EPA Leaker's Guide [2]
Leaking is back. Today, all the best stories are based on leaks. Journalists are discovering that if the EPA press office puts out a story, it probably isn't news and may not even be true.


The International League of Conservation Photographers presents two days of events at the Carnegie Institution of Science in Washington, DC.
Leaking is back. Today, all the best stories are based on leaks. Journalists are discovering that if the EPA press office puts out a story, it probably isn't news and may not even be true.
For some while it's been pretty clear that reporters have only slim chances of getting useful help from the US EPA press office — or the equivalent at many (not all) other agencies. If you expect nothing from the press office, you will rarely be disappointed. But don't be afraid of them; that's what they want. Here are some pro tips to aid your reporting.

Here is a list of resources mentioned in the Oct. 6, 2017, concurrent session on "Working Around PIOs Who Don’t Live Up to Their Titles" at the SEJ Annual Conference in Pittsburgh.
"Heat, drought, wildfire and insects threaten an iconic pine — and potentially an entire ecosystem — as climate change looms large in the American Southwest".
"Maryland Attorney General Brian Frosh (D) sued the Trump administration Wednesday to try to force it to take action against out-of-state power plants for their air pollution."
"Long before the Trump administration rescinded a ban on the sale of disposable water bottles in select national parks, the Interior Department was aware of a report from the National Park Service that the program worked."
A new technology for coating the inside of lead service pipes could save homeowners money and make expensive replacement unnecessary. It is being tested.
"A new report warns of a high price tag on the impacts of global warming, from storm damage to health costs. But solutions can provide better value, the authors say."
"The federal agency overseeing gas pipelines, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, issued a nine-page statement Wednesday that says it’s 'inappropriate' for the agency to try to figure out the climate change impact of the controversial Sabal Trail Pipeline."
Links
[1] https://www.sej.org/calendar/wildspeak-photography-conservation-communications
[2] https://www.sej.org/library/epa-leakers-guide
[3] https://www.sej.org/library/top-tips-getting-around-press-office
[4] https://www.sej.org/pio
[5] https://www.sej.org/headlines/after-350-million-pi%C3%B1ons-die-scientists-fear-forest%E2%80%99s-future
[6] https://ensia.com/features/pinon/
[7] https://www.sej.org/headlines/maryland-sues-epa-over-upwind-air-pollution
[8] http://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/352750-maryland-sues-epa-over-upwind-air-pollution
[9] https://www.sej.org/headlines/park-service-showed-its-bottled-water-ban-worked-%E2%80%94-then-lifted-it
[10] https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2017/09/26/the-national-park-service-showed-that-its-bottled-water-ban-worked-then-lifted-it/?utm_term=.1fe208066c35
[11] https://www.sej.org/headlines/pittsburgh-pwsa-looks-pipe-coatings-tackle-lead-problem
[12] http://www.post-gazette.com/local/city/2017/09/27/PWSA-Pipe-Restoration-Technologies-Larry-Gillanders-Hill-District-lead-pipe-coatings/stories/201709270188
[13] https://www.sej.org/headlines/hidden-costs-climate-change-running-hundreds-billions-year
[14] http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2017/09/climate-change-costs-us-economy-billions-report/
[15] https://www.sej.org/headlines/ferc-calls-courts-call-climate-test-pipeline-inappropriate
[16] http://www.tampabay.com/florida-politics/2017/09/27/feds-say-its-inappropriate-to-calculate-greenhouse-gas-emissions-from-controversial-florida-pipeline/
[17] https://www.sej.org/search_results
[18] https://www.sej.org/search_results?page=2352
[19] https://www.sej.org/search_results?page=2349
[20] https://www.sej.org/search_results?page=2350
[21] https://www.sej.org/search_results?page=2351
[22] https://www.sej.org/search_results?page=2354
[23] https://www.sej.org/search_results?page=2355
[24] https://www.sej.org/search_results?page=2356
[25] https://www.sej.org/search_results?page=2357
[26] https://www.sej.org/search_results?page=4911