Public

GAO Faults Endangered Species Oversight [1]

"The Fish and Wildlife Service has no established way to track cumulative threats or injuries to most of the imperiled species the agency is attempting to protect, according to a new report from federal investigators."

Biodiversity [2]

Public [3]

National (U.S.) [4]

Source: Greenwire [5], 05/27/2009

Read more about GAO Faults Endangered Species Oversight [1]

LCV Targets Reps Voting 'No' on Climate Bill [6]

"The League of Conservation Voters and its allies this week launched a television campaign attacking two Democrats and one Republican who voted against the climate change bill in committee last week."

Activism [7]

Public [3]

National (U.S.) [4]

Source: Greenwire [8], 05/27/2009

Read more about LCV Targets Reps Voting 'No' on Climate Bill [6]

Enviros Seek Repeal of Fracking Loophole [9]

People in many parts of the U.S. blame gas drilling for causing the water in their wells to go bad. In 2005, the Bush administration got Congress to exempt from the Safe Drinking Water Act a drilling practice called "fracking." Now environmentalists hope to repeal the exemption and the gas industry is mounting a defense.

Pollution [10]

Public [3]

National (U.S.) [4]

Source: ProPublica [11], 05/27/2009

Read more about Enviros Seek Repeal of Fracking Loophole [9]

Pelosi to China: Climate a 'Game Changer' [12]

U.S. Congressional leaders visiting China think an understanding between the U.S. and China is key to reaching a climate pact in Copenhagen.

Climate Change [13]

Public [3]

International [14]

Source: AFP [15], 05/27/2009

Read more about Pelosi to China: Climate a 'Game Changer' [12]

Media Hype's Impacts On Disaster Victims And Endangered Species [16]

By JAN KNIGHT

After a disaster, news coverage can amplify risk, create new health syndromes, study shows.

Disasters and their aftermaths can have repercussions that reach beyond the days or weeks that follow, and news reports can strongly impact public reaction to related risks, even contributing to increased reports of health-related problems that may not be linked to the disaster, a recent study shows.

Topics on the Beat:

Disasters [17]

Journalism & Media [18]

Region:

National (U.S.) [4]

Visibility:

Public [3]

Read more about Media Hype's Impacts On Disaster Victims And Endangered Species [16]

16th Annual Conference: Pre-Conference Workshops For New And Seasoned Journalists [19]

SEJ's 16th Annual Conference, to be held in Burlington, Vt., Oct. 25-29, promises the same sort of story-producing tours, great speakers and informative panels that SEJ conference goers have come to expect.

But this year some pre-conference workshops – one a boot camp for journalists and the other at Vermont Law School – will offer new opportunities to journalists.

Topics on the Beat:

Journalism & Media [18]

Region:

National (U.S.) [4]

Visibility:

Public [3]

Read more about 16th Annual Conference: Pre-Conference Workshops For New And Seasoned Journalists [19]

Hopeful Signs For SEJ's FOI Efforts [20]

By JOSEPH A. DAVIS

That old feeling of helplessness is gone. The news media and public no longer see erosion of the First Amendment, the Freedom of Information Act and disclosure requirements in many environmental laws as inevitable ... and worse, unimportant.

Or so a recent vote in Congress signaled.

Topics on the Beat:

Journalism & Media [18]

Region:

National (U.S.) [4]

Visibility:

Public [3]

Read more about Hopeful Signs For SEJ's FOI Efforts [20]

Platte River At The Crossroads: SEJ Regional Focuses On Spectacular Wildlife Migration [21]

There we were, 21 environmental reporters, freelancers, students and professors, all huddled and shivering in an unheated blind on the Platte River.

We were waiting in the breezy, 20-degree cold for thousands of lesser sandhill cranes to return from feeding in the corn fields and roost for the night on protective sandbars. Each spring, the cranes leave their southwest wintering spots and stop in central Nebraska to rest and eat before heading out to their Arctic nesting grounds.

Topics on the Beat:

Water & Oceans [22]

Region:

National (U.S.) [4]

Visibility:

Public [3]

Read more about Platte River At The Crossroads: SEJ Regional Focuses On Spectacular Wildlife Migration [21]

No Matter The Name, The Only Agenda Is Pure Journalism [23]

By PERRY BEEMAN

Some years ago, a board member or two suggested SEJ change its name.

Why? Because the phrase "environmental journalists" seemed to suggest "environmentalist journalists" to some, especially those who suspect the group has some sort of environmental agenda akin to the Sierra Club's.

Topics on the Beat:

Journalism & Media [18]

Region:

National (U.S.) [4]

Visibility:

Public [3]

Read more about No Matter The Name, The Only Agenda Is Pure Journalism [23]

A Dozen (Or More) TV Stories To Sell Your News Manager For Sweeps [24]

By VINCE PATTON

In Miami, NBC-6 reporter Jeff Burnside thought he had a great story about the restoration of bountiful seagrass beds. But managers weren't interested.

"Later," Burnside says, "I pitched a story about steep fines for boaters running aground." That story they liked.

Topics on the Beat:

Journalism & Media [18]

Region:

National (U.S.) [4]

Visibility:

Public [3]