Publication Items

For years, state-sponsored programs have helped California farmworkers get much-needed access to clean water. But many immigrants now shun these services, afraid of exposure to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents. As Circle of Blue intern Anahita Banerjee dug into this story, she discovered that their fear extended to speaking with journalists — and that ICE activities threatened her own safety.

When the Trump Energy Department issued a report this summer questioning a central precept of U.S. climate change policy, it kicked off an angry backlash from scientific experts who fear it undermines decades of peer-reviewed research — and the very basis for climate action. Backgrounder scrutinizes the DOE report and the climate skeptics behind it, as well as the furious response.

Cropland can easily be found time and again at the heart of the key concerns on the environment beat, whether climate, water, chemicals or, of course, land. The latest Reporter’s Toolbox shares a high-quality, mappable database that can serve up stories on more than 100 categories of crops, with numbers drawn from satellite imagery. Plus, a pro tip on using the data smartly.

Before giving summer its send-off, consider that heat kills more people in the U.S. annually than any other weather-related disaster. Phoenix journalist Katherine Davis-Young is well acquainted with this human toll. Drawing on her own reporting experience, she looks at how to cover extreme heat in your community. Pro tip: Don’t wait until next summer to familiarize yourself with vulnerable communities and investigate local mitigation policies.