"Though critics are dubious, in a new 5-year plan the agency addresses weather disasters that have battered American farms and specifically mentions climate change."
This special report is designed to help journalists in the Pacific Northwest cover the impacts of climate change, as well as the actions taken to mitigate its worst effects and to adapt to what can’t be stopped. The report includes a wide-ranging issue backgrounder and tipsheets on climate impacts, mitigation and adaptation, plus a toolbox of sources. Read on for a wealth of story ideas for right now, and over the coming decade. We hope this is the first in a series of regional climate special reports, and welcome your suggestions and ideas for future editions of "Covering Your Climate."
"Every summer for the past three years, the phones have been ringing like crazy in the Office of the Indiana State Chemist. Farmers and homeowners were calling, complaining that their soybean fields or tomato plants looked sick, with curled-up leaves. They suspected pesticides from nearby farms — a kind of chemical hit-and-run."
With the negative impacts of climate change becoming clearer by the day, there is a growing awareness among important financial institutions that global warming confronts businesses with large, even catastrophic, economic losses. The latest TipSheet has the backstory on the financial risks of climate change, plus what’s ahead and how to cover it, with story ideas and reporting resources.
As the Pacific Northwest faces serious impacts from climate change, and moves to respond, the Society of Environmental Journalists provides a special in-depth report on how journalists can tell the unfolding story. “Covering Your Climate: The Emerald Corridor” launches Feb. 11 with an extensive issue backgrounder, which will be followed by tipsheets and a toolbox over the next few weeks. We hope this is the first in a series of regional climate special reports, and we welcome your suggestions and ideas for future editions of "Covering Your Climate."
"The world’s largest manufacturer of chlorpyrifos, an agricultural pesticide linked to brain damage in children, has announced that it will stop producing the chemical by the end of the year."
"When the Bureau of Land Management moves its Washington-based headquarters to Grand Junction, Colo., this year, more than half of the senior leaders may be as new as the office itself."
"Fifteen years ago, farmers produced so much soybean oil they couldn't figure out what to with it all. It was good for cooking and salad dressing — and not much more. ... Then came the renewable fuel standard in 2005, mandating the use of biofuels in the nation's fuel supply."
"In the Texas Panhandle, which produces a fifth of the U.S. beef supply, communities are being choked by fecal dust from nearby feedlots. The state’s regulatory agency isn’t doing anything about it—and it’s about to get a whole lot worse."
"Swarms of desert locusts could ravage more countries in eastern Africa and threaten the livelihood of many more people, the United Nations’ Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) said on Monday."
