Beat Note

For my beat this semester, I would like to cover environmental issues in Eastern Washington with a specific focus on regulation and the people and politics behind the decisions. Environmental issues extend far beyond maintaining rivers, lakes and forests. The food we eat, the water we drink, the air we breath – all of these things have backstories fraught with conflicting business interests and power struggles among politicians. Finding stories that have a human element or conflicting interests will be fairly easy to find on this beat.

The way we interact with nature has societal, political and cultural ramifications. Of course, events like the reactor meltdown at Three Mile Island or the Exxon Valdez tanker spill are not going to occur within close proximity to Pullman, but these stories are relevant because they directly impacted people’s lives. What happens to the environment in Pullman affects people hundreds of miles away. For example, the runoff of pesticides from nearby farms alter the water quality for miles down the Palouse River.

The United States is in the midst of a dramatic shift in environmental regulatory measures. The classic views of conservation and preservation initiated by people like President Theodore Roosevelt and John Muir are encountering a new wave of grassroots environmental movements. Chronicling this shift in political discourse will be evident throughout my work. The three ideas listed as possible stories cover a narrow range of topics, specifically water rights and sustainability, but have a huge impact on the quality of people’s lives.

Pullman's rural, agriculture-based community could benefit from reading an environmental beat. With the depletion of the Grande Ronde Aquifer, water conservation is a major concern for everyone in the Pullman community. Issues of sustainability and resource management would be valuable to all readers, especially the thousands of students majoring in environmental science or biology.

Potential Story Ideas:

1.The Palouse Ridge Golf Club was promoted as an “eco-friendly golf course,” which sounds like an oxymoron. Features, such as a special drainage and irrigation system, were touted as state-of-the-art, but few journalists questioned the effectiveness of the system and the pesticides being used at the course when it originally opened. A look at how much water the course uses could force some students to question how necessary it was to build.

2.LEED certification is the latest craze for environmentally conscious architects. However, according to a recent article in The New York Times, LEED certified buildings are failing to achieve their desired goals. The CUB is the first LEED certified building on campus and I would like to take an in-depth look at how cost effective is was to undergo LEED certification.

3.Representative Jim McDermott proposed legislation that would lead to the removal of several dams along the Snake River, raising many concerns for residents in Eastern Washington . This signals a change in environmental regulation schemes and could impact the region's salmon populations.

4. Washington State University is a leading research institute. Numerous research projects are started every year by graduate students who work in the community, making connections with farmers and leaders in the local environmental movement. I would like to report on some of these projects.

Recent stories
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/06/science/earth/06golf.html
http://www.mcclatchydc.com/washington/story/74017.html
http://www.tricityherald.com/1514/story/692794.html
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB125133578177462487.html
http://www.ncbr.com/article.asp?id=101855.html

Potential Sources

Each story will have its own set of sources, but I would like to routinely question professors Weber and Beall because they approach the same issues from two different disciplines. Beall's students probably have their fingers on the pulse of most local environmental issues as well.

Allyson Beall Instructor Washington State University Office: Troy 209
Phone: (509)335-4037
E-mail: abeall@wsu.edu
Spoke briefly with Chris Pell, one of Professor Beall’s former graduate students.

Edward Weber (interviewed)
Professor Political Science (Instructs Pol Sci 430 Environmental Public Policy)
(509) 335-2455

Todd Lupkes Palouse Ridge Golf Club Superintendent
E-mail: tlupkes@palouseridge.com
phone: (509) 332-1874

Bob Haynes Regional Manager, Idaho Department of Water Resources
Phone: (208) 287-4800

Ray Ledgerwood Program Coordinator, Washington State Conservation Commission
E-mail:rledgerwood@scc.wa.
Phone: (208) 301-4728

Gerald Kelso, Area Manager for the Bureau of Reclamation
Phone: 509-575-5848