Reporters Toolbox

Pesticide Data Can Ground Food and Farm Stories

A billion pounds of chemicals are used on U.S. crops each year. Designed to protect them, they can also leave residue on foods we eat and enter the waterways we drink from. Reporter’s Toolbox has some key data sources for journalists, whether they’re looking at the big picture or are drilling down locally around issues of pesticide use and human or ecological health.

SEJ Publication Types: 
Visibility: 

Whether Wetlands or Blacktop, Land Cover Database Provides Foundation for Environmental Reporting

For journalists looking to understand the condition of U.S. rangeland, forests or urban pavement, a high-quality government dataset collected via Landsat can help. And for data geeks who want to go a step further and illuminate human impacts on the environment, mapping overlays on the Landsat data can do the trick. Find out more in the new Reporter’s Toolbox.

SEJ Publication Types: 
Visibility: 

CAFO SNAFU — Why Emissions Data Are So Hard To Find

Sometimes the challenge for environmental reporters is a mess of data. But sometimes it’s just less data. That’s the case with confined animal feed operations, which have been the subject of a years-long political tug of war over tracking emissions harmful to humans and the environment. The latest Reporter’s Toolbox explains, then offers alternate sources for CAFO data.

SEJ Publication Types: 
Visibility: 

Temperature Shift Tool May Help Journalists Clarify Climate Impacts

A climate modeling service designed for journalists may help them not only survive a hot summer but to cover it better too. The latest Reporter’s Toolbox takes a look at the Climate Shift Index, developed by Climate Central, designed to isolate what part of the heat is due to climate change, pinpointing days and places, and providing useful maps.

SEJ Publication Types: 
Visibility: 

New TSCA Chemical Data Can Help Deepen Reporting

Most environmental journalists are familiar with the Toxics Release Inventory as a data reporting tool. But there’s another potentially useful chemical reporting database, this one focused on the highest-volume chemicals. The latest Reporter’s Toolbox explores the Chemical Data Reporting National Review, reports on how its data is gathered and shares its strengths — and some weaknesses.

SEJ Publication Types: 
Visibility: 

Latest TRI Data Can Charge Up Local Stories, Including on PFAS

When it comes to a core data set that just keeps giving for environmental journalists, Reporter’s Toolbox points you to the Toxics Release Inventory. A new year of data has just been released, with much insight to be extracted. And the TRI now also includes PFAS chemicals for the first time. Here’s how to use it for your local stories.

SEJ Publication Types: 
Visibility: 

Coming Your Way by Rail Today — A Hazmat Rogues’ Gallery

Environmental reporters can prepare for possible rail accidents involving hazardous materials — like the one that hit East Palestine, Ohio — by having a keener understanding of what hazmat may be regularly carried through their communities. The latest Reporter’s Toolbox guides you to helpful lists of dangerous substances while offering a rundown of nearly a dozen-and-a-half of the worst offenders and their risks.

SEJ Publication Types: 
Visibility: 

Will Thousands of Orphan Wells Be Safely Plugged?

Abandoned oil and gas wells are found in significant numbers in some 27 states. Reporters who want to track their status can dig into several databases, but will need to support their data crunching with lots of shoe-leather and ground-truth reporting. Reporter’s Toolbox has insights into what the databases offer. Plus, a primer on API numbers.

SEJ Publication Types: 
Visibility: 

Hazmat Highway Routes Key to Keeping Public Safe

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.

SEJ Publication Types: 
Visibility: 

Publication Indexes — Roadmaps to Environmental Science Journals … and News

Findings from scientific research provide many a news lead on the environment beat, and even reporters not closely attuned to the world of scientific journals can use them to find stories. The latest Reporter’s Toolbox offers up one key: indexes. They can guide you to abstracts and free versions of otherwise costly publications. A list of indexes to try. Plus, a half-dozen other pro tips.

SEJ Publication Types: 
Visibility: 

Pages

Subscribe to RSS - Reporters Toolbox