I suspect that the whole “knee bone connected to the thigh bone” aspect of environmental issues is what fascinates scientists and journalists alike.
Frustrates them both, too. Nowadays it borders on cliche to note the complex interrelationships that make up an ecosystem. Pull a thread on one corner of an ecosystem – an invasive species introduction, for example – and the consequences elsewhere are surprising, fascinating and oftentimes troubling.
That’s true of a common summer environmental story – the inevitable closing of beaches due to bacterial contamination. It’s a good story for a journalist – human health, economic impact, political posturing. Even better, it is often a good mystery story.
Echo today references Michigan BeachGuard, a tool for tracking beach closures. But it’s one thing to map beach closures and quite another to explain them. Just ask any scientist or regulator involved in the detective work or a reporter trying to tell the story.
For the problem can be miles away from any beach. It can have multiple causes. It may involve issues as diverse as prolific wildlife, overburdened sewers, rural runoff, faulty septic systems. It may have happened long before the beach closed and be resolved long before it reopens.
Explaining that story is a challenge. And that’s one reason Michigan State University’s Knight Center for 
Environmental Journalism – which produces Echo – is hosting a free half-day workshop May 19 to help journalists report it. Details are here. If you write about environmental issues and are looking for summer story ideas, you can’t beat this return on investment. Reserve one of the limited slots soon.
And if you want to encourage more aggressive yet credible reporting on an aspect of that interconnected web-of-life thing, direct your favorite reporter/writer who covers such things – or should – to this post.