Approved by the SEJ Board of Directors May 1, 2021.
As a journalism organization, SEJ supports and advocates for government transparency, an informed democratic process and press freedoms. In that spirit, SEJ strives to make its own actions a model of transparency. To that end, it is SEJ’s objective to have its own actions be open and transparent to its members.
As hurricane season gets into full swing, a perpetual paradox reemerges — does disaster aid help or harm? Government financial assistance in a disaster’s wake may seem a boon, but could it just encourage communities to repeat the mistakes of the past? The latest TipSheet explores the question and provides context, reporting resources and story ideas.
"A unity task force made up of supporters of both Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and former Vice President Joe Biden has come up with a series of broad environmental recommendations for Biden as he prepares to become the official Democratic presidential nominee."
Mishandling of vital information by the U.S. government worsened the COVID-19 pandemic, argues the latest WatchDog. The no-holds-barred opinion piece, which notes that coronavirus is as much an environmental story as a public health one, points the finger at the White House and the “Silent CDC,” sifts the wreckage of the testing program and speculates about the dearth of data as the nation reopens.
Unheeded warnings are the hallmark of many disasters. And with coronavirus still hobbling the nation, communities and journalists must now watch for all the ways COVID-19 could make even the most familiar hazards far worse. Prepare with this extensive Backgrounder, which touches on issues around evacuations and emergency readiness when facing storms, fires, toxic releases and more.
Regulations that sprang from cornerstone environmental laws in place for decades are now under attack by the Trump administration, per legal experts in a recent webinar co-sponsored by the Society of Environmental Journalists and Columbia University’s Earth Institute. Get key takeaways and resources from the event from SEJ’s Dale Willman. Plus, watch the full webinar video.
A long-standing law designed to protect public information about environmental impacts is facing an unfavorable overhaul, while a proposal dictating how EPA uses scientific findings in its rulings is nearing finalization. WatchDog has those items, plus how states are using the COVID-19 pandemic to restrict press and more.
"A new study takes aim at the idea that environmental reviews take too long for timber and other projects in national forests."
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