Some of the sites used the logos of major news organizations to fool users into thinking they were reading real news reports.
Contractors are a powerful force in many corners of the environment and energy beat, and their trade associations are often players in the regulatory and legislative dealmaking that can shape US policy.
In response to deep cuts in its budget, EIA announced that it would not be able to compile and publish products like its ongoing estimates of US oil reserves. In fact, EIA will not even be able to continue its investigation of whether speculators are driving up oil prices.
A National Fish Habitat Board report, which includes maps and mitigation efforts, identifies the primary human sources of US fresh- and saltwater habitat degradation as urban development, livestock grazing, agriculture, point source pollution, and areas with high numbers of active mines and dams.
Last year's grant winners have efforts under way, so reporting can focus on progress that is being made, or not. Reporting on the new winners, announced in mid-April 2011, can inform the community about what is in the works, who is in charge, and what future benchmarks can be used to see if the money is being well spent.
Public meetings in Colorado, Utah and Wyoming from April 26 to May 5, 2011 will likely be newsy events, with advocates and critics representing industry, environmentalists, local governments, and other interested groups and individuals voicing their opinions.
New tools provide limited information on substances used in specific wells during the oil and natural gas extraction process called hydraulic fracturing. From 2005-2009, 780 million gallons of 750 substances were injected underground — a starting point for your coverage of this angle.
Naomi Lubick writes about the common plight of procrastination and offers helpful tips to better manage your time and energy. Don't put it off — read it now!
A former employee of a restaurant in Acadia National Park won a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit over records the National Park Service had refused to release, about a 2008 incident when he was among those detained by Park Service police.
If you spend a lot of time researching things on the Internet as part of your reporting, the online Data Science Toolkit, which is especially handy with geographic data, and a book by Pete Warden could make parts of your job a lot easier.
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