Publication Items

Even Without Senate, Biden Can Still Do Much To Fight Climate Change [1]

What will a Biden presidency mean for climate and environmental policy if it’s facing the prospect of a GOP-controlled Senate? Quite a bit actually. The latest Backgrounder examines a range of executive actions that the Biden White House could take on energy and the environment. Plus, a look at what’s possible through independent agencies and, yes, bipartisan legislation. But there are a lot of powerful climate actions [2] a Biden administration could take — by executive action alone [3]. Also see headlines on the topic [4] from EJ Today.

SEJ Publication Types:
Backgrounders [5]
Topics on the Beat:
Activism [6]
Air [7]
Climate Change [8]
Economy & Business [9]
Energy & Fuel [10]
Environmental Politics [11]
Government [12]
Health [13]
Journalism & Media [14]
Laws & Regulations [15]
Policy [16]
Pollution [17]
Region:
National (U.S.) [18]
International [19]
Visibility:
Public [20]
- Read more about Even Without Senate, Biden Can Still Do Much To Fight Climate Change [1]
Tracking Respiratory Health Risks From Wildfire Smoke [21]

Respiratory risks are high on the public health agenda these days amid the COVID-19 pandemic. So when Reporter’s Toolbox noticed some exemplary reporting on how West Coast wildfires were polluting the air, it took a look under the hood to see how other environmental journalists might use the same data sets for localized stories.

SEJ Publication Types:
Reporters Toolbox [22]
Topics on the Beat:
Air [7]
Climate Change [8]
Disasters [23]
Health [13]
Journalism & Media [14]
Pollution [17]
Region:
National (U.S.) [18]
California [24]
Mountain West (CO ID MT NV UT WY) [25]
Northwest (OR WA) [26]
Visibility:
Public [20]
- Read more about Tracking Respiratory Health Risks From Wildfire Smoke [21]
Letting Residents Take the Lead in ‘Polluter's Paradise’ [27]

A battery of polluting industry spewing toxic pollution and a small town of residents south of Baton Rouge unbowed by their circumstance make for the ingredients of a powerful team investigative project, newly named to the top prize in the Society of Environmental Journalists’ 2020 reporting awards. Inside Story offers a look behind “Polluter’s Paradise” in a Q&A with reporter Tristan Baurick.

SEJ Publication Types:
Inside Story [28]
Topics on the Beat:
Activism [6]
Air [7]
Chemicals [29]
Environmental Politics [11]
Health [13]
Journalism & Media [14]
People & Population [30]
Pollution [17]
Region:
National (U.S.) [18]
SE (AL AR FL GA KY LA MS NC PR SC TN) [31]
Visibility:
Public [20]
- Read more about Letting Residents Take the Lead in ‘Polluter's Paradise’ [27]
Could Dems Borrow GOP Playbook To Roll Back Trump Rules? [32]

If oddsmakers are right and the Dems sweep the White House and both houses of Congress next month, one significant outcome could be the rollback of prominent Trump administration deregulatory moves. The latest TipSheet explains how an arcane law might make such reversals possible, and then spotlights half-a-dozen potentially vulnerable Trump regulatory actions.

SEJ Publication Types:
TipSheet [33]
Topics on the Beat:
Air [7]
Chemicals [29]
Climate Change [8]
Economy & Business [9]
Energy & Fuel [10]
Environmental Politics [11]
Government [12]
Journalism & Media [14]
Laws & Regulations [15]
Policy [16]
Pollution [17]
Science [34]
Wildlife [35]
Region:
National (U.S.) [18]
Visibility:
Public [20]
- Read more about Could Dems Borrow GOP Playbook To Roll Back Trump Rules? [32]
Climate-Unfriendly Coal May Be Losing Ground in U.S., But Not Worldwide [36]

When it comes to climate change, coal’s carbon emissions mean trouble. But as Backgrounder explains, if the once-powerful coal industry is on the decline in the United States, the fuel’s still finding favor worldwide. And that’s bad news for the Paris climate accord’s hopes of gaining control of runaway warming. The story behind the “exaggerated death” of coal.

SEJ Publication Types:
Backgrounders [5]
Topics on the Beat:
Air [7]
Climate Change [8]
Consumer [37]
Energy & Fuel [10]
Environmental Politics [11]
Laws & Regulations [15]
Natural Resources [38]
Policy [16]
Pollution [17]
Region:
National (U.S.) [18]
Mid-Atlantic (DC DE MD PA VA WV) [39]
Mountain West (CO ID MT NV UT WY) [25]
SE (AL AR FL GA KY LA MS NC PR SC TN) [31]
International [19]
Asia [40]
Australia & Oceania [41]
Visibility:
Public [20]
- Read more about Climate-Unfriendly Coal May Be Losing Ground in U.S., But Not Worldwide [36]
Plant Trackers Help Mark Coal’s Decline [42]

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 [22]
Topics on the Beat:
Activism [6]
Air [7]
Climate Change [8]
Energy & Fuel [10]
Journalism & Media [14]
Natural Resources [38]
Pollution [17]
Region:
National (U.S.) [18]
International [19]
Visibility:
Public [20]
- Read more about Plant Trackers Help Mark Coal’s Decline [42]
Bringing Stories Home Under Lockdown, With Remote Video Interviews [43]

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 [44]
Topics on the Beat:
Activism [6]
Agriculture [45]
Air [7]
Biodiversity [46]
Chemicals [29]
Climate Change [8]
Consumer [37]
Disasters [23]
Economy & Business [9]
Energy & Fuel [10]
Environmental Health [47]
Environmental Politics [11]
Environmental Studies [48]
Fish & Fisheries [49]
Food [50]
Forests [51]
Government [12]
Health [13]
Journalism & Media [14]
Laws & Regulations [15]
Military [52]
Natural Resources [38]
Nuclear Power & Radiation [53]
Other or All [54]
People & Population [30]
Planning & Growth [55]
Policy [16]
Pollution [17]
Science [34]
Technology [56]
Transportation [57]
Waste [58]
Water & Oceans [59]
Region:
National (U.S.) [18]
Alaska and Hawaii [60]
California [24]
Great Lakes (IL IN MI MN OH WI) [61]
Great Plains (IA KS ND NE MO SD) [62]
Mid-Atlantic (DC DE MD PA VA WV) [39]
Mountain West (CO ID MT NV UT WY) [25]
Northeast (CT MA ME NH NJ NY RI VT) [63]
Northwest (OR WA) [26]
SE (AL AR FL GA KY LA MS NC PR SC TN) [31]
Southwest (AZ NM OK TX) [64]
International [19]
Canada [65]
Mexico [66]
Africa [67]
Antarctica & Arctic [68]
Asia [40]
Australia & Oceania [41]
Central America & the Caribbean [69]
Europe [70]
Middle East [71]
South America [72]
Visibility:
Public [20]
- Read more about Bringing Stories Home Under Lockdown, With Remote Video Interviews [43]
Building Materials Data Can Help Construct Environmental Stories [73]

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 [22]
Topics on the Beat:
Air [7]
Chemicals [29]
Consumer [37]
Disasters [23]
Environmental Health [47]
Health [13]
Journalism & Media [14]
Region:
National (U.S.) [18]
International [19]
Visibility:
Public [20]
- Read more about Building Materials Data Can Help Construct Environmental Stories [73]
Small-Market Reporter Unmasks Race Gap in Pollution Response [74]

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 [28]
Topics on the Beat:
Activism [6]
Air [7]
Chemicals [29]
Environmental Health [47]
Environmental Politics [11]
Government [12]
Health [13]
Journalism & Media [14]
People & Population [30]
Pollution [17]
Region:
National (U.S.) [18]
Great Lakes (IL IN MI MN OH WI) [61]
SE (AL AR FL GA KY LA MS NC PR SC TN) [31]
Visibility:
Public [20]
- Read more about Small-Market Reporter Unmasks Race Gap in Pollution Response [74]
Altered Office Environments Will Likely Greet Workers Returning From Quarantine [75]

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 [33]
Topics on the Beat:
Air [7]
Disasters [23]
Economy & Business [9]
Health [13]
Journalism & Media [14]
People & Population [30]
Region:
National (U.S.) [18]
International [19]
Visibility:
Public [20]
- Read more about Altered Office Environments Will Likely Greet Workers Returning From Quarantine [75]

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