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Using TRI, Please!

By KEN WARD Jr.

I know that a lot of folks are down on TRI, and I agree that the data is not perfect. But I'm also terribly concerned that we as environmental reporters don't use it frequently enough (or well enough) and particularly frightened about EPA's proposals to cut back on the program. I also know that some of the best stories I do are based in some way on TRI data. It's still simply the best basic set of pollution numbers we have. Here's my latest example of how TRI helped me make a so-so story into a darned good one.

Not A Single Armadillo Was Killed

By DAVID HELVARG

Not surprisingly this year's SEJ Conference in Austin, Texas, was overshadowed by a singular but all too predictable disaster, the lack of affordable booze at SEJ events.

Ironically, the last really boozy SEJ conference was in New Orleans where I recall Mark Schleifstein ominously predicting that someday we'd end up meeting in Texas. If only we'd listened to his warnings.

Acid Oceans: A New Twist To Report When Covering Climate Change

By CHERYL HOGUE
The increasing levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere due to human activities, such as burning fossil fuels and deforestation, is well known. Scientists – with the exception of some skeptics – predict changes in the Earth's climate from rising levels of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases.

Journalism's Struggle Offers Big Challenges For SEJ

By PERRY BEEMAN

SEJ's truly marvelous family of committed journalists, educators and other friends came out of the Austin conference with the usual amazement about all the talent, helpfulness and great work that our members exude.

"New Diesels Cut Soot, Smog Over 90%

"For decades, diesel trucks and buses have spewed large amounts of soot, smog-causing gases and carcinogens into the air. But new diesel engines are more than 90 percent cleaner than a few years ago, far exceeding the emission reductions required by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, according to a new independent study released Thursday. Data show new diesel technologies are working even better than expected."

Source: Env. Health News, 06/19/2009

Sea Levels Threaten Coastal Towns

Scientists are pretty certain climate change is going to cause the sea level to rise. It's happening already, actually. In communities around the Chesapeake Bay, people are getting a sneak preview.

Source: Environment Report, 06/19/2009

"New York Sign Counts Global Greenhouse Gases"

"Deutsche Bank lit a seven-storey-high sign in the middle of Manhattan on Thursday that counts the total amount of greenhouse gases trapped in the Earth's atmosphere."

Source: Reuters, 06/19/2009

"Killing Fields: Field Burning'S Deadly Legacy"

The 1988 highway death of a family in Oregon, blinded by smoke from fields being burned for weed control, was a story so moving that it spawned a novel. Field burning is so common in Oregon that it threatens people's lungs and health. A legislative struggle to ban it remains unresolved.

Source: Eugene Weekly, 06/19/2009

Other Oceans Collect Plastic Trash

"A swirling 'soup' of tiny pieces of plastic has been found in the Atlantic Ocean, and something similar may be present in other ocean areas as well."

Source: Christian Science Monitor, 06/19/2009

"Where the Wild Things Are No More"

"The National Wildlife Property Repository is the resting place for 1.5 million victims of illegal trade. They sit on shelves or in boxes as bracelets, shoes, pelts and more."

Source: LA Times, 06/19/2009

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