The latest Inside Story column takes a look at how one reporter turned a series of complex policy stories on renewable energy and pollution into an accessible, localized narrative — and in the process won a Society of Environmental Journalists’ explanatory reporting award. A Q&A about the project with Baltimore Sun’s Scott Dance.
"A study promised a rare positive development from global warming for Maryland’s favorite crustacean. But the bad news wasn’t far behind."
"Dominion Energy’s hopes for resuming construction of the Atlantic Coast Pipeline have run into a new obstacle erected by a federal appeals court panel in Richmond that threw out a federal permit on Friday because it failed to adequately protect endangered or threatened species in the path of the 605-mile project."
"WASHINGTON — When almost a month’s worth of rain deluged this city on Monday morning, turning streets into rivers and basements into wading pools, it showed just how vulnerable cities with aging water systems can be in the era of climate change."
"When the Conowingo Dam opened to fanfare nearly a century ago, the massive wall of concrete and steel began its job of harnessing water power in northern Maryland. It also quietly provided a side benefit: trapping sediment and silt before it could flow miles downstream and pollute the Chesapeake Bay, the nation’s largest estuary."
"The blue crab population in the Chesapeake Bay has increased nearly 60 percent since 2018, a new report says– meaning you can dig into 60 percent more crabs over Fourth of July weekend!"
"The explosions that destroyed part of the historic oil refinery on Philadelphia's south side have thrown a wrench into the ongoing effort to clean up decades' worth of soil and water pollution at the site."
While environmental journalists often focus on regulatory wrestling matches in Washington, D.C., a seasoned New York Times investigative reporter argues the most important stories are those in the real communities where bureaucratic impacts are felt. Three-time Pulitzer winner Eric Lipton makes the case for public service in journalism that tells the environment story from the outside in.
"An area of little to no oxygen could pose a threat to marine life in the Chesapeake Bay this summer. Ecologists from the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science and the University of Michigan predict the "dead zone" could be about 2.1 cubic miles — making it one of the largest in the past 20 years."
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