The Personal Website of Mike Specian

This is Part 4 of a 5 part series on the government’s silence of silence and the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).  Parts 1, 2 and 3 can and should be read first:

Part 1: The Kingston Disaster
Part 2: The Government’s Silence of Science
Part 3: Freedom of Information Act to the Rescue?

In brief, these articles describe how scientific research gathered by the United States government is often withheld from the general public, a type of action that can quite literally put lives at risk.  The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) was passed to allow public access to these records, but we discovered that for a number of reasons, the George W. Bush administration was overly eager to deny such requests.

Many of those critical of the Bush administration’s handling of FOIA requests hoped that the situation would improve under the Obama administration.  In fact, one of the new President’s first actions in office was to issue the following instruction, essentially reversing the Ashcroft Memo:

All agencies should adopt a presumption in favor of disclosure, in order to renew their commitment to the principles embodied in FOIA, and to usher in a new era of open Government.

This memo was part of Obama’s Open Government Initiative, “committed to creating an unprecedented level of openness in Government.”  Yet surprisingly, government transparency barely improved from the Bush administration and, according to some journalists, got worse.  A full 30% gave him a grade of poor to very poor.  Recently, OpenTheGovernment.org released an assessment saying that many sophisticated users of FOIA remain tremendously disappointed with the law’s implementation.

There are between 600,000 and 650,000 FOIA requests per year.  While less busy agencies can respond within a few weeks, larger agencies like the Department of Defense are flooded with more requests than they have the resources to meet.  In these cases, FOIA compliance has effectively become an unfunded mandate.  The situation is worsened by the fact that many agency employees are overworked, undertrained, and generally unclear of their obligations under FOIA.

A Bloomberg News investigation last year set out to test the quality of current FOIA compliance.  A team of reporters submitted the same FOIA request, for the travel expenses of top agency officials, to 57 agencies.  19 of 20 cabinet-level agencies did not comply within the mandated 20 day window.  Even “well past that legal deadline,” about half of the agencies had still not fulfilled the request.

In some cases information is available, but in a form that mitigates its usefulness.  Despite Obama’s promise of an online data repository, many information requests still need to be made in person.  A significant number of records remain incomplete or redacted.  Often data is not in a convenient format like PDFs or tables.  Nonuniformity abounds.  At the SEC there are different record systems in every department.

There is no uniform method to submit a FOIA request.  Some agencies accept submissions by e-mail and others by fax.  Some ask the user to complete a web form.  Requests to the IRS must actually be sent by post.

Despite President Obama’s vow to “restore science to its rightful place,” scientists who wish to reach out to the public about their research findings were routinely prohibited by public affairs, removing the power of interpretation from data that rarely speaks for itself.  They are often denied the right to review, prior to publication, the final versions of reports to which their names are attached or to which their research contributed.  Even their ability to obtain access to drafts and revisions of such reports is limited.

The need for scientists to comment on their research is exemplified in the case of the Safe Water Drinking Act.  Even though this act requires water utilities to “directly” issue customers water quality reports, the reports are often so technical as to be practically useless.  (A water utility proposal to only issue the reports online would further disenfranchise those without Internet access.)

Even if adequate information is ultimately disclosed, delays can mitigate its usefulness.  An environmental assessment of TransCanada’s controversial Keystone XL pipeline was criticized by many as giving insufficient consideration to its effects on the climate.  The report’s integrity was further compromised when it was discovered that the authors had not only been previously employed by TransCanada, but had published a similarly positive assessment of a Peruvian liquified natural gas pipeline which has since racked up an abysmal environmental and social track record.

These and other concerns were meant to be addressed during a 45-day public comment period, but the State Department (which commissioned the report and has final say on the pipeline’s approval) declined to release those comments, a practice that is routine at other agencies.  A FOIA request was submitted, but when an approval decision is expected in the “near term,” any delay in meeting the request can limit the public’s ability to meaningfully influence the outcome.

In fifth and final part of this series I describe how it's not all doom and gloom!  I will outline some of FOIA's successes as well as highlight improvements that offer hope for the future.

This is Part 3 of a 5-part series on the government’s silence of silence and the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).  Parts 1 and 2 should be read first and can be found here:

Part 1: The Kingston Disaster
Part 2: The Government’s Silence of Science

In brief, these articles describe the circumstances surrounding the rupturing of a coal fly ash containment pond in Roane County, Tennessee.  Government sponsored research that reported the health and environmental risks of such ponds was buried, redacted or otherwise hidden from public view.

Problems such as these were meant to be addressed by the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).  Enacted in 1966, FOIA grants the public the legal right (also referred to as sunshine laws) to request information from the federal government.  It “provides that any person has a right, enforceable in court, to obtain access to federal agency records, except to the extent that such records (or portions of them) are protected from public disclosure.”

The spirit of FOIA embodies the essence of our American democracy.  We hold that a representative government by the people can, through its collective capacity, understand and prescribe solutions to threats against us.  We hold that a representative government for the people will utilize such knowledge for the security of its citizenry.  We hold that a representative government of the people will be served by the sacred trust we bestow upon our elected leaders.

Instead, we find that our government often defaults to the interests of a select few, frequently under the guise of security.  The precedent was codified in the 2001 Ashcroft Memo in which the then-Attorney General reassured agencies that their deliberations would remain confidential so long as they were “safeguarding our national security, enhancing the effectiveness of our law enforcement agencies, protecting sensitive business information and, not least, preserving personal privacy.”

Attorney General  Ashcroft concluded to the agencies, “When you carefully consider FOIA requests and decide to withhold records, in whole or in part, you can be assured that the Department of Justice will defend your decisions unless they lack a sound legal basis.”

Of course, there are many sensitive issues for which government secrecy is in the national interest.  But the Ashcroft Memo established a sweeping protection for agencies to deny data from the general public as long as they could make some argument about how disclosure would jeopardize law enforcement effectiveness, security, business or privacy.  Given that nearly every issue of import touches at least one of these four categories, FOIA requirements could essentially be ignored at the government’s discretion.

The Bush administration took full advantage of this latitude.  When a 2004 EPA study recommended that hydrofracking fluids, which are injected into the ground during the shale gas extraction process, be regulated under the 1974 Safe Drinking Water Act, then-Vice President Cheney intervened.  Using the business provision of the Ashcroft memo, Cheney had the study redacted by claiming it revealed “trade secrets.”

This secrecy has consequences.  When leaks and spills contaminate local streams and water supplies, scientists are limited in assessing the impacts.  Without knowledge of leaks’ chemical compositions regulation is difficult to justify and contamination is hard, if not impossible, to detect.  All of this serves to reduce the gas industry’s accountability for harms it might cause.  This attendant ambiguity made it easier to pass a provision in the 2005 Energy Policy Act that explicitly exempted fracking fluids from the Safe Water Drinking Act.

It is easy to imagine other circumstances in which the “trade secrets” clause could prove dangerous.  If a train, truck or barge carrying hazardous, but classified, materials were to crash, the secrecy exemption could put first responders in grave risk.

Sometimes, the government decides that even admitting records exist will damage national security or lead to stigmatization.  This justifies the so-called “Glomar response” which allows agencies “to neither confirm nor deny” (read: ignore) FOIA requests.  The Department of Justice, the agency responsible for FOIA enforcement, has broadly supported this right on numerous occasions.

While about 70 countries have their own forms of FOIA, many are plagued by similar issues.  Ireland allows easier access to documents, but many remain unsigned which reduces accountability.  Israel does have an appeals process, but such a request can take years and there are no real penalties for non-compliance.  Even in the European Union, which tends to be more open, the scope of the right remains unclear partly because of the governments’ unwillingness or outright failure to clarify the issue.

In part 4 of this series, we will examine how the widespread hope offered by President Obama's Open Government Initiative has largely gone unmet.

Click on the image below to be transported into the footsteps of the ill-fated Chinese lunar rover, Jade Rabbit. On January 16, 2014, Jade Rabbit (known in Chinese as "Yutu") completed an examination of the lunar soil.  Nine days later, near the end of its second lunar day, China announced the rover had undergone a "mechanical control abnormality" due to complications caused by the "complicated lunar surface environment."  Now I'm no moon expert, but it seems to me that withstanding a lunar environment really needed to be one of Jade Rabbit's core competencies.

While Jade Rabbit is able to communicate as of February 13, "it still suffers a mechanical control abnormality," putting to bed its plan to explore the Moon's Mare Imbrium.  Its hibernations during the two-week long lunar nights will become increasingly irrelevant.  But we still thank CNSA, Chinanews, Kennth Kremer & Marco Di Lorenzo for the image.

The panorama imaged below was taken from the Chang'e 3 lander.

At the boundary of the Indian states of Kerala and Tamil Nadu lies Top Station, an idyllic hill location that stands at the highest point of the Munnar-Kodaikanal Road. Top Station is about one mile above sea level. On clear days visitors are afforded wonderful views of the surrounding countryside. On days like the one depicted in this video, clouds roll over the mountains providing the calm sensation of being in a cloud forest.

I'll do the next best thing.  Send it back.

Continuing with the theme of my travels through India, today I present an interactive panorama from the state of Kerala.  The images that comprise this panorama were taken at the Windermere Estate near Munnar, Kerala at sunrise.  Here the sun rises over the eastern mountains while the hills cascade downward to the south, disappearing into the early morning haze.

Here's the location:

To see the full India photo gallery, click here.

The Indian state of Kerala is referred to by many as the "Venice of the East" by virtue of its many channels, backwaters and lush green vegetation. One of the more popular attractions in the city of Alleppey is a houseboat tour. In this video, I chronicle what it is like to take an overnight excursion on one of these boats.

In the second part of the video, I head east into the mountains to the Mattupatti Dam Reservoir near the town of Munnar. We rent a paddleboat and take it onto the water for a first hand look at the reservoir and beautiful surrounding area.

As a first-time traveler to the Indian metropolis of Chennai, I was struck (not literally, thankfully) by how chaotic the traffic situation is there. I found that there are generally four types of vehicles - small sedans, large vehicles like buses and industrial trucks, tuk tuk taxis and motorbikes. Each of them operates with minimal care for the others. Motorbikes will zoom in between other vehicles at traffic lights, traffic laws are lax and collisions are common.

In this video I chronicle what happened on a relatively simple drive to dinner across town. Then, I take a tour through a garment store in the city of Alleppey, Kerala and discover that Indian hustle and bustle is definitely not confined to the roadways.

In January of 2009 I travelled to India for the first time.  Upon arrival we began by spending several days in the 9 million-person-strong metropolis of Chennai.  We meandered along the Bay of Bengal on Elliot’s Beach, enjoyed multiple excellent South Indian lunches at Morgan Idlii’s and even went to see Slumdog Millionaire!  We were also able to spend time with friends, both old and new.  I was fortunate enough to meet Fugan - a former Peace Corp member in South America, current Buddhist monk and exceptionally talented musician.

Next, we flew across the subcontinent to the southwestern state of Kerala.  Unlike much of India, Kerala is a land of blue skies, green mountains and tranquil waterways.  A hired driver transported us to the city of Alleppey where we took an overnight houseboat tour on Lake Vembanadu.

Finally we drove high into the eastern mountains to the town of Munnar.  Using the lovely Windermere Estate as our base, we viewed countless hills converted into tea plantations.  We rented a paddleboat to explore the Mattupatti Dam Reservoir and visited Top Station, the highest reachable point in the region.  At a mile above sea level, we experienced Top Station as being continuously blanketed by a rolling sea of whispering clouds.

Below I have included my full photography gallery from this trip.  I hope you enjoy it.

The day after the first inauguration of President Obama, I flew halfway around the world to India armed with little more than my old Nikon D40 camera and a kit lens.  I travelled onto lakes with active fishermen,

 and onto mile-high tea plantations,

I explored tropical lakes, cloud forests, narrow channels and even a dam.  I have uploaded what I feel are my top 16 photos on the page below.  I encourage you to exercise your sense of adventure, click this link or view what follows on this page.  In a couple of days I will unveil my full gallery of images.

[Show as slideshow]