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TipSheet is a biweekly source for story ideas, background, interview leads and reporting tools for journalists who cover news of the environment.

For questions and comments, or to suggest future TipSheets, email the TipSheet Editor Joseph A. Davis at sejournaleditor@sej.org.

Journalists can receive TipSheet free by subscribing to the SEJournal Online, the digital news magazine of the Society of Environmental Journalists. Subscribe to the e-newsletter here. TipSheet is also available through the searchable archive below and via RSS feed.


Latest TipSheet Items

September 5, 2017

  • Disaster cleanup from Hurricane Harvey is now bound up in Washington's brewing budget-related brouhaha, as Congress tries to fix the National Flood Insurance Program before authorization runs out at the end of September. The latest TipSheet explains, plus offers ideas and resources for localizing flood insurance stories.

August 29, 2017

  • Tick populations are on the rise in the United States, bringing higher risk of serious tick-borne illnesses like Lyme disease and a host of others. That offers a chance to tell the story of the environmental factors behind the spread, such as climate change and rising deer populations. The latest TipSheet explains.

August 15, 2017

  • The Trump administration has moved aggressively to roll back environmental and energy-related rules, so much so that keeping tabs on all the developments has become a major challenge. To help reporters get the lay of the land, this week's TipSheet has a roundup of more than a dozen regulatory tracking reports. Track the trackers.

August 1, 2017

  • Mosquitoes are not just annoyances. They also bring disease. But is the current patchwork of mosquito-control efforts effective? Or are the remedies, particularly pesticide spraying, worse than the problem? This week's Tipsheet has resources to help you report on balancing the risks of disease against those of spraying.

July 25, 2017

  • The media frenzy whipped up by Shark Week broadcasts mask a harsh reality — humans kill millions more sharks than sharks kill humans, making the real story for reporters the struggle to save sharks. Get ideas and resources on the shark conservation story from this week's TipSheet.

July 18, 2017

  • To report on federal land disputes near you, just take a look at the congressional Land and Water Conservation Fund, which this year faces conflict over funding levels, land acquisition and more. The latest TipSheet has the story, and how to cover it.

     

July 11, 2017

  • The maintenance backlog at the National Park System is nearly $12 billion, and a hot button issue for various constituencies. But don't look for spending to clear it up any time soon, with major budget cuts proposed. This week's TipSheet outlines the issues, and provides resources and perspectives to cover the story.

June 27, 2017

  • Even though big proposed budget cuts may be DOA for the Interior Department, it doesn't mean there aren't a wide range of land and resource-related stories emerging from the debates. The latest TipSheet sets the scene and offers a half-dozen ways to localize the Interior Department funding story.

June 20, 2017

  • The harmful algal blooms brought on by excessive nutrient pollution in warm summer waters can be dangerous to humans, animals and fish. Our latest TipSheet will help you cover the phenomenon, make the distinction between algae and toxic cyanobacteria, and point you to sources for forecasting outbreaks. 

June 13, 2017

  • With summer heat in many cities comes worsening air pollution, and a crop of smog-related stories. This week's TipSheet explains how smog forms and harms health, then helps you report on local smog factors and learn if your area is in "nonattainment" with EPA ozone standards, themselves a shifting target under Trump. 

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