The leasing of public lands to drill for oil and gas may seem a labyrinthine topic. But it could be time to get wonky and, ahem, drill down on it, as the politics of 2020 bring the controversial practice to the fore. The latest Backgrounder helps get you up to speed on the story.
Happen to have any air breathers in your audience? Then the latest State of the Air Report will give you fodder to cover the persistent pollution problems that plague the skies. This week’s TipSheet has the backstory on the fight against air pollution and five smart ways to tell the story from a local-regional context.
"Democrats blasted Daniel Jorjani, the nominee to serve as the Interior Department’s top lawyer, during a confirmation hearing Thursday for his 2017 email telling agency colleagues that “our job is to protect the Secretary” from ethics probes and bad press."
"A Senate panel will hold a confirmation hearing Thursday for two top posts at the Department of Interior: the agency's top lawyer and the inspector general who is likely to investigate him amid the legal and ethical issues facing Secretary David Bernhardt."
"The last time President Donald Trump sat down with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer, the president walked out in a huff and dismissed their government shutdown talks as a “total waste of time.”"
Do we need a bill to criminalize attacks against those who report the news? Some Dems in Congress think so. And the Interior Department is at the center of a conflicts over freedom of information involving lobbying contacts with the newly confirmed secretary. The latest WatchDog has those developments, plus more.
"Climate change programs in federal land management agencies are quietly carrying on, even amid Trump administration hostility to such action."
"The Interior Department’s top internal watchdog, who oversaw the multiple investigations that contributed to the resignation of former Secretary Ryan Zinke, will retire from the agency next month, even as her office opens an inquiry into newly confirmed Secretary David Bernhardt."
The Toxics Release Inventory database, refreshed annually, has long been the foundation of many a good environmental news story. The latest release is now out, and this week’s TipSheet reminds journalists why the searchable online TRI can be such a valuable reporting tool in tracking toxic dangers.
"Former EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt and high-ranking aides held several previously unreported meetings with a Missouri-based electric utility company that EPA claimed in 2011 had been violating the Clean Air Act since the Clinton administration, agency documents show."
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