Publication Items

Plant Trackers Help Mark Coal’s Decline [1]

Keeping tabs on the increasingly frequent closing of U.S. coal-fired electric power plants is an important way to follow developments on the larger climate change beat. The latest Reporter’s Toolbox points to several mapping databases that help make the job far easier — whether watching the industry in the United States or abroad.

SEJ Publication Types:
Reporters Toolbox [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Activism [3]
Air [4]
Climate Change [5]
Energy & Fuel [6]
Journalism & Media [7]
Natural Resources [8]
Pollution [9]
Region:
National (U.S.) [10]
International [11]
Visibility:
Public [12]
- Read more about Plant Trackers Help Mark Coal’s Decline [1]
Bringing Stories Home Under Lockdown, With Remote Video Interviews [13]

They’ve long been a staple of the news business. But now, with the pandemic continuing to keep journalists from their subjects, remote video interviews have become an essential tool. And even newbie video reporters can quickly learn the basics. Science video producer Eli Kintisch shares a quick eight-step remote video setup and some simple tricks of the trade, in this SEJournal how-to.

SEJ Publication Types:
Features [14]
Topics on the Beat:
Activism [3]
Agriculture [15]
Air [4]
Biodiversity [16]
Chemicals [17]
Climate Change [5]
Consumer [18]
Disasters [19]
Economy & Business [20]
Energy & Fuel [6]
Environmental Health [21]
Environmental Politics [22]
Environmental Studies [23]
Fish & Fisheries [24]
Food [25]
Forests [26]
Government [27]
Health [28]
Journalism & Media [7]
Laws & Regulations [29]
Military [30]
Natural Resources [8]
Nuclear Power & Radiation [31]
Other or All [32]
People & Population [33]
Planning & Growth [34]
Policy [35]
Pollution [9]
Science [36]
Technology [37]
Transportation [38]
Waste [39]
Water & Oceans [40]
Region:
National (U.S.) [10]
Alaska and Hawaii [41]
California [42]
Great Lakes (IL IN MI MN OH WI) [43]
Great Plains (IA KS ND NE MO SD) [44]
Mid-Atlantic (DC DE MD PA VA WV) [45]
Mountain West (CO ID MT NV UT WY) [46]
Northeast (CT MA ME NH NJ NY RI VT) [47]
Northwest (OR WA) [48]
SE (AL AR FL GA KY LA MS NC PR SC TN) [49]
Southwest (AZ NM OK TX) [50]
International [11]
Canada [51]
Mexico [52]
Africa [53]
Antarctica & Arctic [54]
Asia [55]
Australia & Oceania [56]
Central America & the Caribbean [57]
Europe [58]
Middle East [59]
South America [60]
Visibility:
Public [12]
- Read more about Bringing Stories Home Under Lockdown, With Remote Video Interviews [13]
Building Materials Data Can Help Construct Environmental Stories [61]

Toxics abound in many building materials, creating indoor environmental hazards for workers and residents alike. To help report the story, Reporter’s Toolbox details a massive database of chemicals and building materials, and explains how to use it to assess their presence in buildings in your community. Plus, story ideas to get you started.

SEJ Publication Types:
Reporters Toolbox [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Air [4]
Chemicals [17]
Consumer [18]
Disasters [19]
Environmental Health [21]
Health [28]
Journalism & Media [7]
Region:
National (U.S.) [10]
International [11]
Visibility:
Public [12]
- Read more about Building Materials Data Can Help Construct Environmental Stories [61]
Small-Market Reporter Unmasks Race Gap in Pollution Response [62]

When two towns — one an affluent suburb and the other a poor rural community — faced similar air pollution crises, lopsided government action made clear there was an underlying race and class divide. Reporter Sharon Lerner shares the story behind her award-winning reporting that tells the “Tale of Two Toxic Cities,” in our latest Inside Story Q&A.

SEJ Publication Types:
Inside Story [63]
Topics on the Beat:
Activism [3]
Air [4]
Chemicals [17]
Environmental Health [21]
Environmental Politics [22]
Government [27]
Health [28]
Journalism & Media [7]
People & Population [33]
Pollution [9]
Region:
National (U.S.) [10]
Great Lakes (IL IN MI MN OH WI) [43]
SE (AL AR FL GA KY LA MS NC PR SC TN) [49]
Visibility:
Public [12]
- Read more about Small-Market Reporter Unmasks Race Gap in Pollution Response [62]
Altered Office Environments Will Likely Greet Workers Returning From Quarantine [64]

The indoor air in offices was already a potential health risk even before COVID-19. But now amid the pandemic coronavirus, not to mention other ever-present biological threats, indoor environmental hazards make it more likely than ever that offices will look and function differently in coming days. TipSheet takes a look and offers more than a dozen story ideas and resources.

SEJ Publication Types:
TipSheet [65]
Topics on the Beat:
Air [4]
Disasters [19]
Economy & Business [20]
Health [28]
Journalism & Media [7]
People & Population [33]
Region:
National (U.S.) [10]
International [11]
Visibility:
Public [12]
- Read more about Altered Office Environments Will Likely Greet Workers Returning From Quarantine [64]
Coronavirus Should Sharpen Focus on Another Deadly Respiratory Illness — Legionnaires’ Disease [66]

Amid the coronavirus pandemic, there’s another respiratory disease to worry about. Legionnaires’, which attacks the lungs, is already the deadliest waterborne illness in the United States. And the dangerous bacteria may now be breeding in the plumbing systems of buildings shut down during the outbreak. Contributor Brett Walton asks: Is the nation prepared for a safe reopening?

SEJ Publication Types:
Features [14]
Topics on the Beat:
Air [4]
Health [28]
Journalism & Media [7]
Water & Oceans [40]
Region:
National (U.S.) [10]
International [11]
Visibility:
Public [12]
- Read more about Coronavirus Should Sharpen Focus on Another Deadly Respiratory Illness — Legionnaires’ Disease [66]
Disaster Preparedness Key Amid Pandemic [67]

Unheeded warnings are the hallmark of many disasters. And with coronavirus still hobbling the nation, communities and journalists must now watch for all the ways COVID-19 could make even the most familiar hazards far worse. Prepare with this extensive Backgrounder, which touches on issues around evacuations and emergency readiness when facing storms, fires, toxic releases and more.

SEJ Publication Types:
Backgrounders [68]
Topics on the Beat:
Air [4]
Chemicals [17]
Disasters [19]
Environmental Health [21]
Government [27]
Health [28]
Journalism & Media [7]
Laws & Regulations [29]
People & Population [33]
Planning & Growth [34]
Policy [35]
Region:
National (U.S.) [10]
California [42]
Great Lakes (IL IN MI MN OH WI) [43]
Mid-Atlantic (DC DE MD PA VA WV) [45]
Visibility:
Public [12]
- Read more about Disaster Preparedness Key Amid Pandemic [67]
While No One Was Watching — Changing Enviro Regs Under Trump [69]

Regulations that sprang from cornerstone environmental laws in place for decades are now under attack by the Trump administration, per legal experts in a recent webinar co-sponsored by the Society of Environmental Journalists and Columbia University’s Earth Institute. Get key takeaways and resources from the event from SEJ’s Dale Willman. Plus, watch the full webinar video.

SEJ Publication Types:
SEJ News [70]
Topics on the Beat:
Activism [3]
Air [4]
Chemicals [17]
Climate Change [5]
Energy & Fuel [6]
Environmental Health [21]
Environmental Politics [22]
Government [27]
Health [28]
Laws & Regulations [29]
Natural Resources [8]
Policy [35]
Pollution [9]
Science [36]
Transportation [38]
Waste [39]
Water & Oceans [40]
Region:
National (U.S.) [10]
Visibility:
Public [12]
- Read more about While No One Was Watching — Changing Enviro Regs Under Trump [69]
“Choked: Life and Breath in the Age of Air Pollution” [71]

To better grasp how COVID-19 is linked to the persistent problem of polluted air, our latest BookShelf review recommends going back to a prescient text, “Choked: Life and Breath in the Age of Air Pollution.” While the volume predates the pandemic, it makes painfully clear why, during this crisis, healthy air matters more than ever.

SEJ Publication Types:
BookShelf [72]
Topics on the Beat:
Air [4]
Disasters [19]
Health [28]
Laws & Regulations [29]
People & Population [33]
Pollution [9]
Science [36]
Region:
National (U.S.) [10]
International [11]
Asia [55]
Europe [58]
Visibility:
Public [12]
- Read more about “Choked: Life and Breath in the Age of Air Pollution” [71]
Ignoring COVID-19 Link, EPA Leaves Lax Soot Standard in Place [73]

As researchers are finding that soot and other forms of fine particulates in the air may actually make people more vulnerable to the coronavirus, the EPA decided earlier this month against tightening related standards under the Clean Air Act. The latest TipSheet explains why the decision matters, provides deeper context and offers story ideas and resources.

SEJ Publication Types:
TipSheet [65]
Topics on the Beat:
Air [4]
Disasters [19]
Environmental Health [21]
Environmental Politics [22]
Environmental Studies [23]
Government [27]
Health [28]
Journalism & Media [7]
Laws & Regulations [29]
People & Population [33]
Policy [35]
Pollution [9]
Science [36]
Transportation [38]
Region:
National (U.S.) [10]
Visibility:
Public [12]
- Read more about Ignoring COVID-19 Link, EPA Leaves Lax Soot Standard in Place [73]

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