Publication Items

Wildfire a Key to Local Environmental Stories [1]

Rarely will you learn from national fire coverage the names of people whose homes the fire has destroyed or threatened. Or what flooding and wildlife loss may follow a fire. That is covered by local media or not at all. Be prepared with these resources to help you.
SEJ Publication Types:
TipSheet [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Natural Resources [3]
Disasters [4]
Region:
Southwest (AZ NM OK TX) [5]
Visibility:
Public [6]
- Read more about Wildfire a Key to Local Environmental Stories [1]
With 800k Facilities, EPA's ECHO Database Holds News for Your Town [7]

It's a convenient way to access inspection, violation, and enforcement information under the Clean Water Act, Clean Air Act, and hazardous waste laws. It's more visual than ever, and includes map interfaces and reports that help you tell your readers and viewers how pollution affects their locality.
SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet [8]
Topics on the Beat:
Government [9]
Visibility:
Public [6]
- Read more about With 800k Facilities, EPA's ECHO Database Holds News for Your Town [7]
Watchdog Says Obama Not Protecting Whistleblower Scientists [10]

New documents, released only after a lawsuit, to Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility show the White House is telling agencies they can stick with existing practices when it comes to political interference with science — and do just about anything they want.
SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet [8]
Topics on the Beat:
Science [11]
Policy [12]
Government [9]
Visibility:
Public [6]
- Read more about Watchdog Says Obama Not Protecting Whistleblower Scientists [10]
Pa. Radio Host Says Criticism of Shale Fracking Got Him Fired [13]

Robert Foltz, host of the "Let's Talk" show on WMBS in Uniontown for 10 years, told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette he was fired just moments after a local municipal official said on his show that drilling for gas in the Marcellus shale formation had contaminated the local groundwater supply with bromine.
SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet [8]
Topics on the Beat:
Energy & Fuel [14]
Economy & Business [15]
Region:
Mid-Atlantic (DC DE MD PA VA WV) [16]
Visibility:
Public [6]
- Read more about Pa. Radio Host Says Criticism of Shale Fracking Got Him Fired [13]
Plastic Bag Industry Tries To Silence Critics [17]

The New York Times' Felicity Barringer tells the story of Andy Keller, 38, who dresses up in bags as "Bag Monster" to promote his reusable "ChicoBag," invoking the ire of three plastic bag manufacturers in South Carolina.
SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet [8]
Topics on the Beat:
Economy & Business [15]
Region:
SE (AL AR FL GA KY LA MS NC PR SC TN) [18]
Visibility:
Public [6]
- Read more about Plastic Bag Industry Tries To Silence Critics [17]
EPA Outs 150 Chemicals Claiming Trade Secret Status Under TSCA [19]

The chemicals, the identities of which had been withheld up till now based on companies' "confidential business information" claims, are used in products like oil dispersants, air fresheners, non-stick and stain-resistant materials, fire-resistant materials, nonylphenol compounds, perfluorinated compounds, and lead.
SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet [8]
Topics on the Beat:
Laws & Regulations [20]
Government [9]
Chemicals [21]
Visibility:
Public [6]
- Read more about EPA Outs 150 Chemicals Claiming Trade Secret Status Under TSCA [19]
Communities in 40 States Get EPA Grants To Redevelop Brownfields [22]

On June 6, EPA announced a new round of grants going to nearly 200 communities in some 40 states and 3 tribal areas. Most of them go to poor and minority areas with high unemployment rates.
SEJ Publication Types:
TipSheet [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Pollution [23]
Planning & Growth [24]
Visibility:
Public [6]
- Read more about Communities in 40 States Get EPA Grants To Redevelop Brownfields [22]
41 New Trails Span About 650 Miles [25]

Just in time for summer, 41 new segments of the US National Recreation Trails system in AL, AR, CT, FL, IL, IN, KS, MA, MD, MI, MN, NJ, NM, OK, PA, TN, and WV, covering about 650 land and water miles in 17 states, are open for business. These are part of a much larger system of about 1,100 trails spanning 13,000 miles.
SEJ Publication Types:
TipSheet [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Natural Resources [3]
Region:
Great Lakes (IL IN MI MN OH WI) [26]
Great Plains (IA KS ND NE MO SD) [27]
Mid-Atlantic (DC DE MD PA VA WV) [16]
Northeast (CT MA ME NH NJ NY RI VT) [28]
SE (AL AR FL GA KY LA MS NC PR SC TN) [18]
Southwest (AZ NM OK TX) [5]
Visibility:
Public [6]
- Read more about 41 New Trails Span About 650 Miles [25]
Several Tools Available To Check Drinking Water Quality [29]

EPA has updated its Enforcement and Compliance History Online database so that federal standards violations through 2009 can be quickly identified. For example, pick a county and quickly get a customized listing of systems that fall into categories such as serial violators, or occasional violators of things such as health-based standards or monitoring requirements.
SEJ Publication Types:
TipSheet [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Water & Oceans [30]
Pollution [23]
Visibility:
Public [6]
- Read more about Several Tools Available To Check Drinking Water Quality [29]
Major Update of Local U.S. Climate Data Due by June 30 [31]

Each decade, NOAA's National Climatic Data Center updates its data for 30-year averages for a range of climate indicators. The most widely used "normals" for the period 1981-2010 (including temperature, precipitation, snowfall, snow depth, and heating and cooling degree days) are scheduled to be released at the end of June 2011, with the rest by year end.
SEJ Publication Types:
TipSheet [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Climate Change [32]
Visibility:
Public [6]
- Read more about Major Update of Local U.S. Climate Data Due by June 30 [31]

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