Environmental journalists commonly grouse about obstacles the press office at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency throws up when reporters want to talk to its scientists. Might a newly proposed scientific integrity policy help change that? The WatchDog Opinion column, which regularly joins in the censuring, says there’s a chance it could. But will it? Why the outlook is cloudy.
To get a bead on where electric power plants fit in the energy transition, Reporter’s Toolbox suggests a useful dataset collected directly from electricity generators. In this second of two parts, explore the vast array of data available from the Energy Information Administration. Plus, a pro tip on finding data around the climate consequences of power generation.
"Imagine a home so efficient that it could be heated with a hair dryer. That’s the promise of a passive house, a design standard that’s becoming increasingly popular in the architecture community for its benefits to occupants and the climate."
"As states across the country roll back how much they pay rooftop-solar owners for the surplus electricity they send back to the grid, Puerto Rico is bucking the trend, protecting its generous solar credits until at least the end of the decade."
"The same flood-control system that protected L.A. from the atmospheric rivers also saw tens of billions of gallons of stormwater flush to the sea."
"House Energy and Commerce Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers is departing Congress just two years after taking the panel’s helm."
"The Fish and Wildlife Service has launched an in-depth study of whether a teensy-tiny snail that inhabits springs in a small slice of lithium-rich Nevada desert should enjoy federal protections under the Endangered Species Act."
"The number of monarch butterflies at their overwintering areas in Mexico dropped precipitously this year to the second-lowest level on record, according to an annual survey." "Scientists said the decline appeared to be driven by hot, dry conditions in the United States and Canada that reduced food supply."
"A glaring loophole already had allowed at least a half-billion tons of the waste to go unregulated. Now the agency says many of the facilities that are subject to the rules do not comply."
"Policymakers in 36 states will consider more than 450 bills that deal with toxic chemicals in 2024, according to a new analysis of anticipated state legislation from Safer States."
