Data.gov Keeps on Giving Gifts to Gumshoe Reporters

May 30, 2012–The federal Data.gov, while not perfect, has grown over three years especially strong in datasets from federal agencies that deal with the environment, energy, natural resources, health, and science. Many of them are downloadable, so that you can crunch them on your own computer. Several are map layers or geo-tagged in some way. See a few randomly chosen examples here.

How Muzzling Scientists Helps the Chemical Industry

May 16, 2012–A Chicago Tribune investigative series on flame retardant chemicals helps illustrate how federal agency control of what scientists say to reporters can help the chemical and tobacco industries. By reporter Michael Hawthorne.

Boots on the Ground at Annual SEJ Gathering

April 15, 2012–

Integrity Problems at Interior's Science Integrity Program?

April 4, 2012–One sign of problems came when Interior's Inspector General office launched what seemed to be a ham-handed investigation, later dropped, into activities of the scientist who sounded the alarm on polar bears losing habitat to global warming. Now Interior has fired one of its scientific integrity officers — who is defending himself by saying he was just doing his job.

USFS Offers Climate Change Bird Atlas

February 15, 2012–The atlas — a database actually — is based partly on climate-related changes in tree cover. It maps out current distribution of 147 species and modeled distribution resulting from climate change.

Tap the Encyclopedia of Life's Vast Reservoir of Knowledge

January 18, 2012–From the latest issue of SEJ's biweekly TipSheet: EOL, which is searchable by both common and scientific terms, has vastly expanded its content since its launch in 2008 and now provides extensive nitty-gritty on about half of all described species, as laid out in more than 950,000 pages and more than 760,000 images.

The Beekeeper's Lament

January 15, 2012–

Winged Obsession

January 15, 2012–

Voluntary Sage-Grouse Protection Efforts Awarded $71 Million

August 17, 2011–Greater sage-grouse are at just 3% of their historical numbers, and warrant protection, according to the Bureau of Land Management. But since other species are in even more dire straits, the birds haven't been declared a threatened or endangered species. The US Dept. of Agriculture money is a work-around aimed at saving the birds and their habitat.

Interior Probe of Polar Bear Scientist Baffles, Looks Political

August 10, 2011–Five years after writing about polar bears drowning, apparently from lack of sea ice, a wildlife biologist with the U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement was suspended without a reason. Later he was told it was due to charges of "scientific misconduct" from a party or parties not identified.