COP30 negotiators from around the world gather next week in Belém, Brazil, at the mouth of the Amazon River. Our Voices of Environmental Justice columnist Yessenia Funes says it’s a vital opportunity to engage with the Indigenous peoples who help protect the vast rainforest region — even for environmental reporters not there in person. Here’s how to tell their stories.
Efforts under Trump 2.0 to cut funding for environmental justice programs may be the new reality, but the uncertain status of hundreds of Biden-era grants offers important local stories. And as Reporter’s Toolbox finds, a database that rescued federal grant information helps make that reporting possible, with coding by congressional district to put the conflict into political context.
"Lee Zeldin, the administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, has quietly retreated from plans to eliminate Energy Star, a popular program whose iconic blue labels help consumers choose energy-efficient dishwashers, refrigerators and other home appliances."
"Americans who rely on broadcast networks for honest journalism suffered a painful loss this week, as CBS News — fresh off its acquisition by Skydance Media and the installation of anti-woke opinion writer Bari Weiss as editor in chief — fired most of the reporters who specialize in covering climate change."
This annual award recognizes an SEJ member for their exceptional volunteer work. The 2025 Stolberg award goes to Mark Schleifstein (pictured, left), a founding member of the Society of Environmental Journalists and a retired, Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter for the Times-Picayune/New Orleans Advocate.
"With their distinctive shaggy orange manes, pale blue faces and dense fur covering their hands and feet, it’s hard to mistake China’s endangered golden snub-nosed monkeys for any other animal. These rare and charismatic monkeys, unique to the frigid mountains of central China, have recently joined the country’s famous pandas as furry envoys to zoos in Europe for the first time... ."
"Emails obtained by POLITICO’s E&E News under the Freedom of Information Act shed light on the internal investigation that began within hours of the EPA “Declaration of Dissent” going public on June 30. In the following days, the administration sifted through names of those who had signed the letter, shared legal advice and responded by placing close to 150 employees on administrative leave while their computers and email accounts were searched."
"For decades, some big polluters were allowed to estimate their emissions using methods the government knew were often unreliable. Air monitors at coke manufacturers, chemical plants and other industrial facilities showed far higher emissions than the estimates, records viewed by ProPublica show."
"Federal regulators are falsely claiming that production of a dangerous PFAS chemical has been phased out in the US, according to a complaint filed this week by an environmental watchdog group alleging the statement is untrue since the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) consistently finds the chemical and other PFAS in fluorinated plastic containers."
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