Starting Points: Surface and Ground Water Quality

May 11, 2011–Serious problems with surface and ground water quality continue to occur in most parts of the US. There are many sources of information that can help you cover these issues.

BP Blowout Anniversary: "What's Under Elmer's Island?"

April 20, 2011–Denial of news media access to Gulf beaches has been an issue since the Deepwater Horizon disaster. There's tussling over access to (and interpretation of) scientific information on possible impacts of the spill on the Gulf ecosystem. And The Guardian obtained >30,000 pages of BP in-house memos FOIA'd by Greenpeace, which suggest BP was working hard to influence the results of the research it was paying for.

BP Still Keeps Media from Covering Damage on Gulf Coast

April 6, 2011–The intrepid Mac McClelland, who covered the spill and secrecy at its peak for Mother Jones, went back to see if anything had changed. But BP's cops tried to stop her.

Floods Threaten Midwest and Elsewhere As Thaw Progresses

March 30, 2011–Get your flood resources here, from the National Weather Service's National Hydrologic Assessment, FEMA's "Flood Hazard" webpage and Flood Insurance Rate Maps, to the National Flood Insurance Program's "Media Resources" site, NOAA's "Floods Monitor", USGS' "WaterWatch," advice from the CDC, and more.

First of Many Potential Offshore Wind Power Sites Identified

February 16, 2011–After participating in an 8-year struggle to get offshore wind development approved in Massachusetts waters, federal officials are pushing for expedited reviews and approvals in a rapidly growing number of other US coastal areas.

Governments and NGOs Band Together To Help Turtles

February 16, 2011–2011 is the "Year of the Turtle," orchestrated by Partners in Amphibian and Reptile Conservation. A USA Turtle Mapping Project and other resources offer opportunities to cover turtle declines and related issues.

Oyster Populations Have Plummeted in US and Globally

February 16, 2011–Down about 85% from their levels around 130 years ago, according to researchers from the US, China, Italy, Uruguay, and Australia, the decimation of native oysters — a contributor to healthy ecosystems and an indicator of ecosystem health — has largely been caused by overharvesting, disease, and introduction of exotic species.

The Death & Life of Monterey Bay: A Story of Revival

January 15, 2011–

Feds Publish Secret Oil Spill Calculator

January 12, 2011–Now that you have long since published your story about the disappearance of BP's oil from the Gulf, you may want to check the math that story was based on using newly released technical information.

Radon an Issue in Drinking Water as Well as Indoor Air

December 22, 2010–The President's Cancer Panel singled out radon, a radioactive gas found in water systems and leaching from soil into houses via foundation cracks, as one of America's "grossly underestimated" environmentally caused cancer risks.