Publication Items

Spring Is Coming. How Silent Will It Be? [1]

Bird populations remain in steep decline, mostly due to human activity. But as the latest TipSheet reports, reporting on the disappearance of our avian residents can lead journalists to some bread-and-butter environmental stories: whether about local ecosystems, climate change, chemicals, land disturbance and more. Read on for more, including nearly a dozen-and-a-half story ideas and reporting resources.

SEJ Publication Types:
TipSheet [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Biodiversity [3]
Chemicals [4]
Climate Change [5]
Environmental Health [6]
Environmental Studies [7]
Health [8]
Wildlife [9]
Region:
National (U.S.) [10]
International [11]
Canada [12]
Visibility:
Public [13]
- Read more about Spring Is Coming. How Silent Will It Be? [1]
Even in This Toxic River — A Salmon Story [14]

Seattle’s heavily polluted Duwamish River is no place to catch fish — except for salmon, which pass quickly through these troubled waters on their way from the sea to their freshwater spawning grounds. With fishing pole in hand, environmental journalist Alex Brown joins jostling crowds of industrial-zone anglers and catches a firsthand view of a spectacle that is both anomalous and awe-inspiring.

SEJ Publication Types:
Features [15]
Topics on the Beat:
Biodiversity [3]
Chemicals [4]
Environmental Health [6]
Fish & Fisheries [16]
Food [17]
Pollution [18]
Water & Oceans [19]
Wildlife [9]
Region:
National (U.S.) [10]
Northwest (OR WA) [20]
Visibility:
Public [13]
- Read more about Even in This Toxic River — A Salmon Story [14]
A Town Derailed, a Trust Obtained [21]

The devastating 2023 East Palestine, Ohio, toxic train derailment left a legacy of illness and a town torn by competing understandings of the contamination’s aftereffects. A yearlong reporting initiative with photojournalist Rebecca Kiger and Time magazine writer Alejandro de la Garza worked to gain the community’s confidence and tell its story. Their prize-winning feature, in the latest Inside Story Q&A.

SEJ Publication Types:
Inside Story [22]
Topics on the Beat:
Air [23]
Chemicals [4]
Disasters [24]
Environmental Health [6]
Environmental Justice [25]
Health [8]
Journalism & Media [26]
People & Population [27]
Pollution [18]
Science [28]
Transportation [29]
Water & Oceans [19]
Region:
National (U.S.) [10]
Great Lakes (IL IN MI MN OH WI) [30]
Visibility:
Public [13]
- Read more about A Town Derailed, a Trust Obtained [21]
Top Environment and Energy Topics To Watch in 2026 [31]

Explore our 10th annual Journalists’ Guide to Environment + Energy, as we scour the beat to identify 15 top stories to put on your radar for 2026. Our updated format for the special report provides a quick read and a broad scope — with insights on climate change and environmental justice, bird and insect declines, data centers and deep sea mining, deregulation and PFAS and much more. Get started here [31].

SEJ Publication Types:
SEJ News [32]
Topics on the Beat:
Activism [33]
Agriculture [34]
Air [23]
Biodiversity [3]
Chemicals [4]
Climate Change [5]
Disasters [24]
Economy & Business [35]
Energy & Fuel [36]
Environmental Health [6]
Environmental Justice [25]
Environmental Politics [37]
Environmental Studies [7]
Fish & Fisheries [16]
Forests [38]
Government [39]
Health [8]
Infrastructure [40]
Journalism & Media [26]
Laws & Regulations [41]
Military [42]
Natural Resources [43]
Policy [44]
Pollution [18]
Science [28]
Technology [45]
Waste [46]
Water & Oceans [19]
Wildlife [9]
Region:
National (U.S.) [10]
Alaska and Hawaii [47]
California [48]
Great Lakes (IL IN MI MN OH WI) [30]
Great Plains (IA KS ND NE MO SD) [49]
Mid-Atlantic (DC DE MD PA VA WV) [50]
Mountain West (CO ID MT NV UT WY) [51]
Northeast (CT MA ME NH NJ NY RI VT) [52]
Northwest (OR WA) [20]
SE (AL AR FL GA KY LA MS NC PR SC TN) [53]
Southwest (AZ NM OK TX) [54]
International [11]
Visibility:
Public [13]
- Read more about Top Environment and Energy Topics To Watch in 2026 [31]
Drinking Water Database Opens Spigot on Local Stories [55]

Drinking water may be ubiquitous in the United States, but that doesn’t mean it’s always safe. To report the answer in your community, the latest Reporter’s Toolbox suggests exploring the Safe Drinking Water Information System, a federal government database mandated by the Safe Drinking Water Act. Here’s how to use it to identify whether your local systems meet its standards.

SEJ Publication Types:
Reporters Toolbox [56]
Topics on the Beat:
Chemicals [4]
Consumer [57]
Health [8]
Infrastructure [40]
Journalism & Media [26]
Laws & Regulations [41]
Natural Resources [43]
Pollution [18]
Water & Oceans [19]
Region:
National (U.S.) [10]
Visibility:
Public [13]
- Read more about Drinking Water Database Opens Spigot on Local Stories [55]
Toxic Fashion — A ‘Between the Lines’ Author Q&A [58]

A simple query about harmful chemicals in airline attendant uniforms started sustainable fashion writer Alden Wicker down a reporting path that uncovered a long history of toxic fashion, took her to India and ultimately inspired her award-winning book, “To Dye For.” In this BookShelf interview, Wicker talks about the challenges, the surprises and the choices made in telling this little-known story.

SEJ Publication Types:
BookShelf [59]
Topics on the Beat:
Chemicals [4]
Consumer [57]
Economy & Business [35]
Environmental Justice [25]
Health [8]
Journalism & Media [26]
Region:
National (U.S.) [10]
International [11]
Asia [60]
Visibility:
Public [13]
- Read more about Toxic Fashion — A ‘Between the Lines’ Author Q&A [58]
Crop Cover Database Seeds Local Environment Coverage [61]

Cropland can easily be found time and again at the heart of the key concerns on the environment beat, whether climate, water, chemicals or, of course, land. The latest Reporter’s Toolbox shares a high-quality, mappable database that can serve up stories on more than 100 categories of crops, with numbers drawn from satellite imagery. Plus, a pro tip on using the data smartly.

SEJ Publication Types:
Reporters Toolbox [56]
Topics on the Beat:
Agriculture [34]
Chemicals [4]
Climate Change [5]
Environmental Health [6]
Environmental Studies [7]
Food [17]
Journalism & Media [26]
Science [28]
Region:
National (U.S.) [10]
Visibility:
Public [13]
- Read more about Crop Cover Database Seeds Local Environment Coverage [61]
Climate Solutions, for Some, May Not Be [62]

A small Louisiana community, home to the descendants of formerly enslaved Black people, continues to fight for its freedom many decades later, this time from a potentially polluting technology. FEJ StoryLog contributor Yessenia Funes recounts her journey to this Cancer Alley community, where a grant from the Fund for Environmental Journalism helped her tell the story of residents challenging a multibillion-dollar carbon capture plant.

SEJ Publication Types:
FEJ StoryLog [63]
Topics on the Beat:
Activism [33]
Air [23]
Chemicals [4]
Climate Change [5]
Economy & Business [35]
Energy & Fuel [36]
Environmental Health [6]
Environmental Justice [25]
Environmental Politics [37]
Journalism & Media [26]
People & Population [27]
Planning & Growth [64]
Policy [44]
Pollution [18]
Science [28]
Technology [45]
Region:
National (U.S.) [10]
SE (AL AR FL GA KY LA MS NC PR SC TN) [53]
Visibility:
Public [13]
- Read more about Climate Solutions, for Some, May Not Be [62]
The Dark Side of ‘Bothsidesism’ [65]

Journalistic values — whether code of ethics-style values like truth, context and fairness, or news-style values like impact, novelty and human interest — are nothing to be shy about and can make for great journalism. But some values can be distorted and drag journalism down a dead end, argues the new WatchDog Opinion. Two environmental cases where false balance does damage.

SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog [66]
Topics on the Beat:
Chemicals [4]
Climate Change [5]
Environmental Politics [37]
Journalism & Media [26]
Region:
National (U.S.) [10]
International [11]
Visibility:
Public [13]
- Read more about The Dark Side of ‘Bothsidesism’ [65]
‘People Will Die’ — Stories Behind Trump Budget Bill [67]

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.

SEJ Publication Types:
Voices of Environmental Justice [68]
Topics on the Beat:
Activism [33]
Air [23]
Chemicals [4]
Climate Change [5]
Energy & Fuel [36]
Environmental Health [6]
Environmental Justice [25]
Environmental Politics [37]
Government [39]
Health [8]
Infrastructure [40]
Journalism & Media [26]
Laws & Regulations [41]
People & Population [27]
Policy [44]
Pollution [18]
Waste [46]
Water & Oceans [19]
Region:
National (U.S.) [10]
Alaska and Hawaii [47]
SE (AL AR FL GA KY LA MS NC PR SC TN) [53]
Visibility:
Public [13]
- Read more about ‘People Will Die’ — Stories Behind Trump Budget Bill [67]

Pages