"Federal Energy Regulatory Commission Chairman Jon Wellinghoff, who oversaw a broad expansion of the regulator’s oversight of the electric grid and several probes into improper trading tactics by Wall Street banks, will depart his post."
What big energy issues will emerge on the reporting agenda for the year to come? To find out, the SEJ convened a panel of top-flight environmental journalists at the Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington D.C. Jan. 25, 2013.
"With the warming U.S. Arctic region poised for greater oil and mining development, the White House needs to develop a national strategy that can take environmental decisions on a larger scale, a report issued Thursday concluded."
"WASHINGTON -- More than 4 out of 5 Americans want to prepare now for rising seas and stronger storms from climate change, a new national survey says. But most are unwilling to keep spending money to restore and protect stricken beaches."
As new heads for environmental and energy agencies come before the Senate for confirmation, they will likely feel heat over the gulf between the Obama administration's rhetoric on transparency and its iron discipline on message control. Case in point: Gina McCarthy, widely expected to be Obama's nominee for EPA's top administrator slot.
According to the Washington Post, the National Weather Service is firing William Proenza, who once headed the National Hurricane Center, for revealing to the Post that looming budget cuts would harm forecasting effectiveness (something that can affect public safety and the profits of business).
The suicide earlier this month of open-access activist Aaron Swartz brings again to the fore the ongoing difficulty journalists have accessing published scientific studies that bear on key current and future policy issues. Photo of Swartz, credit Flickr/peretzp.
Advertisement 
