Environmental Studies

An explosion of deliberately misleading information has hit the environmental journalism beat, argues the new Backgrounder. A look at how today’s untruth industry has evolved from that of the past, particularly in the area of climate change, and how reporters have now turned it into its own specialty coverage area. Plus, seven tips on what you can do to handle disinformation on your beat.

Biodiversity is on the minds of many this week as international biodiversity treaty talks take place in Montreal. For environmental journalists covering the topic, there are a number of databases readily available that track endangered species in the United States and globally. The latest Reporter’s Toolbox has a helpful list. Plus, visit our new biodiversity “Topics on the Beat” page and keep on top of the latest biodiversity headlines with EJToday.

A new data mapper that allows users to track bird migrations is a cache of ideas for journalists looking to illustrate the connections between birds, habitats and human activity. The latest Reporter’s Toolbox takes a (non-geeky) look at the Bird Migration Explorer, how to best use it and the range of story possibilities it may yield.

Writer Noah Gallagher Shannon followed scientists into the heart of the megastorms ravaging an agricultural region in Argentina, and in the process learned not just about their high-risk fieldwork and what these massive thunderstorms might tell us about the storms of the future in the United States, but also their impact on affected communities. Find out about his reporting experience in this Inside Story Q&A.