TRI Tension Pollution Database Is Imperfect, but a Great Source
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Winter 2006 SThe QuarterlyE PublicationJ of theournal Society of Environmental Journalists Vol. 16 No. 4 TRI tension Pollution database is imperfect, but a great source By JAMES BRUGGERS The threat to the database comes from the EPA, and has been What began 18 years ago as a tedious new way to find out closely tracked by SEJ’s First Amendment Task Force. In the about pollution has become an indispensable tool for journalists name of “burden reduction,” EPA last year proposed to cut back – one now under threat of being rendered less useful. on some of what it requires companies to report each year. It also The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Toxics told Congress it might move to every-other-year reporting. Release Inventory is the first place a reporter, editor or news Congress subsequently put a temporary halt on the first proposal. producer can go to find out how much pollution comes from an The second proposal is still floating out there, though both are per- industrial facility. Or is generated in a zip code, a county, a state haps less likely given the new Democratic majority in Congress. or the entire nation. SEJ submitted formal objections to the proposed changes It’s also a place where journalists can track trends – though Given the recent tension over TRI, I was asked to be on a that can be harder because the rules on what panel at the SEJ conference in Burlington, and facilities must report have changed over the to talk about how journalists use the database. years. And while there are gaps – the facilities More on reporting on toxics I discovered a reporting trail rich in history don’t have to report all their pollution to the TRI cutbacks: page 21 and current application. inventory – journalists and the communities Analyzing state data: page 16 One of the first stories based on TRI they serve would be far more ignorant had appeared in The (Louisville) Courier-Journal Congress not required TRI in 1986 and had on Sunday, Nov. 27, 1988, by Scott Thurm, who the EPA not done such a good job of putting the information on now covers Silicon Valley for The Wall Street Journal. The head- the Internet in the 1990s. (Continued on page 19) Inside Story: Top e-beat reporter: Make readers regain curiosity By MIKE DUNNE newspaper’s contest nomination letter. “Her piece on Marla Cone says she had no special knowledge to become a Parkinson’s was commended by scientists and helped bring science and environment writer. But with a sense of curiosity and attention to research in the environmental causes of the disease.” an eye for a good story, she has excelled on the environment beat. She also wrote about the European Union’s requirements What little she remembers of high school chemistry is “Fe” for more research and regulation of chemicals to protect the is iron – and that’s because of a comic book character. But today public from exposures and how that was affecting U.S. busi- she routinely writes stories for the Los Angeles Times about the nesses with international sales. impacts of chemicals on environmental health, work that won Other stories in her award-winning portfolio included: her the 2006 Society of Environmental Journalists beat report- • How the pesticide methyl iodide, which is being consid- ing award. ered as a replacement for ozone-depleting chemicals, poses its In one story, Cone explained to readers how scientists now own problems. believe that Parkinson’s disease, a serious neurological disorder, • How traces of prescription drugs are being found in is linked to exposure to pesticides and other chemicals in the aquifers in California’s San Gabriel Valley due to treated sewage environment. effluent being used to recharge groundwater. “With her knack for explanatory journalism, she translated • How sewage effluent plumes were altering the sexual complex science into terms that readers can understand, without characteristics of fish off the California coast. falling into the traps of hype or oversimplification,” said the (Continued on page 22) INSIDE: SEJ Awards winners • Choosing a digital voice recorder In this mixed-up media world, we need to keep SEJ well By TIM WHEELER last fall in Burlington, Vt. – remarkable, when you consider how I didn’t really know what to expect when I flew out to newsroom staffing has declined. Colorado in the fall of 1991 for the premiere conference of a new Volunteers and staff are already hard at work preparing for group called the Society of Environmental Journalists. As the our next annual conference, hosted by Stanford University in first-ever environmental beat reporter for the afternoon newspa- September in Palo Alto, Calif. Climate and energy-efficiency per in Baltimore, I hoped to pick up some story ideas and back- research, sustainable agriculture and marine-species protection ground on complicated pollution issues. I also hoped it wouldn’t promise to be on the agenda in the Bay area, with Silicon Valley be a waste of time and money. and wine country nearby. Mark your calendars now for Sept. 5-9. It wasn’t. From the opening workshop on toxicology to the Meanwhile, in the coming year, we hope to give SEJ’s Web post-conference hike in the mountains with newfound friends, I site a makeover, updating its appearance, making it easier to use was blown away by this congregation of journalists from all over and enhancing its content. During the Burlington conference, the the country who shared my passion for covering the environment. website for the first time carried daily coverage for those who We swapped war stories, tips and phone numbers. I returned could not be there, with written reports and audio downloads of home re-energized – and hooked on SEJ. key sessions. And we were treated to an Fifteen years later, it’s my privilege extraordinary, unofficial blog launched by now to serve as SEJ’s president. I’m thrilled Report from the online media maven Amy Gahran, which – and sobered, because it’s a challenging Society’s President enabled attendees to weigh in with their time to be in journalism. own views and experiences. That’s the kind The “mainstream” news media are in of vibrant, inclusive Web presence we hope crisis, with newsroom job cuts seemingly to have year-round, not just around annual being announced almost weekly. Knight conferences. Ridder Inc., one of the titans of newspaper The editorial board of SEJournal also publishing, has been sold and partially bro- is looking to give our quarterly newsletter a ken up. Tribune Co., the large multimedia facelift. And we’re working hard now, in corporation for which I work, may join the partnership with other groups, to defend the latest industry craze to “go private,” selling By rights of journalists and the public to know off some of its broadcast stations and news- how government is handling contentious papers in the process. Timothy issues of pollution and management of nat- The media landscape is changing so fast Wheeler ural resources and public lands. To name it’s tempting to want to crawl into a hole or just a few of SEJ’s efforts. run away, to avoid being hit as the “dead trees” sag and fall. But we Uncertain as the future is for the news media, though, it’s journalists are a resilient, if cranky, lot. Despite the turmoil, many also challenging for nonprofit organizations. SEJ depends for the have managed to hang on as full-time environmental reporters, vast majority of its funding on foundation grants. Though we’ve while others of us have adapted by changing beats, jobs, or even done quite well over the years, thanks to the savvy and skill of our media to keep covering at least some aspect of the environment. executive director, Beth Parke, it’s a tightrope act. One missed That’s because for all the seismic shifts in the news business, major grant could force a serious belt-tightening at SEJ, curtail- one thing hasn’t changed. The need is still there – arguably greater ing many of the services we offer to members and to journalists than ever – for good reporting on complicated and controversial at large. topics such as climate change, energy and suburban sprawl. It’s no SEJ’s board and staff are working to diversify the organiza- exaggeration to say stories like these really matter – affecting tion’s financial support, while hewing to our longstanding policy of where, how and maybe even whether we live in the 21st century. not seeking or accepting grants from non-media corporations, gov- SEJ is still there, too, working to help reporters get such stories, ernment agencies or environmental groups. We’re also building in get them right and get them out to the reading, listening, viewing, a financial safety net, the 21st Century Fund. That’s our endow- blogging public. Membership has grown over the years to 1,300. ment, to keep SEJ from a hard landing should we miss a step on the Conference also has swelled, from 250 in Boulder to more than 800 foundation tightrope. We’ve managed to raise more than $125,000 in the last few years – a solid start, but still a long way from our Correction ultimate goal of having enough socked away – $3 million to $5 million – to generate significant, sustainable interest income. The Fall ’06 edition of SEJournal carried a report on the Now, amid all the challenges we’re facing, we have one that Environmental Journalism Summit in New York City in July presents a golden opportunity.