As a battle brews over which U.S. waters are protected, environmental journalists can use an invaluable national database to pinpoint vulnerable wetlands. This week’s TipSheet has more on the National Wetlands Inventory, the backstory on wetlands protection, why it matters, and reporting resources and story ideas.
For World Press Freedom Day (May 3), SEJ joined with other journalism groups to call for freedom of the press, access to information and the protection of journalists. SEJ signed on to a joint resolution that resolves to uphold the democratic process by committing to guard against the spread of misinformation, and hosted a journalists' roundtable at Colorado State University's Denver Center, "Straddling the Climate and Policy Divide."
"The Environmental Protection Agency published a 150-page document this past week with a straightforward message for coping with the fallout from natural disasters across the country: Start planning for the fact that climate change is going to make these catastrophes worse."
"The White House scrubbed language about how climate change fuels more extreme weather events from draft EPA guidance, newly released documents show."
"President Donald Trump's administration has launched yet another attempt to control the use of science in federal policymaking—this time with a memorandum to government agencies from the White House budget office."
"Three years after demonstrations over an oil pipeline in Standing Rock, N.D., made national headlines, some states are moving to limit protests."
Do we need a bill to criminalize attacks against those who report the news? Some Dems in Congress think so. And the Interior Department is at the center of a conflicts over freedom of information involving lobbying contacts with the newly confirmed secretary. The latest WatchDog has those developments, plus more.
The latest release of the annual endangered rivers list provides boatloads of environmental reporting angles, including climate change-related threats like flooding and drought. This week’s TipSheet has the backstory and the new top-10 list, plus 10 suggested starting points for stories and a half-dozen key reporting resources.
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