Disasters

Hog waste washing into the environment in the wake of flooding is not just a worry in the Carolinas after Hurricane Florence. Potential pollution from animal feed operations is a widespread risk around the United States — and climate change-induced extreme weather means that risk is rising. The latest TipSheet has resources and ideas for covering the story in your area.

Now that a top court has tossed out parts of coal ash disposal rules, also in question is a planned loosening under the Trump EPA. That means potential state-level stories on how this coal combustion byproduct may threaten environmental health and water supplies. This week’s TipSheet runs down the issue and suggests resources and questions to ask.

Could U.S. infrastructure go from being a saver of lives to a bringer of disaster? Yes, warns our latest Issue Backgrounder, which looks at vulnerabilities for our drinking water supply, sewage systems, flood control, power grids, pipelines, refineries and even hospitals. Are environmental reporters paying enough attention? Here’s why they should, with suggestions on how to go about it.

Massive wildfires have been a huge news story this summer. But caught up in the conflagration is a big question: To what extent can climate change be blamed? This week’s TipSheet looks at the controversy, and helps journalists work their way through the challenge without getting burned.

​Smart coverage of the ongoing hurricane season means reporting not just people stories, but numbers stories too. This week’s TipSheet explains and offers half a dozen metrics, including pressure, width, surge and rainfall, to better track these extreme storms. Plus, should there be a “Category 6?”

​It’s a blockbuster — literally. Homes by the tens of thousands are at risk of being lost to coastal flooding in coming years, communities broken up thanks to climate change. This week’s TipSheet tells you how to find the data to tell the story and provides examples of model reporting.

​The tale of the Flint, Michigan, drinking water crisis is told anew in a just-released book by a key protagonist in the tragedy. Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha’s “What the Eyes Don’t See: A Story of Crisis, Resistance, and Hope in an American City” is written with a grace, clarity, honesty and passion that our BookShelf editor Tom Henry says brings a unique perspective to this important story of American environmental injustice.

A key figure in the Flint, Mich., drinking water crisis, Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha, talks with SEJournal’s Between the Lines about her new book on the tragedy, and how she hopes telling the tale of the intersection of environmental injustice, racism, poverty and democracy might provide inspiration for other communities.

Chemical plant explosions make for fiery headlines, but then the reporting tends to flame out. The latest Backgrounder spells out why environmental journalists should stay vigilant on chemical safety coverage, with news hooks and ingredients for a potent mix of advance stories.