Publication Items

CDC Data Is Copious, But Can You Trust It? [1]

When Reporter’s Toolbox scours a new dataset for your environment and energy reporting use, it asks a key question: Where does the data come from? This time, the answer serves more as a warning. The latest column looks at a previously stellar data source — the CDC — and finds it lacking. Here’s what you need to know.

SEJ Publication Types:
Reporters Toolbox [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Consumer [3]
Environmental Politics [4]
Government [5]
Health [6]
Journalism & Media [7]
Policy [8]
Science [9]
Region:
National (U.S.) [10]
International [11]
Visibility:
Public [12]
- Read more about CDC Data Is Copious, But Can You Trust It? [1]
Is Your Local Wildlife Refuge a Refuge No More? [13]

There’s a long history of hunting and fishing in the federal refuge and hatchery system. But the Trump administration has now thrown the doors wide, opening millions of acres in hundreds of locales across much of the country. TipSheet examines what’s missing in this dramatic policy shift, and offers insights and resources for reporting on the impact on the nearest refuge to you.

SEJ Publication Types:
TipSheet [14]
Topics on the Beat:
Biodiversity [15]
Environmental Health [16]
Environmental Politics [4]
Fish & Fisheries [17]
Forests [18]
Government [5]
Journalism & Media [7]
Natural Resources [19]
Policy [8]
Wildlife [20]
Region:
National (U.S.) [10]
Visibility:
Public [12]
- Read more about Is Your Local Wildlife Refuge a Refuge No More? [13]
Grazing Data Unlocks Public Land Stories [21]

The Interior Department keeps an extensive database of thousands of permits it issues to use federal lands for grazing livestock. And as the latest Reporter’s Toolbox notes, that data can readily be used as an investigative tool to look for one thing the government would rather the public not see — a penchant for permit partiality.

SEJ Publication Types:
Reporters Toolbox [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Agriculture [22]
Economy & Business [23]
Environmental Politics [4]
Government [5]
Journalism & Media [7]
Natural Resources [19]
Policy [8]
Region:
National (U.S.) [10]
Mountain West (CO ID MT NV UT WY) [24]
Southwest (AZ NM OK TX) [25]
Visibility:
Public [12]
- Read more about Grazing Data Unlocks Public Land Stories [21]
OSHA Has Data. Does It Have Safety and Health? [26]

Occupational exposure to toxic chemicals can serve as an early warning system for broader public risks, just one reason the extensive data gathered by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration is a valuable tool for environmental journalists — even if much of the resulting reporting focuses on agency failings. Reporter’s Toolbox on OSHA datasets.

SEJ Publication Types:
Reporters Toolbox [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Chemicals [27]
Economy & Business [23]
Environmental Politics [4]
Health [6]
Journalism & Media [7]
Laws & Regulations [28]
Policy [8]
Region:
National (U.S.) [10]
Visibility:
Public [12]
- Read more about OSHA Has Data. Does It Have Safety and Health? [26]
Farm Bill Stuck in the Mud? [29]

The Farm Bill — omnibus legislation that affects the food supply of millions of Americans, as well as their air, water and soil — is bogged down in hyperpartisan division. But as Backgrounder outlines, environmental journalists would be wise to track how Congress ultimately uses it to address matters like land and water conservation, rural water supply and pollution, pesticides and more.

SEJ Publication Types:
Backgrounders [30]
Topics on the Beat:
Agriculture [22]
Chemicals [27]
Climate Change [31]
Consumer [3]
Economy & Business [23]
Environmental Health [16]
Environmental Politics [4]
Food [32]
Government [5]
Laws & Regulations [28]
People & Population [33]
Policy [8]
Pollution [34]
Water & Oceans [35]
Region:
National (U.S.) [10]
Visibility:
Public [12]
- Read more about Farm Bill Stuck in the Mud? [29]
Unpacking Puerto Rico’s Water Crisis [36]

Puerto Rico is suffering from months of water rationing. But for journalists to fully cover this many-layered water story requires a real understanding of how the U.S. territory's politics and history have brought it to this crossroads, argues columnist Yessenia Funes. That, plus a capacity to listen to affected communities, report on solutions and consider partnerships with local journalists.

SEJ Publication Types:
Voices of Environmental Justice [37]
Topics on the Beat:
Environmental Justice [38]
Environmental Politics [4]
Government [5]
Health [6]
Infrastructure [39]
Journalism & Media [7]
Natural Resources [19]
People & Population [33]
Policy [8]
Water & Oceans [35]
Region:
National (U.S.) [10]
Visibility:
Public [12]
- Read more about Unpacking Puerto Rico’s Water Crisis [36]
EDGI Spares Soon-Hidden Climate Data [40]

As the Trump EPA prepares to erase critical emissions data gathered for the U.S. greenhouse gas reporting program — abandoned along with international climate change obligations — a group of researchers has made it their business to safeguard the data. The latest Reporter’s Toolbox outlines the preserved dataset and what it can tell journalists about the state of U.S. emissions.

SEJ Publication Types:
Reporters Toolbox [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Activism [41]
Climate Change [31]
Environmental Politics [4]
Environmental Studies [42]
Government [5]
Policy [8]
Pollution [34]
Region:
National (U.S.) [10]
Visibility:
Public [12]
- Read more about EDGI Spares Soon-Hidden Climate Data [40]
‘Trade Secrets’ Keep Journalists, Public in the Dark [43]

So-called confidential business information is a major obstacle to the dissemination of knowledge about environmental threats for the public, cautions WatchDog Opinion. Part of the problem is how federal agencies treat requests for confidentiality, and so is the way environmental laws handle the issue. A look at the worst offenders, and a call for journalists to break through the veil of secrecy.

SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog [44]
Topics on the Beat:
Chemicals [27]
Economy & Business [23]
Environmental Politics [4]
Government [5]
Health [6]
Journalism & Media [7]
Laws & Regulations [28]
Policy [8]
Region:
National (U.S.) [10]
Visibility:
Public [12]
- Read more about ‘Trade Secrets’ Keep Journalists, Public in the Dark [43]
Taming the Freight Beast [45]

The U.S. freight system delivers significant environmental impacts nationwide, especially in states that host major rail-and-road hubs and seaports. Meanwhile, new federal laws and policies are making it harder to curtail pollution generated by freight trucks, trains and warehouses. Journalist John Lippert looks at how the public, private and nonprofit sectors are rising to this challenge.

SEJ Publication Types:
Features [46]
Topics on the Beat:
Activism [41]
Air [47]
Climate Change [31]
Consumer [3]
Economy & Business [23]
Energy & Fuel [48]
Environmental Health [16]
Environmental Justice [38]
Environmental Politics [4]
Government [5]
Health [6]
Infrastructure [39]
Journalism & Media [7]
Laws & Regulations [28]
Policy [8]
Pollution [34]
Technology [49]
Transportation [50]
Region:
National (U.S.) [10]
California [51]
Great Lakes (IL IN MI MN OH WI) [52]
Visibility:
Public [12]
- Read more about Taming the Freight Beast [45]
Reporters Uncover a State Parks Scandal in Florida [53]

Emailed documents and an anonymous memo set two Tampa Bay Times reporters to investigating government development plans for sensitive state lands. Max Chesnes and Emily L. Mahoney followed the fast-moving story for more than a year, approaching it as a drumbeat of scoops. Ultimately, the government reversed course. Read about this award-winning series in the latest Inside Story Q&A.

SEJ Publication Types:
Inside Story [54]
Topics on the Beat:
Activism [41]
Environmental Politics [4]
Government [5]
Journalism & Media [7]
Laws & Regulations [28]
Region:
National (U.S.) [10]
SE (AL AR FL GA KY LA MS NC PR SC TN) [55]
Visibility:
Public [12]
- Read more about Reporters Uncover a State Parks Scandal in Florida [53]

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