I've been assigned to cover and investigate water quality issues in Ohio. I'm currently in the process of looking into water testing in public schools. In order to get a better sense of how the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency is involved with water testing in schools, I browsed on their website and tried to read [...]
Why are so many bat species disappearing?
The International Union for the Conservation of Nature currently lists 24 bat species as critically endangered, 53 as endangered and 104 vulnerable. 226 bat species are identified as “data deficient,” or not enough information available to determine their conservation status by the IUCN. Of the 1,296 bat species assessed by the IUCN, about one-third is [...]
Data is the future of journalism
As someone who wants to go into sports reporting when I graduate, I've always loved statistics. I remember sitting at my kitchen table as a kid, pouring over the baseball box scores over breakfast, trying to soak in all the numbers I could. Outside of that, I never really thought about the data in terms [...]
Environmental reporting on the Ohio EPA is … frustrating
Two weeks ago, I turned in my first story for an environmental journalism and data course at Kent State. My partners, Cameron Hoover and Adam Kirasic, and myself covered hazardous waste in East Liverpool, Ohio, and contacted several sources from Heritage Thermal Services and the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency for the story. We all agreed [...]
It’s All Up in the Air
Although it seems simple and fairly straightforward, what makes up air pollution can be a little confusing, especially when sifting through all the countless data and articles. They throw around CO2, PM, SOX, NOX, and various other compounds and acronyms to the point that for the average person, it just turns into alphabet soup. So, [...]
Two things I’ve learned from my first foray into environmental reporting
I am not by any means an expert in environmental policy. In my four years at Kent State, I’ve stuck to what I know — sports — and generally haven’t strayed from that area of expertise. When I was approached about being in a practicum course focusing on heavily data-driven reporting on environmental issues, I [...]
How to avoid causing the spread of invasive species
Different types of flora and fauna have taken root across Ohio, hurting ecosystems and destroying native species' habitats. Many of these species have caused others to go extinct or endangered them. While there are measures in place to try to counteract the damage they do the method that works best is prevention. A very common [...]
Individual Carbon Footprint vs. Industrial Emissions: Climate Change Death Match
When scientists talk about climate change, they tend to look at change to the climate caused by “natural factors” or by “human activities.” This is because there are factors that create change in climate that are natural - the cyclical melting and refreezing of sea ice, for example. The problem with the second term is [...]
An expanded definition of the Clean Air Act
Imagine this: It’s 1968. You’re up and ready for another beautiful summer day in your favorite city. Something is wrong though. Your beautiful skyline is covered in smog. This is why the Clean Air Act was created at the peak of the national environmental movement in 1970, according to EPA.gov. The name of the act [...]
Here’s What You Should Know About the Cancelation of a Major Pipeline Project This Week
I’ve been covering pipelines in Ohio for the past few months. I previously blogged about the current pipelines in the state as well as ones that are proposed for the future. I spent a whole afternoon looking through the entire FERC docket for the Nexus pipeline. This research has opened my eyes to the efforts [...]
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