Alistair Siddons, editor of the trip flare, takes a look at the site as it approaches the 100,000 unique user mark

I started work on the trip flare in September 2006.   By February 2007, several hundred pages of content were in place. 

I stopped producing content at that point to see how the site would settle down. I'm very pleased with the results. 

  • The trip flare now typically ranks 10th out of 22 million searches for the term water pollution. Google searches being what they are, the ranking varies and has also been as high as 4th
  • corporate greenwashing: the site now sometimes ranks first for this search term but periodically ranks slightly lower.
  • About 8% of all visitors check out 'Chemetco's global relevance.'  This is great news.  It means that a globally important environmental story is continuing to reach a significant new audience via this site. Before I started this project, only a handful of people a month searched for stories about Chemetco.  The company and its crimes were disappearing from the public consciousness forever.  
  • Mid-April to mid-May 2008, the site saw its highest number of visitors yet.  Over 18,000 unique visitors came to the trip flare in a 30 day period.

Your comments, suggestions and feedback

I always wanted the trip flare to be used by as wide an audience as possible. 

There's material here for schools, colleges, journalists, environment professionals, students of business ethics and the general public. 

Some of the content has to be slightly technical, but I want to make sure there's a balance and you find what you are looking for.

You can help me with this.  I need you to tell me your suggestions, comments and feedback on any aspect of the site.  I can't promise to reply to everbody, but I'll absorb what you say.  You can use the guest book for this.

It would be great if you'd let me know what you do for a living and where you're from.  

If you're using the trip flare for educational purposes, please give an idea what stage you're at. 

I'm also very keen to know if you'd heard of the Chemetco criminal case before, or if you discovered it by coming to this site.

Many thanks

Alistair Siddons

Acknowledgements»

 

 

Coming up:

I pay a close interest in the areas of the site that repeat users find most interesting. I'll be adding further original content to match the areas where you spend most time.

I'll also be posting further original material, analysing how environmental stories are dealt with in the news. 

In the longer run, I need to decide what direction this site needs to follow.  Again, your feedback and ideas would help me with this.

 

Chemetco plant pollution monitoring tests, late 1980s. An EPA officer conducts routine tests for heavy metal concentrations in soil and groundwater at the Hartford, Illinois, copper refinery.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

EPA conducting routine tests on heavy metal bearing waste at Chemetco's plant during the late 1980's.  Photo, EPA.

New analysis:

Corporate greenwashing: analysis of a defensive document»