Dirt Diggers Digest No. 63
September 19, 2005
Editor: Philip Mattera
1. Database presents information on Katrina-related environmental hazards
2. American Rights at Work finds companies that don't bust unions
3. EPA databases found to be inefficient and error-prone
4. Global agribusiness market share data being collected in collaborative project
5. Exxpose Exxon launches campaign against energy giant
6. Report ranks global companies on lobbying disclosure
7. Canadian federal court docket data now available online
8. Contracts database grows to more than 55,000 entries
9. Fact sheets on tobacco research
10. ProQuest plans to digitize small-town newspaper archives
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1. Database presents information on Katrina-related environmental hazards
The National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), a component
of the National Institutes of Health, has announced that it has launched a website
to provide information on environmental hazards created in the aftermath of
Hurricane Katrina < www.nih.gov/news/pr/sep2005/niehs-09.htm >. Already
available on the site at http://www-apps.niehs.nih.gov/katrina/ are maps showing
information such as the location of Superfund sites and oil refineries in the affected
areas.
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2. American Rights at Work finds companies that don't bust unions
American Rights At Work < www.araw.org >, an organization that usually highlights
corporate resistance to union organizing, recently released its first list of companies
that participate in "successful partnerships" with unions representing their employees.
The group called the existence of such companies a sign that the anti-union, low-road
approach adopted by firms such as Wal-Mart is not the only viable workforce strategy.
The list < www.araw.org/srb/ldl.cfm >, which is not meant to be comprehensive,
includes both small firms and large corporations such as Cingular Wireless, Costco,
Harley-Davidson and Kaiser Permanente.
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3. EPA databases found to be inefficient and error-prone
A study of the Environmental Protection Agency's data on regulated facilities
found that the fragmented and decentralized nature of the system creates
gaps and inaccuracies in the information. Produced by the Environmental
Information Coalition and facilitated by the National Academy of Public
Administration, the report provides a set of recommendations for improving
consistency, accuracy and thoroughness of the data. Above all, the report
calls for the creation of a single Master File system to replace the current
arrangement in which the different divisions of the EPA as well as state
environmental agencies report data in ways that do not allow for reliable
aggregation. EPA responded to the report by saying that it has been
working on data standardization but was not ready to announce any results.
The full Environmental Information Coalition report can be found online at
www.napawash.org/Pubs/EnvironmentalInformationConsortium-6-30-2005.pdf
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4. Global agribusiness market share data being collected in collaborative project
The Agribusiness Accountability Initiative < www.agribusinessaccountability.org/ >
has announced the launch of a collaborative project involving the collection of market
share data on agribusiness companies around the world. Calling itself the Market
Share Matrix Project, the international initiative has begun posting data on the web at
< www.marketsharematrix.org/ >. Other researchers are invited to fill in the missing
pieces of the matrix.
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5. Exxpose Exxon launches campaign against energy giant
Exxpose Exxon, a coalition of a dozen major environmental groups, has kicked
off a campaign against the energy giant because of its backward position on
climate change. The campaign (online at http://www.exxposeexxon.com/ ) has called
for a boycott of the company by consumers, investors and potential employees. It has
also released a report, EXXON MOBIL EXPOSED < www.exxposeexxon.com/report.pdf >
that looks at the company's financial support of groups that express skepticism about
global warming, its resistance to renewable energy and its other dubious policies.
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6. Report ranks global companies on lobbying disclosure
WWF (the conservation group formerly known as the World Wildlife Fund) and
the UK consulting company SustainAbility have released a report that examines
the disclosure practices of large companies concerning corporate lobbying. Called
INFLUENCING POWER, the report rates the reporting of 100 of the world's
largest companies and compares the content of their disclosure to the content
of their statements on corporate responsibility. No company received the highest
rating in the report ("integrated"), but eight did qualify for the second-highest
category ("systematic"). They were BASF, BP, Chevron, Dow, Ford Motor, GM,
GlaxoSmithKline and Hewlett Packard. The report can be found online at
www.sustainability.com/insight/scalingup-article.asp?id=317
Speaking of lobbying, the Center for Public Integrity continues to expand its
offerings on the subject. Recent reports include an examination of U.S.
lobbying on behalf of the Chinese government and the companies it owns
< www.publicintegrity.org/lobby/report.aspx?aid=734 > and an updated
look at lobbying spending at the state level, which is now close to $1 billion
< www.publicintegrity.org/hiredguns/report.aspx?aid=728 >. The Center
also released a blistering critique of the poor administration of the Foreign Agent
Registration Act database < www.publicintegrity.org/lobby/report.aspx?aid=735 >.
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7. Canadian federal court docket data now available online
The Canadian Courts Administration Service announced recently that the dockets of the
country's federal courts are now online at www.tcc-cci.gc.ca/press_release_e.shtml .
Three courts have posted information on some 400,000 cases. They are:
- Federal Courts < www.fct-cf.gc.ca/business/proceedings_queries_e.shtml >
- Federal Court of Appeals < www.fca-caf.gc.ca/business/proceedings_queries_e.shtml >
- Court Martial Appeal Court < www.cmac-cacm.ca/business/proceedings_queries_e.shtml >.
The Tax Court will be added later.
Unlike the PACER system that covers the U.S. federal courts, the Canadian
websites have only the basic information about each case--parties, issues, etc.--
and not a log of proceedings or images of filings.
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8. Contracts database grows to more than 55,000 entries
The Contracting and Organizations Research Institute at the University of
Missouri-Columbia boasts that its database of contracts now has more than
55,000 entries and enhanced features. The digital contracts library, called
CORI K-Base, provides free access (after registration) to the full text of business,
government and labor union contracts obtained from public sources such as
SEC filings. They can be keyword-searched. The CORI-K search page is at: http://ronald.cori.missouri.edu/cori_search/client_search.php
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9. Fact sheets on tobacco research
Dirt Diggers subscriber Charlie Cray of the Center for Corporate Policy sent along
the following announcement:
The Framework Convention Alliance is pleased to announce the release
of a series of tobacco fact sheets, now available on the internet at:
http://www.fctc.org/factsheets/index.php
These fact sheets are designed for policymakers, NGOs, journalists and
others interested in tobacco. They provide summaries of current research,
provide responses to common industry arguments, give some guidance on the
relevant sections of the global tobacco treaty (the FCTC) and provide sources
for more information.
Over the next few months we will have these translated into at least
French & Spanish and will be adding new ones on such issues as taxes and
agriculture. We currently have the following 10 fact sheets:
Tobacco Facts: http://fctc.org/factsheets/1.pdf
About the FCTC: http://fctc.org/factsheets/2.pdf
Secondhand Smoke: http://fctc.org/factsheets/3.pdf
Tobacco Product Regulation: http://fctc.org/factsheets/4.pdf
Cessation & Treatment: http://fctc.org/factsheets/5.pdf
Searching Tobacco Industry Documents: http://fctc.org/factsheets/6.pdf
Warning Labels: http://fctc.org/factsheets/7.pdf
Smuggling: http://fctc.org/factsheets/8.pdf
Advertising & Promotion: http://fctc.org/factsheets/9.pdf
Tobacco & the Millenium Development Goals: http://fctc.org/factsheets/10.pdf
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10. ProQuest plans to digitize small-town newspaper archives
ProQuest Information and Learning, the company that has assembled complete
digital archives of major newspapers such as the New York Times, Washington
Post and Wall Street Journal, is beginning to turn its attention to small-town and
community newspapers < www.il.proquest.com/division/pr/05/20050824.shtml >.
The company inaugurated its project with the digitization of the Zeeland (Michigan)
Record, but the company did not indicate how many other small town papers
will be put into digital form or how quickly the project will proceed. For more on
the major papers that have been digitized, see
< www.proquest.com/proquest/features/feature-04/default.shtml >.
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A cumulative index of sources (with links) mentioned in
issues of the Dirt Diggers Digest can be found at:
www.corp-research.org/dirt_diggers_index.htm.
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Philip Mattera
Research Director & Director of the Corporate Research Project
Good Jobs First
pmattera@goodjobsfirst.org
www.goodjobsfirst.org
www.corp-research.org