Publication Items

Letting Residents Take the Lead in ‘Polluter's Paradise’ [1]

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 [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Activism [3]
Air [4]
Chemicals [5]
Environmental Politics [6]
Health [7]
Journalism & Media [8]
People & Population [9]
Pollution [10]
Region:
National (U.S.) [11]
SE (AL AR FL GA KY LA MS NC PR SC TN) [12]
Visibility:
Public [13]
- Read more about Letting Residents Take the Lead in ‘Polluter's Paradise’ [1]
Could Dems Borrow GOP Playbook To Roll Back Trump Rules? [14]

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 [15]
Topics on the Beat:
Air [4]
Chemicals [5]
Climate Change [16]
Economy & Business [17]
Energy & Fuel [18]
Environmental Politics [6]
Government [19]
Journalism & Media [8]
Laws & Regulations [20]
Policy [21]
Pollution [10]
Science [22]
Wildlife [23]
Region:
National (U.S.) [11]
Visibility:
Public [13]
- Read more about Could Dems Borrow GOP Playbook To Roll Back Trump Rules? [14]
LNG Transport Proposal Flags Worries Over Rail Hazmat [24]

A Trump administration push to allow trains to carry liquified natural gas raises larger concerns about allowing hazardous materials to be carried around the United States by rail, per the latest TipSheet. Get the latest on the LNG transport plan, along with the backstory about the risks of numerous other rail hazmat, plus story ideas and reporting resources.

SEJ Publication Types:
TipSheet [15]
Topics on the Beat:
Chemicals [5]
Disasters [25]
Energy & Fuel [18]
Laws & Regulations [20]
Transportation [26]
Region:
National (U.S.) [11]
International [27]
Canada [28]
Visibility:
Public [13]
- Read more about LNG Transport Proposal Flags Worries Over Rail Hazmat [24]
Bringing Stories Home Under Lockdown, With Remote Video Interviews [29]

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 [30]
Topics on the Beat:
Activism [3]
Agriculture [31]
Air [4]
Biodiversity [32]
Chemicals [5]
Climate Change [16]
Consumer [33]
Disasters [25]
Economy & Business [17]
Energy & Fuel [18]
Environmental Health [34]
Environmental Politics [6]
Environmental Studies [35]
Fish & Fisheries [36]
Food [37]
Forests [38]
Government [19]
Health [7]
Journalism & Media [8]
Laws & Regulations [20]
Military [39]
Natural Resources [40]
Nuclear Power & Radiation [41]
Other or All [42]
People & Population [9]
Planning & Growth [43]
Policy [21]
Pollution [10]
Science [22]
Technology [44]
Transportation [26]
Waste [45]
Water & Oceans [46]
Region:
National (U.S.) [11]
Alaska and Hawaii [47]
California [48]
Great Lakes (IL IN MI MN OH WI) [49]
Great Plains (IA KS ND NE MO SD) [50]
Mid-Atlantic (DC DE MD PA VA WV) [51]
Mountain West (CO ID MT NV UT WY) [52]
Northeast (CT MA ME NH NJ NY RI VT) [53]
Northwest (OR WA) [54]
SE (AL AR FL GA KY LA MS NC PR SC TN) [12]
Southwest (AZ NM OK TX) [55]
International [27]
Canada [28]
Mexico [56]
Africa [57]
Antarctica & Arctic [58]
Asia [59]
Australia & Oceania [60]
Central America & the Caribbean [61]
Europe [62]
Middle East [63]
South America [64]
Visibility:
Public [13]
- Read more about Bringing Stories Home Under Lockdown, With Remote Video Interviews [29]
Potentially Explosive Fertilizer Could Be Found in Your Community [65]

Ammonium nitrate, the explosive agricultural fertilizer that blew up in Lebanon this month, killing dozens and severely damaging Beirut’s center, is stored by the thousands of tons all over the United States. But regulatory blindspots and secretive information policies mean few know exactly where. Backgrounder reviews the chemical’s oversight regime — and its gaps — and has ideas for reporting from your community.

SEJ Publication Types:
Backgrounders [66]
Topics on the Beat:
Agriculture [31]
Chemicals [5]
Disasters [25]
Government [19]
Journalism & Media [8]
Laws & Regulations [20]
Region:
National (U.S.) [11]
Southwest (AZ NM OK TX) [55]
International [27]
Middle East [63]
Visibility:
Public [13]
- Read more about Potentially Explosive Fertilizer Could Be Found in Your Community [65]
Building Materials Data Can Help Construct Environmental Stories [67]

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 [68]
Topics on the Beat:
Air [4]
Chemicals [5]
Consumer [33]
Disasters [25]
Environmental Health [34]
Health [7]
Journalism & Media [8]
Region:
National (U.S.) [11]
International [27]
Visibility:
Public [13]
- Read more about Building Materials Data Can Help Construct Environmental Stories [67]
Small-Market Reporter Unmasks Race Gap in Pollution Response [69]

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 [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Activism [3]
Air [4]
Chemicals [5]
Environmental Health [34]
Environmental Politics [6]
Government [19]
Health [7]
Journalism & Media [8]
People & Population [9]
Pollution [10]
Region:
National (U.S.) [11]
Great Lakes (IL IN MI MN OH WI) [49]
SE (AL AR FL GA KY LA MS NC PR SC TN) [12]
Visibility:
Public [13]
- Read more about Small-Market Reporter Unmasks Race Gap in Pollution Response [69]
Consumption Advisories Offer Fistful of Fish Tales [70]

With fishing season underway in the United States and Canada, fish consumption advisories are also on the hook. That means potential stories for environmental journalists. The latest Reporter’s Toolbox points you to state-by-state data sources and walks you through how to best explain them to your audience. Plus, a bonus story tip.

SEJ Publication Types:
Reporters Toolbox [68]
Topics on the Beat:
Chemicals [5]
Consumer [33]
Environmental Health [34]
Fish & Fisheries [36]
Food [37]
Government [19]
Health [7]
Journalism & Media [8]
Laws & Regulations [20]
Natural Resources [40]
Pollution [10]
Water & Oceans [46]
Region:
National (U.S.) [11]
International [27]
Canada [28]
Visibility:
Public [13]
- Read more about Consumption Advisories Offer Fistful of Fish Tales [70]
Using Data Sources To Track Climate-Driven Mayhem at Superfund Sites [71]

Hazardous waste and floodwaters don’t typically mix well together. So when a Michigan dam recently burst, and flooded not just the local community, but also threatened a nearby Superfund site, it prompted Reporter’s Toolbox to look at how environmental journalists could track similar threats in their areas, especially as climate change raises the risks of similar disasters.

SEJ Publication Types:
Reporters Toolbox [68]
Topics on the Beat:
Chemicals [5]
Climate Change [16]
Disasters [25]
Government [19]
Health [7]
Journalism & Media [8]
Laws & Regulations [20]
Pollution [10]
Waste [45]
Water & Oceans [46]
Region:
National (U.S.) [11]
Great Lakes (IL IN MI MN OH WI) [49]
SE (AL AR FL GA KY LA MS NC PR SC TN) [12]
Southwest (AZ NM OK TX) [55]
International [27]
Europe [62]
Visibility:
Public [13]
- Read more about Using Data Sources To Track Climate-Driven Mayhem at Superfund Sites [71]
Disaster Preparedness Key Amid Pandemic [72]

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 [66]
Topics on the Beat:
Air [4]
Chemicals [5]
Disasters [25]
Environmental Health [34]
Government [19]
Health [7]
Journalism & Media [8]
Laws & Regulations [20]
People & Population [9]
Planning & Growth [43]
Policy [21]
Region:
National (U.S.) [11]
California [48]
Great Lakes (IL IN MI MN OH WI) [49]
Mid-Atlantic (DC DE MD PA VA WV) [51]
Visibility:
Public [13]
- Read more about Disaster Preparedness Key Amid Pandemic [72]

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