Grading the Gulf of Mexico after the spill

After the BP oil spill, oceanographers familiar with the Gulf of Mexico were asked to give their assessment of the water quality and grade various categories. Surprisingly, the overall view for the viability of the Gulf was good.

See the interactive here:

http://hosted.ap.org/specials/interactives/_national/gulf_grades/

Toxic water in schools

I worked on this investigative piece with an environmental reporter who was able to get 10 years of water surveys from the Environmental Protection Agency. In her series of reports, she verified that toxins were being leaked into schools' water supply - mostly in rural areas and off city water systems and relied on wells.

A majority of the pollutants came from chemicals found in agricultural fertilizers. Check out the link to see the interactive. This was a collaberative effort with me working with a Flash programmer:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/33018955/ns/health-kids_and_parenting#.TknIxM1p2kI

Taking a break to draw

This illustration was done for a feature story about protecting your fall and spring bulbs from varmints. As much as I love spot news at work, it is great to vary the pace some and slow down and draw something. The font was converted to paths and manipulated slightly for a custom look.

Every year I try to supplement the collection of bulbs in my yard. So far, I can say that I don't believe I have ever had a problem with them being unearthed and used as nourishment.

Quickies

These are a selection of graphics that I didn't have a lot of time to invest in an elaborate production. Working in the news industry can at times be like a game of Pictionary. When you are handed the assignment, the challenge is to knock it out in a timeframe that will convey the image convincingly to the viewer for the win.

Repurposing the Gulf Stream

Engineers have found a way to redirect the energy of the Gulf Stream into a usable energy source. The concept is very similar to how turbines convert wind into energy.

This graphic was a "spot" graphic which means the news was for the news cycle you were working and had to be completed on your shift. I just remember pushing to get it done quickly to get it out to members and making sure that it all made sense.

Newly married and your new set of friends

Getting married brings together lots of things into your new life as husband and wife like his furniture from the 80s, a new mix of music to your iTunes library and his friends that can take some getting use to with time.

This illustration was roughly sketched in pencil, then scanned and traced over in Illustrator.

A really expensive seed vault

This was a really interesting feature story on preserving seeds so future generations would have certain foods. The seed vault provides insurance against the loss of seeds, as well as a refuge for seeds in the case of large scale regional or a global crisis. Very thought provoking.


The illustration uses an isometric design of the vaults. The map was generated using Map Studio (an online GIS system).