"After the Trump administration dismissed scientists behind a key national climate report last year, some of them decided they’d keep working on it — but from outside the government."
As a veteran of reporting on the marine environment, David Helvarg is encouraged by recent improvements in the quality of ocean journalism, but sees a pressing need for more hands on deck. Offering inspiration from his own career, he notes that the world’s rapidly changing oceans hold an abundance of stories and urges others to dive in and explore them.
When Reporter’s Toolbox scours a new dataset for your environment and energy reporting use, it asks a key question: Where does the data come from? This time, the answer serves more as a warning. The latest column looks at a previously stellar data source — the CDC — and finds it lacking. Here’s what you need to know.
"Last year, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced it was closing its largest research campus and radically reorganizing research at the U.S. Forest Service (USFS). The moves were controversial because they involved long-distance job transfers that threatened to uproot many scientists and derail research programs. This week, a federal judge declared the plans were likely illegal and ordered a halt until at least 11 December, when the current federal budget runs out."
"California regulators said Friday they intend to designate the widely used weed killer atrazine as a known carcinogen, a move that contrasts with the opinion of federal regulators."
"Higher exposure to commonly used insecticides was associated with lower sperm quality in men, according to a new study that adds to a growing body of evidence about the reproductive health risks of pesticides."
"Ban on hunting for new viruses in wildlife is at odds with program’s mission, researchers say"
"Court filings by the Massachusetts attorney general’s office include previously undisclosed documents, revealing new details about internal deliberations at the oil giant."
"After 20 months of chaos, many U.S. scientists are hoping the results of the 3 November midterm elections will lead to changes in some of the White House policies they find most objectionable. But policy experts say there’s no guarantee that Democrats, even if they regain control of one or both chambers of Congress, will achieve meaningful boosts in federal support for research or an end to political interference by President Donald Trump’s administration."
