Policy

With 2026 shaping up to be an exceptional El Niño year, expect lots of record-breaking heat waves and other extreme weather. But climate change will also contribute. Explaining the role of both is essential to complete coverage. Journalist Ethan Brown shares tips and resources for using climate attribution science as a powerful reporting tool. Plus, five questions to ask while covering the next extreme climate event.

Hazmat risk data has long been subject to blackout efforts by industry. And now, Trump administration allies may change the rules to make existing information even harder to get. But Reporter’s Toolbox knows where journalists can still find the goods to support their reporting. Read on to learn about risks to the program in question — and Toolbox workarounds.

It may not seem at first glance like an environmental matter, but the Trump Justice Department’s declaration that the Presidential Records Act is unconstitutional potentially undermines the preservation of key administration records, warns WatchDog Opinion. That includes all kinds of environmental policy decision-making by the president, White House and other executive branch staff. Here’s why we need the act.

In the wake of two major disasters, beat reporters at The Washington Post examined systemic failures in response and recovery, and the human toll for affected communities. Journalist Brianna Sacks shares what she learned from those investigations, which won a large market award for beat reporting from the Society of Environmental Journalists. Read our Inside Story Q&A.

Is the United States in the midst of a “nuclear renaissance”? This two-part Backgrounder explores the question, with a look at next-gen reactor design, the (lack of) independence of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and what to do with nuclear waste. Plus, see Part 1 on the government role in developing nuclear power and an earlier effort at industry rebirth.

Is the United States in the midst of a “nuclear renaissance”? This two-part Issue Backgrounder explores that question, beginning in Part 1 with a look at the government’s part in developing nuclear power, including through subsidies, as well as why the new reactors built earlier in the 2000s didn’t really make the case for the industry’s rebirth. 

SEJournal is providing full coverage of all eight of the day-long tours from the annual Society of Environmental Journalists’ conference, April 15-18, in Chicago. In Part 2, contributors Meg Duff, Nathaniel Eisen, Nhung Nguyen and Marlowe Starling provide detailed reports from tours focused on the transitioning steel industry, microgrids, climate-friendly crop practices and evolving Midwestern agricultural systems.

Also check out the first round of tour coverage and read all the great work from our team of early-career freelance journalists, part of SEJournal’s live #SEJ2026 Live conference reporting.