Reporters Toolbox

Forests are full of environmental stories, from timber sales and wildlife habitat to climate change and hunting. And for reporters in search of resources to report them, the U.S. Forest Service offers an immense array of datasets to match the hundreds of millions of acres of land under its domain. The latest Reporter’s Toolbox gets you started on using the vast Forest Service data collection.

How well are U.S. communities preparing for the threats of climate change? A data-rich climate mapping resource that provides vibrant insight into resilience and adaptation can help reporters better understand the answer, even down to the neighborhood level. The latest Reporter’s Toolbox takes a closer look, including at the many data sets that feed into the resource.

A new Spill Tracker website is a good source of information on chemical spills, albeit one with an agenda. But according to the latest Reporter’s Toolbox, it’s just one among a set of powerful resources for covering dangerous releases, large and small. More on Spill Tracker, plus another half-dozen-plus government and nonprofit data sources on petrochemical incidents.

To get a bead on where electric power plants fit in the energy transition, Reporter’s Toolbox suggests a useful dataset collected directly from electricity generators. In this second of two parts, explore the vast array of data available from the Energy Information Administration. Plus, a pro tip on finding data around the climate consequences of power generation.

To better understand progress in the U.S. energy transition, some of the best nonpartisan data comes from the Energy Information Administration. And, as the latest Reporter’s Toolbox explains, EIA has an effective dashboard tool for exploring state-by-state variations in clean energy performance, among other things. Here’s how to use it smartly. Plus, a few caveats.

If you find yourself covering local waterways and are not a numbers geek but still want good-quality, easy-to-use data to inform your reporting, the latest Reporter’s Toolbox has a handy web app for you. “How’s My Waterway” uses numerous authoritative government datasets in a straightforward format that’s super easy to explore. Get started with intro videos, webcasts, widgets and a ZIP code-based map.

As part of its periodic survey of the compelling work by digital journalists using data and multimedia, Reporter’s Toolbox looks at some favorite projects in the last year or so. On the list are granular maps and spinning globes, compelling photo essays and clickable storytelling. But the heart of the best digital journalism, Toolbox reminds us, is that it matters. And these do.

The global warming gas methane was much in the news at the start of the just-ended COP28 climate meeting, with a final Biden administration rule to trim releases by the fossil fuel industry. But when it comes to good journalism on the problem, the latest Reporter’s Toolbox spotlights the work of a team of journalism students who used sophisticated satellite data to tell the story of underreported methane flaring at drilling sites.

In the second of two parts on how to report locally on wetlands permitting, the latest Reporter’s Toolbox helps you muck around an Army Corps of Engineers “permit finder” database that’s accurate and particularly good for zooming in on map-based geographic data. Plus, see the part one TipSheet on how reemerging wetlands controversy brings the issue to your area.

A sprawling governmental data portal provides millions of water quality records that with a little groundtruthing environmental journalists can use to tell stories that range from problems with pathogens in failing treatment plants to beach closures and fish consumption advisories. The latest Toolbox points the way to the Water Quality Exchange, while offering caveats, questions to ask and storytelling tips.