Publication Items

Cool Data Tools: EPA Releases NEPAssist Mapper [1]

For reporters wanting to pry open the worm-cans of local environmental stories, EPA's new GIS tool lets you map Environmental Impact Statements project information against a rich backdrop: layer after layer of geographic, demographic, environmental, and economic context. And, it can be used in conjunction with EJView, EPA's environmental justice online mapping tool.
SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Technology [3]
Policy [4]
People & Population [5]
Government [6]
Economy & Business [7]
Visibility:
Public [8]
- Read more about Cool Data Tools: EPA Releases NEPAssist Mapper [1]
Documerica, Lost and Found [9]

Read about EPA's long dormant photojournalism project containing thousands of color photographs depicting a nation and its environmental problems in the early 1970s — and the new State of the Environment Photo Project this rediscovery has spawned, inviting participants worldwide to submit their work. By SEJournal photo editor Roger Archibald.

SEJ Publication Types:
Features [11]
Topics on the Beat:
Journalism & Media [12]
Natural Resources [13]
People & Population [5]
Region:
National (U.S.) [14]
Visibility:
Public [8]
- Read more about Documerica, Lost and Found [9]
New US Strategy for Coping with Climate Change Open for Comment [15]

NOAA, the USFWS, and the NY State Dept. of Environmental Conservation (representing all state and wildlife agencies) released on Jan. 19, 2012, a draft of the first national strategy for responding to climate change effects on plants, fish and wildlife. The public comment period is open until March 5, 2012, and public meetings and a webinar will occur until Feb. 22, 2012.
SEJ Publication Types:
TipSheet [16]
Topics on the Beat:
Planning & Growth [17]
People & Population [5]
Climate Change [18]
Visibility:
Public [8]
- Read more about New US Strategy for Coping with Climate Change Open for Comment [15]
Lejeune Secrecy May Have Caused Dead Marines [19]

CDC's Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry has been investigating a Navy cover-up of cancer-causing drinking water at its Lejeune, NC, base. Now, Project on Government Oversight has released a January 5, 2012, letter from Marine Major General J.A. Kessler asking ATSDR to redact its report in the name of "force protection."
SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Pollution [20]
People & Population [5]
Military [21]
Environmental Politics [22]
Disasters [23]
Chemicals [24]
Region:
SE (AL AR FL GA KY LA MS NC PR SC TN) [25]
Visibility:
Public [8]
- Read more about Lejeune Secrecy May Have Caused Dead Marines [19]
Feds Try To Nudge 100 "Great Outdoors" Projects Toward Completion [26]

The chosen include 24 improving recreational access to rivers and waterways; 23 to construct new trails or improve recreation sites; 20 to create and enhance urban parks; 13 to conserve significant landscapes; and 11 to establish new national wildlife refuges; national park units, etc.
SEJ Publication Types:
TipSheet [16]
Topics on the Beat:
Planning & Growth [17]
People & Population [5]
Visibility:
Public [8]
- Read more about Feds Try To Nudge 100 "Great Outdoors" Projects Toward Completion [26]
2010 Bicycle Commuting Stats Available for 375 U.S. Cities [27]

Commuters who travel to work via bicycle put a dent in petroleum consumption and air pollution, and likely have a leg up on not becoming part of the obesity epidemic. Davis, CA, residents are at the head of the pack of the 375 largest US cities surveyed, with 22.1% of the city's residents commuting by bike, according to US Census Bureau statistics compiled by the League of American Bicyclists.
SEJ Publication Types:
TipSheet [16]
Topics on the Beat:
Transportation [28]
People & Population [5]
Visibility:
Public [8]
- Read more about 2010 Bicycle Commuting Stats Available for 375 U.S. Cities [27]
Many Are Claiming Health Problems Caused by Smart Meters [29]

Numerous allegations of health damage from people in the US and around the globe, the common threads in the descriptions of health damage (often appearing to involve the neurological, immune, and/or endocrine systems), and the evidence from thousands of published studies that address a wide range of electrical, magnetic field, and radio-frequency impacts suggest this could be a major public health issue that warrants coverage.

SEJ Publication Types:
TipSheet [16]
Topics on the Beat:
Energy & Fuel [30]
Health [31]
People & Population [5]
Visibility:
Public [8]
- Read more about Many Are Claiming Health Problems Caused by Smart Meters [29]
Groups Recommend Measures for "Environmental Right-to-Know" [32]

More access was urged for records on oil and gas leasing, government-issued permits and leases related to metal mining, grazing livestock on public lands, harvesting ocean fish, operating chemical plants, drilling for oil, logging, building roads or strip malls, coal mining, filling wetlands, and more.
SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet [2]
Topics on the Beat:
People & Population [5]
Environmental Health [33]
Visibility:
Public [8]
- Read more about Groups Recommend Measures for "Environmental Right-to-Know" [32]
Try, Try Again: Whistleblower Protection Bill Reintroduced [34]

Last year, legislation to put new teeth in federal whistleblower protections failed when a single senator put a secret hold on it late in the session. The good news is Sen. Daniel K. Akaka (D-HI) has introduced the Whistleblower Protection Enhancement Act of 2011 to restart the legislative effort.
SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet [2]
Topics on the Beat:
People & Population [5]
Government [6]
Visibility:
Public [8]
- Read more about Try, Try Again: Whistleblower Protection Bill Reintroduced [34]
50 Communities Win Fed Money To Tackle Climate Change [35]

Last year's grant winners have efforts under way, so reporting can focus on progress that is being made, or not. Reporting on the new winners, announced in mid-April 2011, can inform the community about what is in the works, who is in charge, and what future benchmarks can be used to see if the money is being well spent.
SEJ Publication Types:
TipSheet [16]
Topics on the Beat:
People & Population [5]
Climate Change [18]
Planning & Growth [17]
Visibility:
Public [8]
- Read more about 50 Communities Win Fed Money To Tackle Climate Change [35]

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