With a new Congress in place and the seemingly never-ending political races to track, reporters can often learn a good deal about how environmental policy is influenced by looking into campaign and lobbying donations. Backgrounder takes a deep dive into the topic, pointing to important sources of information and data … and their limitations.
In the wake of the train derailment and toxic spill in Ohio, now is a good time for environmental journalists to be ready for the next such accident. The latest Reporter’s Toolbox offers up a data source for another transportation risk — hazardous materials transported via highway. Plus, why rail hazmat data can be trickier to access.
"The Biden administration is proposing to restore regulations aiming to protect farmworkers from pesticides that had been rolled back under the Trump administration."
"Don’t look now, but the divided Congress could pass a major climate change bill."
"A group of 24 Republican-led states is suing the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to try to knock down a rule governing which waters get federal protections."
Meet SEJ member Bobby Magill! Bobby is a journalist covering water, public lands and the Interior Department for Bloomberg Law in Washington, D.C. His work focuses on climate change and legal battles over the Clean Water Act, Safe Drinking Water Act, water supplies, oil and gas leasing, endangered species and other federal lands issues.
"Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein shaped California’s environment like no one else."
"America’s top Wall Street regulator might scale back a proposal that would require public companies operating in the United States to disclose their greenhouse gas emissions and any financial risks they face from global warming."
"Against the backdrop of a severe drought linked with global warming, conservation advocates and Native Americans in California are calling for a temporary emergency stop to all surface water diversions from Mono Lake, contending that continuing to drain the watershed, along with the long-term drought, threaten critical ecosystems, as well as the Kootzaduka’a tribe’s cultural connection with the lake."
"The Bureau of Land Management ignored requests for a public hearing on the proposed rules for venting and flaring methane on public and tribal lands, hindering community members’ efforts to reduce the impacts of gas releases."
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