SEJ joined with several dozen other journalism groups to support the right to film police activity in a public place, and bills to block information of importance to environmental reporters failed in Louisiana, California and Iowa, but a Colorado paper was blocked from covering a wild horse roundup. All that in this month’s WatchDog Tipsheet.
"The Chesapeake Bay’s recovery took a step back in 2018, but the estuary retained its “C” grade on an annual report card from the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science."
Toxic chemicals and disease-causing microorganisms can be found in some fresh-caught fish. And that means local stories for environmental journalists, who can pick up on problems through federal and state fish advisories. The latest TipSheet explains the health impacts and how they’re regulated, plus questions to ask and story ideas, including an environmental justice angle.
"Water is a currency in California, and the low-income farmworkers who pick the Central Valley’s crops know it better than anyone. They labor in the region’s endless orchards, made possible by sophisticated irrigation systems, but at home their faucets spew toxic water tainted by arsenic and fertilizer chemicals."
"A couple of years ago, Charlie Brethauer started to smell gas in the backyard of his home."
"New York’s Suffolk County had a trash problem. Facing brimming landfills and public pressure, legislators took a first-in-the-nation step: They banned plastic bags. But what the county saw as part of the solution, the plastics industry took as a threat."
"The U.S. Coast Guard said Thursday that it is finally containing and collecting oil from a massive 14-year spill in the Gulf of Mexico, the longest offshore disaster in U.S. history."
"In 40 years of behind-the-scenes advocacy for electric companies, the Utility Air Regulatory Group became ubiquitous in legal dockets and courtroom fights over the future of federal regulation. The group, which last week announced plans to disband, led the charge against dozens of EPA policies deemed too costly or unworkable by industry."
"The International Maritime Organization (IMO) on Friday agreed stricter energy efficiency targets for certain types of ships in an effort to speed up action to cut the sector’s emissions."
"The director of Illinois' environmental agency abruptly reversed positions last year on a key air quality compliance recommendation after being contacted by Clint Woods, the deputy head of EPA's air office, according to public records cited in federal court litigation."
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