can download the full text of a company’s annual report, their
quarterly reports, and their proxy statements. From those, you can get a myriad
of information, including the annual salaries of the CEOs, as well as any
pending legal actions against the company. (http://www.sec.gov)
Knowledge is power. Happy surfing!
Colorado Rocks
The Friends of the Colorado River Foundation are sponsoring a family-orientedevent on Sunday, Oct. 20, which will include exhibits, food, and live music by
Jimmie Dale Gilmore and Toni Price. The event — designed to encourage people
to hike, paddle, and recreate along the Colorado River — is free and will run
from noon-6pm.
This article appears in October 18 • 1996 and October 18 • 1996 (Cover).