Publication Items

Biden Administration To Struggle With Environmental Justice in 2022 [1]

The history of environmental racism is a long one in the United States, far longer than the efforts to address the problem. But reporting on environmental justice continues to tick upwards, and an analysis in the latest Backgrounder points to promising progress, explaining why for journalists the year ahead may yield important stories, whether about future footholds or new missteps.

SEJ Publication Types:
Backgrounders [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Activism [3]
Air [4]
Climate Change [5]
Diversity [6]
Environmental Justice [7]
Environmental Politics [8]
Government [9]
Health [10]
Infrastructure [11]
Journalism & Media [12]
Laws & Regulations [13]
People & Population [14]
Planning & Growth [15]
Policy [16]
Pollution [17]
Waste [18]
Water & Oceans [19]
Region:
National (U.S.) [20]
Great Lakes (IL IN MI MN OH WI) [21]
Great Plains (IA KS ND NE MO SD) [22]
Mountain West (CO ID MT NV UT WY) [23]
Northeast (CT MA ME NH NJ NY RI VT) [24]
SE (AL AR FL GA KY LA MS NC PR SC TN) [25]
Southwest (AZ NM OK TX) [26]
Visibility:
Public [27]
- Read more about Biden Administration To Struggle With Environmental Justice in 2022 [1]
Mapping Toxic U.S. Hotspots Down to the Neighborhood Level [28]

A new project on toxic risks has yielded a tool making it far easier to use data from the Toxics Release Inventory to report on hotspots. Reporter’s Toolbox offers a guide to ProPublica’s impressive “Sacrifice Zones” special report, which maps cancer-causing industrial air pollution. Plus, join an in-depth virtual tutorial [29] on the ProPublica tool co-sponsored by the Society of Environmental Journalists.

SEJ Publication Types:
Reporters Toolbox [30]
Topics on the Beat:
Air [4]
Chemicals [31]
Environmental Justice [7]
Government [9]
Health [10]
Journalism & Media [12]
Laws & Regulations [13]
People & Population [14]
Pollution [17]
Region:
National (U.S.) [20]
Visibility:
Public [27]
- Read more about Mapping Toxic U.S. Hotspots Down to the Neighborhood Level [28]
Will 2022 See the Start of Formal Negotiations Toward a Global Plastics Treaty? [32]

Plastic waste, already the subject of preliminary international talks, could be increasingly targeted after UN meetings in early 2022. Meanwhile, this ubiquitous product is polluting land, ocean and air in its various forms, as well as through little-understood microplastic particles. The latest TipSheet has the backstory on efforts to forge an international plastics treaty, as well as ideas for how to cover plastic pollution locally.

SEJ Publication Types:
TipSheet [33]
Topics on the Beat:
Activism [3]
Air [4]
Chemicals [31]
Climate Change [5]
Consumer [34]
Economy & Business [35]
Environmental Health [36]
Environmental Politics [8]
Fish & Fisheries [37]
Food [38]
Government [9]
Health [10]
Journalism & Media [12]
Policy [16]
Pollution [17]
Waste [18]
Water & Oceans [19]
Wildlife [39]
Region:
National (U.S.) [20]
International [40]
Visibility:
Public [27]
- Read more about Will 2022 See the Start of Formal Negotiations Toward a Global Plastics Treaty? [32]
Two Communities, Two Hazards and the Two Award-Winners Reporting Them [41]

Two outstanding features — one on air pollution from a local coke plant in Pennsylvania, another on deaths from a shellfish toxin in Alaska, and both focused on public health, neglected communities and environmental justice — are the subject of the new Inside Story Q&A. Society of Environmental Journalists’ award-winners Nancy Averett and Zoya Teirstein share their reporting insights and advice.

SEJ Publication Types:
Inside Story [42]
Topics on the Beat:
Air [4]
Climate Change [5]
Diversity [6]
Energy & Fuel [43]
Environmental Health [36]
Environmental Justice [7]
Environmental Studies [44]
Fish & Fisheries [37]
Food [38]
Health [10]
Journalism & Media [12]
People & Population [14]
Pollution [17]
Science [45]
Water & Oceans [19]
Region:
National (U.S.) [20]
Alaska and Hawaii [46]
Mid-Atlantic (DC DE MD PA VA WV) [47]
Visibility:
Public [27]
- Read more about Two Communities, Two Hazards and the Two Award-Winners Reporting Them [41]
The 9/11 Legacy — Fear Drew Curtain Over Environmental Information [48]

Twenty years after the attacks on 9/11, the war on terror has left many risks in the built environment under a cloak of secrecy. For WatchDog Opinion, keeping vital information about such preventable hazards under wraps from the public and journalists is not just wrong, but bad policy. Here’s why. Plus, a rundown for environment reporters of where exactly this secrecy reigns.

SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog [49]
Topics on the Beat:
Activism [3]
Agriculture [50]
Air [4]
Chemicals [31]
Disasters [51]
Economy & Business [35]
Energy & Fuel [43]
Environmental Politics [8]
Food [38]
Government [9]
Health [10]
Infrastructure [11]
Journalism & Media [12]
Laws & Regulations [13]
Nuclear Power & Radiation [52]
People & Population [14]
Policy [16]
Transportation [53]
Waste [18]
Water & Oceans [19]
Region:
National (U.S.) [20]
California [54]
Southwest (AZ NM OK TX) [26]
International [40]
Africa [55]
Asia [56]
Visibility:
Public [27]
- Read more about The 9/11 Legacy — Fear Drew Curtain Over Environmental Information [48]
Air Quality Monitors — and Their Data — Now Easy To Find Via Online Map [57]

High-impact environmental stories often come by tracking polluted air, whether from summer smog, wildfire smoke or numerous other sources. Reporter’s Toolbox offers a series of air pollution data reporting resources, including an interactive map of U.S. air quality monitors. Get the details, plus eight smart suggestions for critical stories from the air pollution data you tap.

SEJ Publication Types:
Reporters Toolbox [30]
Topics on the Beat:
Agriculture [50]
Air [4]
Chemicals [31]
Government [9]
Health [10]
Journalism & Media [12]
Pollution [17]
Region:
National (U.S.) [20]
Visibility:
Public [27]
- Read more about Air Quality Monitors — and Their Data — Now Easy To Find Via Online Map [57]
To-Do List for Climate Change Gas Methane Is Long, Challenging … and Newsy [58]

The climate change gas methane, relatively little controlled but with a global warming potential many times that of carbon dioxide, has been much in the news recently and promises to remain there. The latest Backgrounder helps environmental journalists track the problem by detailing methane’s sources — from oil and gas production, agriculture and landfills — and the politics surrounding its regulation.

SEJ Publication Types:
Backgrounders [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Agriculture [50]
Air [4]
Chemicals [31]
Climate Change [5]
Economy & Business [35]
Energy & Fuel [43]
Environmental Politics [8]
Government [9]
Journalism & Media [12]
Laws & Regulations [13]
Policy [16]
Pollution [17]
Waste [18]
Region:
National (U.S.) [20]
International [40]
Visibility:
Public [27]
- Read more about To-Do List for Climate Change Gas Methane Is Long, Challenging … and Newsy [58]
Reporting on Poor, Kids Sickened by Industrial Air Pollution [59]

Pittsburgh is known for its history of steel production … and of air pollution. In the new Inside Story, reporter Kristina Marusic talks about capturing the health impacts of air emissions in western Pennsylvania, and shares insights on how dogged environmental justice reporting can make the links between pollution cuts and health impacts. Plus, tips on managing a long reporting project, creating infographics and using video.

SEJ Publication Types:
Inside Story [42]
Topics on the Beat:
Air [4]
Environmental Health [36]
Health [10]
Journalism & Media [12]
People & Population [14]
Pollution [17]
Region:
National (U.S.) [20]
Mid-Atlantic (DC DE MD PA VA WV) [47]
Visibility:
Public [27]
- Read more about Reporting on Poor, Kids Sickened by Industrial Air Pollution [59]
CAMEO Software Can Help Journalists Cover Chemical Disasters [60]

When a local hazmat emergency erupts, will you be ready to safely cover it? A well-proven government software suite with a series of power tools will help, and the latest Reporter’s Toolbox guides you through it so you can get ahead of the emergency. Read on to get familiar with CAMEO.

SEJ Publication Types:
Reporters Toolbox [30]
Topics on the Beat:
Air [4]
Chemicals [31]
Disasters [51]
Health [10]
Journalism & Media [12]
Region:
National (U.S.) [20]
Visibility:
Public [27]
- Read more about CAMEO Software Can Help Journalists Cover Chemical Disasters [60]
Super-Heated Year Ahead on Energy & Environment News [61]

The Biden administration has moved rapidly to reset energy and environment policies dramatically shifted by the Trump White House. But how quickly can such a reversal occur, what are the priorities and what are the critical pathways for change? To help sort out the latest news and track larger trends, SEJournal offers this overview and analysis, part of our extensive “2021 Journalists’ Guide to Energy & Environment [62].”

SEJ Publication Types:
Features [63]
Topics on the Beat:
Agriculture [50]
Air [4]
Biodiversity [64]
Chemicals [31]
Climate Change [5]
Consumer [34]
Disasters [51]
Economy & Business [35]
Energy & Fuel [43]
Environmental Politics [8]
Government [9]
Health [10]
Journalism & Media [12]
Laws & Regulations [13]
Planning & Growth [15]
Policy [16]
Pollution [17]
Science [45]
Transportation [53]
Waste [18]
Water & Oceans [19]
Wildlife [39]
Region:
National (U.S.) [20]
International [40]
Visibility:
Public [27]
- Read more about Super-Heated Year Ahead on Energy & Environment News [61]

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