Policy

‘People Will Die’ — Stories Behind Trump Budget Bill

The Trump administration’s “One Big Beautiful Bill” is anything but, especially in its unraveling of efforts to weave environmental and climate justice into American society, argues the new Voices of Environmental Justice. In her latest column, writer Yessenia Funes calls on journalists to report its ramifications not just for the planet but for the most vulnerable people living on it. Here are key stories to start with.

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August 7, 2025

USC Annenberg/CHJ Webinar: Extreme Heat — A Rising Public Health Threat

This USC Annenberg/Center for Health Journalism webinar will examine growing health threats from heat and discuss what kinds of regulations and policies can help. Journalists will get new ideas for reporting angles and stories, and a firmer understanding of the policy and regulatory approaches that can offset heat’s worst effects. 1 p.m. ET.

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July 30, 2025

USC Annenberg/CHJ Webinar: Disappearing Data and How Reporters Can Respond

This USC Annenberg/Center for Health Journalism webinar will review the new holes in the federal data landscape and discuss potential strategies for reporters looking to ground stories on a firm foundation of data and facts. 1-2 p.m. ET.

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RFK Jr. Attacks Some Unwelcome Truth-Telling

When Robert F. Kennedy Jr. threatened to forbid government scientists from publishing in leading medical journals, WatchDog was among those who paid heed to this worrisome move to censor science, and the harm it portends for environmental science, environmental journalism and, ultimately, public health. But as WatchDog warns, it could be just the tip of the iceberg.

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Wildfire Smoke Is Showing Up Everywhere. It Can Be Fatal

Wildfire’s immensely destructive power is not just about what it burns. The smoke from more frequent fires, too, has real potential to harm human health, the new Backgrounder explains, releasing particulate matter, carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides, sulfur oxides and worse. Learn more about the hazards and historical perspective, along with what journalists should tell their communities can be done.

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Rethinking Forest Management in the Pyrocene

Recent urban-interface infernos, fueled by climate change, leave no doubt that we have entered the age of runaway fire. Writer and ecologist Lauren Oakes writes that large-scale combustion is permanently reshaping ecosystems and societies as we learn to live with wildfire, not just fight it. Instead of perpetuating problematic approaches to forest management, experts call for confronting the root causes of this crisis and adopting science-informed responses.

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Lead Pipe Data Map Offers Sharp New Tool

Lead-contaminated drinking water has long been a widespread worry, but one big challenge has been locating the many lead service lines around the United States. The latest Reporter’s Toolbox points you to a mappable database to help address that problem, with current, detailed data filtered through the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Learn more about this resource and how to best use it.

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November 10, 2025 to November 21, 2025

UN Climate Change Conference (COP30), Belém, Brazil

Media accreditation is open for the 30th United Nations Climate Change Conference of the Parties, hosted this year by Brazil, will take place in the city of Belém, which aims to provide the world with a unique platform to discuss climate solutions, firmly rooted in the heart of the Amazon.

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Public Broadcasting Cuts Would Harm Free Press

Trump administration efforts to defund public media, now before Congress, are a misguided effort to harm a source of journalism that is highly trusted by audiences, argues the latest WatchDog Opinion column. And while public broadcasting’s diverse funding sources may insulate it from politics to some degree, the attacks do threaten to chill press freedom, including environmental reporting, more broadly. The latest Dog explains.

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National Park Story No Walk in the Park, Post-Budget Cuts

Steep cuts for the U.S. National Park System look likely from the Trump administration, affecting visitors, roiling local businesses and raising political hackles. For environmental journalists, budgets slashed for hundreds of park units could also turn a summer standby story into something closer to disaster coverage. TipSheet has more than a dozen story ideas and reporting resources to cover the park nearest you.

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