As a young man, Rodney Stotts knew plenty about drugs, guns and poverty and little about the other kinds of wildlife in his hometown. A chance offer of a job cleaning up Washington, D.C.’s Anacostia River set him on the path to becoming a master falconer — despite racist resistance — and a mentor to others who share his inner-city roots. BookShelf’s Jennifer Weeks reviews Stotts’ memoir, “Bird Brother.”

To better understand troubled bird populations and the many forces undermining them, grab some binoculars and a notebook, and catch up with your local birders, including the burgeoning number of minority birders. That’s the advice from the latest TipSheet, which offers reporting resources and numerous story ideas, including the impacts of climate change, habitat loss, water access and the “insect apocalypse.” 

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.

Environmental journalists from around the country and beyond will gather in Houston later this month for the Society of Environmental Journalists’ 31st annual conference. Widely known as the energy capital of the world, this highly diverse city is an ideal place to drill down on the causes and consequences of climate change and other environmental issues of the day.