The intersection of data and the environment

By Kelly Carr on Mar 12, 2010 in Investigation, IRE, IRE Blog, Tools, TrendingTopic

If you want to dig deeper into environmental data, a good first step is to check out what’s already been done and use it as a springboard.

By analyzing top-notch pieces, you may find a framework to scale down information for your local readers. Plus, already created databases offer you a way to extract data for your locality with ease, allowing you to focus on the story the numbers tell.

Two interesting pieces to check out include The New York Times’ “Toxic Waters” project, and the Center for Public Integrity’s “The Cimate Change Lobby.”

“Toxic Waters” focuses on water pollution and regulator’s response. The project includes an interactive database on 200,000 facilities “that have permits to discharge pollutants and collected responses from states regarding compliance.” You can search by state and see the facilities’ violations, last date of inspection and any fines.

Michale Pell, a database editor at the Center for Public Integrity, said his “The Climate Change Lobby” is a searchable database that examined organizations that were lobbying for climate change legislation. Reporters can extract data that details what specific organizations were lobbying for certain bills.

“This is money and politics meets environmental reporting,” Pell said.

About the Author

Kelly is the Reynolds Center's Senior Online Producer. She has worked as a reporter for several newspapers, most recently The Arizona Republic, and has been an adjunct professor at Arizona State University’s Cronkite School. She has a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Nonfiction from Goucher College and holds a degree in Journalism and Mass Communication from West Virginia University. Kelly also was a fellow at The Poynter Institute and a contributing writer for "Cancer Stories: Lessons in Love, Loss & Hope."