In the wake of two major disasters, beat reporters at The Washington Post examined systemic failures in response and recovery, and the human toll for affected communities. Journalist Brianna Sacks shares what she learned from those investigations, which won a large market award for beat reporting from the Society of Environmental Journalists. Read our Inside Story Q&A.
When it comes to tracking weather phenomena from heat waves and tornadoes to wildfire smoke or storm surge, environmental journalists could hardly do better than the vast array of data from the National Weather Service, writes the latest Reporter’s Toolbox. A tour of data maps and viewers, forecasts and weather insights from the large scale to the local.
"Michigan’s Department of Attorney General and several environmental justice groups presented oral arguments on Friday before a panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, arguing that emergency orders that kept the J.H. Campbell coal plant from retiring were illegal applications of federal law."
"Thanks to state incentives, the long-range, lower-cost electric trucks are affordable. Widespread adoption could help California meet clean-trucking targets."
"Politicians across the spectrum want more housing. Apartments are a great answer, because they also slash carbon emissions in a big way."
"As states seek out much-needed supplies of clean, reliable energy, some are looking to an unconventional source: abandoned oil and gas wells harnessed for geothermal heat."
"Today, under authority of the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act and the Real ID Act, the new Secretary of Homeland Security Markwayne Mullin waived 29 environmental and conservation laws in the Big Bend Sector."
"World Cup matches at open-air venues in North America this summer could be threatened by dangerous heat and humidity, a climate research group says."
"Seasonal models are predicting an El Nino climate pattern that could be the strongest on record, bringing with it more extreme weather."
"Florida plans to shut down the Everglades migrant detention site known as Alligator Alcatraz as soon as early June, according to a news report."
