Sweeping, data-driven reporting on the impact of the Trump White House on environment policy won high praise for a Washington Post reporting team that took first prize for beat reporting in the most recent Society of Environmental Journalists’ reporting awards. Find out how award winners Juliet Eilperin, Brady Dennis and John Muyskens approached this vast topic, in the new Inside Story Q&A.

The Biden administration, which has been making environmental justice a top goal, has released a new screening tool that complements existing environmental equity databases, but with especially strong attention to a range of categories like clean transit, clean water, housing issues, life expectancy and more (although, interestingly, not race). The latest Reporter’s Toolbox has a guide to the new screening tool.

A coalition of open-government and journalism groups is pressing the Justice Department for a clear statement of federal policy favoring openness. The new WatchDog opinion column explains why such a move is needed, and now, not just to signal a change from the Trump-era approach, but also for smoother functioning of the all-important Freedom of Information Act.