Health

Twenty years after the attacks on 9/11, the war on terror has left many risks in the built environment under a cloak of secrecy. For WatchDog Opinion, keeping vital information about such preventable hazards under wraps from the public and journalists is not just wrong, but bad policy. Here’s why. Plus, a rundown for environment reporters of where exactly this secrecy reigns.

In a few weeks, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency will officially release the latest year’s Toxics Release Inventory. But as Reporter’s Toolbox explains, you can get ahead of the data — and possibly generate some scoops. That’s because EPA quietly releases incomplete preliminary data months earlier. Top tips on making sense of the early data, along with nine smart story leads.

Longtime energy and environment journalist Elizabeth McGowan traveled to southeast Kentucky to shine a light on efforts to diversify Appalachia’s longtime coal-based economy. In FEJ StoryLog, McGowan shares how her on-the-ground reporting approach, funded in part by the Society of Environmental Journalists’ Fund for Environmental Journalism, yielded not only a powerful story, but insights into overcoming its challenges.

High-impact environmental stories often come by tracking polluted air, whether from summer smog, wildfire smoke or numerous other sources. Reporter’s Toolbox offers a series of air pollution data reporting resources, including an interactive map of U.S. air quality monitors. Get the details, plus eight smart suggestions for critical stories from the air pollution data you tap.

For years, public information about some of the deadliest chemical security risks has been limited. But now that the Biden EPA is exploring the issue, our latest WatchDog opinion column explains why this is such an important open information issue for environmental reporters and other journalists.

A new science assessment released this week pinpoints more global warming risks, but also represents reporting challenges to environmental journalists working to cover climate change. Veteran climate journalist Bob Berwyn has the latest news from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, and advice for reporters working the climate beat. Plus, links to other climate change reporting resources.

People all too often swim in waters whose pollution risks are far scarier — and far more real — than shark attacks. Yet little attention is paid to the environmental stories behind the beach closures such pollution can necessitate. TipSheet helps you dip your toe, with the backstory on the most common cause for these health risks, plus reporting resources.