The Plum Book, a list of most major federal political appointments that is published every four years, has long been a starting point for juicy stories — but hard to use because it was only published in print. Now it has been digitized. That makes it grist for data journalists.
"NEVADA, Iowa -- Science and engineering company DuPont has started construction of a large cellulosic ethanol biorefinery in Iowa, with completion expected in mid-2014."
"A blue-ribbon panel of scientific and technology advisers to President Obama warns that the nation risks losing its longstanding supremacy in food production because research in agriculture has not kept up with new challenges like climate change, depleted land and water resources and emerging pests, pathogens and invasive plants."
For weather warnings, check the interactive, near-real-time national weather map put out by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's National Weather Service. It's updated every few minutes with color-coded warnings by type. You can also search for a forecast by state, city/state or zip code.
While it still has a long way to go to reach its potential, the new "FOIAonline" web portal benefits environmental reporters now. Submit and track FOIA requests online to the US Environmental Protection Agency, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and more.
In this issue: How Carson's Silent Spring shapes modern environmentalism; Florida's lost wildlife highways; an interview with San Antonio Express-News enviro-adventure reporter Colin McDonald; bridging the journalism/science divide; SEJ Awards winners; EPA's ECHO database, your two-faced best friend; and more.
"In the midst of the very active North Atlantic hurricane season, the main weather satellite scientists use for keeping tabs on the weather across eastern North America and the Atlantic Ocean has gone offline. The outage began late on Sept. 23, after a period when the satellite, known as GOES-13, had been experience increasing vibrations, or “noise,” in particular instruments that was degrading its performance. According to the Capital Weather Gang blog, the satellite was put in stand-by mode while engineers work to fix the problem from the ground."
"SANTA CLARA, Calif. — Jeff Rothschild’s machines at Facebook had a problem he knew he had to solve immediately. They were about to melt."
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