Water & Oceans

Public [6]

National (U.S.) [7]

Source: Bloomberg [8], 10/24/2013

Read more about "Tea Party Republicans, Obama Back Waterway Projects Bill" [1]

Toolbox: Data Resources for Dams, Impoundments, and Levees [9]

A key set of tools for reporters probing dam issues at any level, local to national, are the available databases on various kinds of dams, levees, and impoundments. The WatchDog in this issue presents a special "Reporters' Toolbox" on these data sets. We hope at least to help reporters find and access them.

SEJ Publication Types:

WatchDog TipSheet [10]

Topics on the Beat:

Disasters [12]

Visibility:

Public [6]

Read more about Toolbox: Data Resources for Dams, Impoundments, and Levees [9]

Dams and Levees: What You Don't Know Might Kill You [13]

Tens of thousands of U.S. citizens are at risk from potential dam disasters, yet state and federal agencies hold to a policy that amounts to "out of sight, out of mind." The biggest danger, apparently, is that the public might find out about the dangers, and criticize insufficient dam safety measures, inconvenience private dam owners, depress real estate values, or demand public spending that is politically painful for those in office.

SEJ Publication Types:

WatchDog TipSheet [10]

Topics on the Beat:

Disasters [12]

Visibility:

Public [6]

Read more about Dams and Levees: What You Don't Know Might Kill You [13]

Dams and Levees: Introduction [16]

This special issue of the WatchDog focuses on the transparency of safety information related to dams, levees, impoundments, and related water-control structures. For environmental journalists, these subjects offer a goldmine of great story possibilities. These are stories that have not been covered much in the past decade, and stories that fit well at the local, state, or regional level.

SEJ Publication Types:

WatchDog TipSheet [10]

Topics on the Beat:

Energy & Fuel [17]

Disasters [12]

Visibility:

Public [6]

Read more about Dams and Levees: Introduction [16]

Dam Secrecy Endangers Lives, Property of US Public in Many States [18]

What You Don't Know Might Kill You

Tens of thousands of U.S. citizens are at risk from potential dam disasters, yet state and federal agencies hold to a policy that amounts to "out of sight, out of mind."

Visibility:

Public [6]

National (U.S.) [7]

Disasters [12]

Read more about Dam Secrecy Endangers Lives, Property of US Public in Many States [18]

"Insurance Costs Jolt Beach Areas" [19]

"Many residents of the city's waterfront neighborhoods are struggling with a federal mandate that they elevate their homes or face increases in coastal flood-insurance premiums that eventually could exceed 500%, city officials and advocates say."

Climate Change [20]

Disasters [12]

Public [6]

Northeast (CT MA ME NH NJ NY RI VT) [21]

Source: Wall St. Journal [22], 10/23/2013

Read more about "Insurance Costs Jolt Beach Areas" [19]

For Tepco and Fukushima Nuclear Plant, Toxic Water Stymies Cleanup [23]

"TOKYO — Two and a half years after a series of meltdowns, Japan’s effort to clean up what remains of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant is turning into another kind of disaster."

Disasters [12]

Pollution [24]

Public [6]

International [25]

Source: Wash Post [26], 10/22/2013

Read more about For Tepco and Fukushima Nuclear Plant, Toxic Water Stymies Cleanup [23]

Get Feet Wet on Coastal Adaptation [27]

Special Report: Part Three

By KATE SHEPPARD

Americans — and humans in general — have long flocked to the coasts. Thirty-nine percent of the U.S. population, or about 123 million of us, live in coastal counties. But many in coastal areas are finding it increasingly less hospitable due to sea-level rise and extreme weather events linked to climate change. As communities figure out how to adapt to these changes, it is often environmental journalists who are being asked to cover these complex stories.

Topics on the Beat:

Climate Change [20]

Visibility:

Public [6]

Read more about Get Feet Wet on Coastal Adaptation [27]

October 25, 2013

Dr. Peter Gleick: Global Water Challenges, Issues and Solutions [28]

The Fairmount Water Works Interpretive Center in Philadelphia invites you to join its 10th-anniversary celebration with renowned water and climate-change expert Peter Gleick, the ‘visionary on the environment’ (BBC) and co-founder of the Pacific Institute, 5:30-7:00 p.m., followed by a reception.

Visibility:

Public [6]

Topics on the Beat:

Region:

Mid-Atlantic (DC DE MD PA VA WV) [29]

"Lake Erie Algae a Threat To Ohio Drinking Water" [30]

"TOLEDO, Ohio -- Toxins from blobs of algae on western Lake Erie are infiltrating water treatment plants along the shoreline, forcing cities to spend a lot more money to make sure their drinking water is safe."

Pollution [24]