EPA Cuts Major Information Resource: OPPT Newsbreak cancelled

January 28, 1999 PLEASE ROUTE AND POST TO OTHERS

Mr. Vice President, Madam Administrator, and concerned librarians, information providers, publishers, and others interested in the effective, economical, and equitable access to environmental information:

This notice is simply unbelievable. The OPPT Newsbreak has been one of the most important information resource provided the general public by the EPA. Its coverage of national newspapers has provided a timely, concise, and important source of environmental information to business leaders, school teachers, officials, government employees, research scientists, lawyers, policy makers, students, librarians, and others sharing a deep concern for the quality of our environment and its natural resources.

On a daily basis the OPPT Newsbreak has alerted us to a variety of environmental issues, including environmental health, occupational safety, toxicology, endangered species, air pollution, water pollution, green technologies, lead poisoning prevention, environmental restoration, hazardous waste clean up, recycling campaigns, ecological restoration, global warming and climate change, environmental education, and a host of other environmental topics.

This service has been acclaimed by many organizations and associations, and has served its audience well. Keeping the American people abreast of critical environmental news is a significant endeavor and an important link between concerned citizens and the environment.

The OPPT Newsbreak is among the most important services of provided by EPA. I will be taking this information to me today, as I travel to Philadelphia for the Midwinter meeting of the American Library Association. This information will also be shared with various units of ALA, such as the Task Force on the Environment, the Social Responsibilities Round Table, and the Association for College and Research Libraries.

This information will be directed to the government affairs office of ALA and to the appropriate sections and divisions of the Special Libraries Association and as many environmental organizations and agencies as possible.

This is an outrage to have such a valuable source of information cut from the agency that touts itself as the steward of environmental information and vision.

Is this decision based on an EPA ruling or some cost-cutting scheme of Garcia Consulting? Was there any public input, discussion or review in making this decision? Were any of our national professional library associations contacted or made aware of the issues prior to elimination of this valuable resource?

As our country faces the challenge of living in the 21st Century, access to information will be critical for public involvement in decision making processes and planning the policies to assure our roles as stewards and guardians for the quality and integrity of the environment.

This decision is ill-founded and inconceivable to happen in an agency of a government that has pledged to empower people through efficient, effective, and equitable access to information.

If anyone would like to protest this decision I would suggest contacting:

Carol M Browner, Administrator Mail Code 1101 Environmental Protection Agency Headquarters 401 M Street, S.W. Washington, DC 20460 browner.carol@epa.gov 202/260-4700

Albert Gore, Vice President Executive Office of the President The White Hose Office 1600 Pennsylvania Ave N.W. Washington, D.C. 20500 vice.president@whitehouse.gov 202 456-1414 http://www.whitehouse.gov/WH/Mail/html/Mail_Vice_President.html

You should also contact our Congressional Representative and Senators to voice your concern over the elimination of this critical information service that has been brought to the citizens of this country.

Some insightful quotes:

"An EPA task force will soon recommend a strategy for realigning environmental information and data systems at the agency, according to a memo from Administrator Carol Browner and Deputy Administrator Fred Hansen.

'As we embark on a new era of information technology and enhanced public access to data, we are committed to ensuring that our data are timely, accurate, integrated and useful to the public and are able to effectively inform our own decision making,' said the memo." August 1998 http://www.epa.gov/natlibra/hqirc/enb/enb98/enb0819.htm

"Al Gore's commitment and leadership on environmental issues is unparalleled. He has said the protection and preservation of the earth's environment is one of the most important issues facing this generation."
http://www.whitehouse.gov/WH/EOP/OVP/html/GORE_Home.html

"Vice President Gore, having first coined the term 'information superhighway' 17 years ago, is the recognized public leader in the development of the National Information Infrastructure (NII)." http://www.whitehouse.gov/WH/EOP/OVP/html/GORE_Home.html

"The Vice President established the GLOBE program to increase environmental awareness among children around the world." http://www.whitehouse.gov/WH/EOP/OVP/html/GORE_Home.html

Sincerely,

Frederick W. Stoss, M.S. (zoology), M.L.S.
Biological Sciences Librarian
SUNY University at Buffalo
Past Chair, American Library Association Task Force on the Environment
Past Chair, Special Libraries Association Environment and Resource Management Division
Director, Center for Environmental Information
Editorial Advisor, The Electronic Green Journal
Editorial Advisor. Environment Abstracts
Advisor, National Library for the Environment Steering
Committee, Committee for the National Institute of the Environment
Co-Editor, Trends: A Compendium of Data on Global Change (Oak Ridge National Laboratory)
Associate Editor, Information Resources in Toxicology