"Wind Farms Considering Detection Systems To Prevent Bird Deaths"
"Adding bird detection systems could protect wind farms from litigation in case of deaths of threatened species."
Source: LA Times, 05/29/2012
Technology
White House Blocking EPA Rules on Nanomaterials, Advocates Say
"The White House appears to be blocking Environmental Protection Agency efforts to tighten oversight of engineered nanoscale pesticides and other chemicals, according to environmental and safety advocates."
Source: BNA, 05/25/2012
"The Secret Life Of California's World-Class Strawberries"
"May is the month we see strawberries explode in the market. There are strawberry festivals in every corner of the nation celebrating the juicy ruby beauties, and Strawberry Queens crowned galore. Those traditional harvest time festivals make us think our strawberries are mostly grown on the farm just down the road. But in fact, one state — California — supplies 80 percent of America's strawberries, and the percentage is growing."
Source: The Salt/NPR, 05/22/2012
TOOLBOX: Data Journalism Handbook Released
Environmental reporters with ambitions to do investigative projects using databases will find an enormously rich collection of ideas, tips, examples, and tools in the new book released by the Open Knowledge Foundation and the European Journalism Centre.
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Cool Data Tools: EPA Releases NEPAssist Mapper
For reporters wanting to pry open the worm-cans of local environmental stories, EPA's new GIS tool lets you map Environmental Impact Statements project information against a rich backdrop: layer after layer of geographic, demographic, environmental, and economic context. And, it can be used in conjunction with EJView, EPA's environmental justice online mapping tool.
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Web Tool Brings Documents to Life
Amanda Hickman explains how the web-based tool DocumentCloud, founded in 2009 with a Knight News Challenge grant, lets journalists engage with the public and knowledgeable sources. Use it to analyze, annotate, and publish the documents behind your reporting.
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"Phila. Embarks on Green Stormwater Management"
"Philadelphia's $2 billion plan to manage its storm water with green methods - porous pavement, green roofs, and a plethora of trees -- got the official nod Tuesday from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency."
Source: Philadelphia Inquirer, 04/11/2012
RTK Net Reporting Tools Still Sharp After Many Years
The Right-To-Know Network has been around since 1989. Today, with a modern and searchable Web interface, it offers access to some data that reporters would be hard put to find anywhere else. Most important is its collection of Risk Management Plans — which chemical plants are required to maintain to prevent, prepare for, and respond to toxic disasters.
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Data Tools: Journalists' One-Stop Shopping for Ethics Investigations?
At Ethics.gov, search several databases with a single search-term entry, potentially speeding discovery of information. It includes data on lobbying registrations, political action committees, contributions to candidates, travel reports, foreign agents registrations, and more. But some open-government advocates consider it merely a down payment on a more comprehensive system.
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