The research team here at Greenpeace USA does some really great stuff. Uncloaking the Koch brothers, figuring out the truth about fracking, and pressuring polluters who are trying to influence our elected leaders.
But they can only do so much. In July 2010 the team began submitting Freedom of Information (FOIA) requests to the federal government about the BP oil disaster. They began to trickle back, slowly, and we stayed on top of it. But just like the gusher in the Gulf the trickle became a flood, and now we have around 30,000 pages of memos, reports and even flight records about the worst oil spill in American history.
While some of the agencies have simply ignored our requests, others have gotten back with some interesting documents. The problem is we simply dont have time to go through them all. The Guardian ran a series of stories about them last week but no one has the manpower to read the fine print. Plus, were getting more through the letterbox almost every day.
This is where you come in. Weve created a new site which allows anyone to view, download and comment on these documents. Were updating it with new stuff and categorizing it to make your life easier. Always imagined yourself winning a Pulitzer? Still mad at BP and want to find out what really happened out there? Searching for evidence for a compensation claim? Nows your chance to dig up some gems.
Log on to www.polluterwatch.org/research and help us sift through the mountain of data. Get in touch if you find something interesting and well try to get the news out.
Youre all part of the research team now.
