Environmental Information: Research, Access and Environmental Decisionmaking

Professor Sara Lamdan recently published Environmental Information: Research, Access and Environmental Decisionmaking, an in-depth guide on how to find environmental information to use in environmental work and decision making. The book goes beyond research, to guide readers through using FOIA and other federal, state, and international transparency law provisions, to access information about the environment.

Lamdan recognized the lack of access to environmental information, and the need for such information to advance protection and advocacy measures. As a librarian and an environmental law-focused lawyer, she found that there were limited resources to help people researching environmental issues. Access to environmental information is critical for governments, industry, and the public so they can make appropriate choices. For example, without a scientist’s FOIA request, the public wouldn’t have known that lead levels in the water supply in Flint, Michigan were dangerously high. Knowledge that can be gathered from Lamdan’s book, on how to access information, is necessary to understand and solve environmental issues.