What can we actually establish?

Methods note · no new environmental or financial findings

The first useful question is small: what does this source actually report? A measurement describes a parameter, a place and an interval. An agenda describes a proposed discussion. An invoice describes a claim for payment.

Keep the next question separate.

A nearby rail corridor does not identify the source of particles in an air reading. An approval does not establish that money was paid. A hash can help detect changed bytes; it does not authenticate the author or make the contents true.

Make the gap visible.

This observatory has no connected sanitized observation source. That limits what it can establish. It does not tell us that the air is clean, a project is inactive or no public money changed hands.

Follow the evidence path.

Read the original source, its date and version, then the exact passage or table. Look for contrary evidence and the smallest missing check. If the record cannot answer, leave the answer open.