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Track: Natural Resources and Conservation
Susan Pipes
Friends of the Earth
26-26 Underwood Street
London, N1 7JQ
UNITED KINGDOM
Telephone: 44-171-566-1637
Fax: 44-171-490-0881
E-mail: susanp@for.co.uk
Your Right to Know in the UK
Defining Issue: Friends of the Earth (FOE) has been using spatial analysis as a campaigning tool for over six years. However, in order to maintain the integrity of our GIS research we need to have better access to the United Kingdom government's environmental information. Unlike in the United States there is no Freedom of Information Act in the U.K. at present, and it is the aim of this paper to chart the progress made by FOE and others in obtaining better access to environmental information in the U.K. - our legal challenges, our winning campaigns and our present battles. One Solution: The paper will give a live Internet demonstration of the clear example, FOE has set for the U.K. government in the provision of real access to environmental information. FOE has published the government's own Chemical Release Inventory , a complex database of chemical emissions recorded at U.K. factories, on the Internet via a mapping interface. By entering their post code (or ZIP Code) the user generates a map centered
on their own home that identifies local factories. These can then be clicked on to discover emission levels from each individual factory. Voted the Best Non-Commerical Site by GIS World, FOE's version of the Chemical Release Inventory has revolutionized access to this information. In 1994/95 the U.K. government recorded 760 requests for this information. In 1995/96 FOE responded to 25,000 requests for the same information.
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