Southwest (AZ NM OK TX)

Key picks for President Biden’s environment and energy team suggest top priorities, among them an aggressive, whole-government climate change agenda. The latest Backgrounder assesses choices to pursue Biden’s international and domestic climate policies, as well as historic selections for EPA and Interior, and more. Plus, dive into SEJournal’s expanding “2021 Journalists’ Guide to Energy & Environment” special report.

This Society of Environmental Journalists’ special report — “Covering Your Climate: The South” — is the second in a series designed to help journalists of all kinds cover the impacts of climate change in their region, and to report on actions taken to mitigate its worst effects and preparations for what can’t be stopped. This special report begins with the extensive background overview and in the coming weeks, we’ll publish three tipsheets with a wealth of story ideas for right now and over the coming decade, plus a resource toolbox. 

Preparations for the inevitable impacts of the climate crisis in the South, the country’s most vulnerable region, have been hit or miss. And one of the toughest challenges — preparing coastal communities for inevitable flooding from sea level rise — is just beginning. More on the region’s climate adaptation considerations in the final entry in our “Covering Your Climate: The South” special report. Plus, a backgrounder, additional tipsheets and a toolbox. 

As global warming worsens, effects like extreme heat, drought, wildfires, coastal flooding and inland flooding will have an outsized impact in the Southern United States. The latest entry in our ongoing “Covering Your Climate: The South” special report looks at those effects. Plus, read an introductory overview and watch for additional entries on climate mitigation and adaptation in the South.

Most Southern state leaders are doing the least to fight the climate crisis, despite having the most to lose environmentally and economically. When will that begin to change? The latest entry in our “Covering Your Climate: The South” special report looks at the politics of the climate crisis, the dominance of utilities, and the transportation and forestry sectors, along with the few climate breakthroughs. 

The South is ground zero for the climate crisis in the United States, yet little is being done to prevent impacts or protect communities. Will the South tap its potential to be part of the solution? Our special report, “Covering Your Climate: The South,” helps reporters cover the region, starting with a backgrounder on climate concerns from Texas to Virginia.

The surging racial justice movement has reenergized aspirations to correct the environmental injustices that blemish countless underprivileged U.S. communities. The new TipSheet, another part of our 2021 Guide, scans the landscape of trouble spots, from urban to rural, industrial zones to Superfund sites. Plus, story ideas and reporting resources.