"The drought of 2012, which continues to spread westward, is making its mark on the national consciousness in many ways. Rising food prices. Interrupted livelihoods. Fields of stunted, desiccated crops. All of this dryness has resonance in our video culture. Just go to YouTube and look at the proliferation of public service announcements on water conservation."
If you are hunting stories — or useful background for a story under way — you may find a useful tool in EPA's online, searchable Environmental Impact Statement database.
"Nature assesses the aftermath of a series of nanotechnology-lab bombings in Mexico -- and asks how the country became a target of eco-anarchists."
"ERDOS, China -- Shenhua Group Corp., one of China's coal giants, has built much of its success at the cost of climate change. Every year, the company digs hundreds of million of tons of coal out of the ground and sells this carbon-intensive energy source throughout China."
"NEW YORK -- Two years before Hurricane Irene created the prospect of a flooding nightmare in New York City, 100 scientists and engineers met to sketch out a bold defense: massive, moveable barriers to shield the city from a storm-stirred sea."
More than a decade ago, on February 17, 2000, the entire EPA website was taken down for two weeks because of data security concerns raised by the House Energy Committee. There are faint hints that such events may be in the offing again.
There are well over a thousand binational or multinational environmental agreements, usually technical and obscure. However, environmental reporters would do well to know about them — to shed light on local stories and to find national or international news. Here's help.
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