Publication Items

Road Salt Spreading a Slippery Slope to Water Pollution [1]

With wintry conditions still present in much of the country, there’s an important local story for environmental reporters to chase. No, not climate change this time. It’s salt. Road salt can end up in bodies of water, damaging the environment and risking human health. TipSheet offers a dash of background and a good dose of questions to ask, plus story ideas and resources to flavor your reporting with.

SEJ Publication Types:
TipSheet [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Chemicals [3]
Environmental Health [4]
Health [5]
Journalism & Media [6]
Laws & Regulations [7]
Pollution [8]
Transportation [9]
Water & Oceans [10]
Region:
National (U.S.) [11]
Visibility:
Public [12]
- Read more about Road Salt Spreading a Slippery Slope to Water Pollution [1]
Epic Struggles Ahead in 2023 on Energy Transition, Pollution [13]

In our annual analysis of what’s ahead on the environment beat in 2023, there are some things to count on: worsening climate disasters and continued politicking over energy transitions, but also regulatory action on greenhouse gas emissions (not to mention on “forever chemicals”). Other things are less clear: environmental rulings by a conservative U.S. Supreme Court, energy impacts of war in Europe and the effectiveness of COP28 and treaty talks on plastic pollution. Read the full overview and get more in our “2023 Journalists’ Guide to Energy & Environment [14]” special report.

SEJ Publication Types:
Special Reports [15]
Topics on the Beat:
Activism [16]
Agriculture [17]
Air [18]
Biodiversity [19]
Chemicals [3]
Climate Change [20]
Disasters [21]
Economy & Business [22]
Energy & Fuel [23]
Environmental Justice [24]
Environmental Politics [25]
Fish & Fisheries [26]
Government [27]
Health [5]
Infrastructure [28]
Journalism & Media [6]
Laws & Regulations [7]
Military [29]
Natural Resources [30]
Planning & Growth [31]
Policy [32]
Pollution [8]
Science [33]
Waste [34]
Water & Oceans [10]
Region:
National (U.S.) [11]
International [35]
Europe [36]
Middle East [37]
Visibility:
Public [12]
- Read more about Epic Struggles Ahead in 2023 on Energy Transition, Pollution [13]
Exploring the Impacts of Hydroelectric Megaprojects on Indigenous Lands [38]

Nearly two-thirds of the world’s rivers are impeded by dams and we keep building them in our quest for cleaner and greener sources of electricity. But as podcast producer Farha Akhtar learned while producing a recent episode, these monumental structures are having a profound impact on our planet and catastrophic consequences for many Indigenous people.

SEJ Publication Types:
Features [39]
Topics on the Beat:
Activism [16]
Biodiversity [19]
Chemicals [3]
Climate Change [20]
Consumer [40]
Diversity [41]
Economy & Business [22]
Energy & Fuel [23]
Environmental Health [4]
Environmental Justice [24]
Environmental Politics [25]
Fish & Fisheries [26]
Food [42]
Government [27]
Health [5]
Infrastructure [28]
Journalism & Media [6]
Natural Resources [30]
Pollution [8]
Religion, Faith and Spirituality [43]
Science [33]
Technology [44]
Water & Oceans [10]
Wildlife [45]
Region:
National (U.S.) [11]
International [35]
Canada [46]
Asia [47]
Visibility:
Public [12]
- Read more about Exploring the Impacts of Hydroelectric Megaprojects on Indigenous Lands [38]
Winning Over Editors and Others with Award Winners’ Multimedia Nuggets [48]

If you’re looking to engage key constituencies for your journalism — whether editors, sources, students or people who have been marginalized — a new set of short videos from award-winning journalists (like KESQ's Angela Chen, at left) can serve as a helpful resource. Inside Story has a roadmap of how to make smart use of these video nuggets to, for instance, convince newsroom powerbrokers to give you more time and support for ambitious stories.

SEJ Publication Types:
Inside Story [49]
Topics on the Beat:
Agriculture [17]
Air [18]
Biodiversity [19]
Chemicals [3]
Climate Change [20]
Diversity [41]
Environmental Health [4]
Environmental Justice [24]
Environmental Politics [25]
Government [27]
Health [5]
Journalism & Media [6]
Natural Resources [30]
Policy [32]
Pollution [8]
Science [33]
Water & Oceans [10]
Wildlife [45]
Region:
National (U.S.) [11]
California [50]
Northwest (OR WA) [51]
SE (AL AR FL GA KY LA MS NC PR SC TN) [52]
International [35]
Visibility:
Public [12]
- Read more about Winning Over Editors and Others with Award Winners’ Multimedia Nuggets [48]
EPA Texts Disappear, Suspicions of Misdeeds Do Not [53]

A scandal at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency over regulatory capture of some toxic chemical officials has surfaced another serious issue — the EPA says it can’t provide related phone text messages. But it’s required to do so by law. And for environmental journalists, access to such records is key to holding the agency to account, argues WatchDog Opinion.

SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog [54]
Topics on the Beat:
Activism [16]
Chemicals [3]
Environmental Politics [25]
Government [27]
Journalism & Media [6]
Laws & Regulations [7]
Policy [32]
Region:
National (U.S.) [11]
Visibility:
Public [12]
- Read more about EPA Texts Disappear, Suspicions of Misdeeds Do Not [53]
EPA To Propose Plan Soon for First PFAS Drinking Water Rule [55]

Plans are nearing for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to regulate PFAS in drinking water — and the complexity around the effort will challenge environmental journalism. In the mix are questions of environmental persistence and health risks, plus thorny politics. Our Issue Backgrounder has guidance on these and more as PFAS regulation hits this critical juncture.

SEJ Publication Types:
Backgrounders [56]
Topics on the Beat:
Chemicals [3]
Consumer [40]
Economy & Business [22]
Environmental Health [4]
Environmental Politics [25]
Government [27]
Health [5]
Journalism & Media [6]
Laws & Regulations [7]
Policy [32]
Pollution [8]
Science [33]
Water & Oceans [10]
Region:
National (U.S.) [11]
Northeast (CT MA ME NH NJ NY RI VT) [57]
Visibility:
Public [12]
- Read more about EPA To Propose Plan Soon for First PFAS Drinking Water Rule [55]
Sleuths Tap Obscure Toxics Database To ID Loophole on PFAS [58]

Data specialists working with two databases, one familiar and one little-known, have uncovered how companies may be able to hide releases of the family of toxic PFAS chemicals. The latest Reporter’s Toolbox details the data revelation and explores how journalists may make use of the Chemical Data Reporting service’s datasets for their own stories.

SEJ Publication Types:
Reporters Toolbox [59]
Topics on the Beat:
Activism [16]
Chemicals [3]
Economy & Business [22]
Environmental Health [4]
Environmental Politics [25]
Government [27]
Health [5]
Journalism & Media [6]
Laws & Regulations [7]
Pollution [8]
Region:
National (U.S.) [11]
Visibility:
Public [12]
- Read more about Sleuths Tap Obscure Toxics Database To ID Loophole on PFAS [58]
On the Persistence of Ocean Plastics [60]

Concerns about seaborne plastic waste go back decades, but science writer Juli Berwald suggests that myths and disinformation about sources and solutions continue to cloud the waters. From lentil-sized nurdles to sprawling fishing nets, 200 million tons of plastic now fill the ocean and, for her, it has become evident that the ocean plastics story is really a land story. But will the newly signed international treaty on plastics offer relief?

SEJ Publication Types:
Features [39]
Topics on the Beat:
Activism [16]
Biodiversity [19]
Chemicals [3]
Climate Change [20]
Consumer [40]
Economy & Business [22]
Energy & Fuel [23]
Environmental Health [4]
Environmental Studies [61]
Fish & Fisheries [26]
Government [27]
Infrastructure [28]
Journalism & Media [6]
Laws & Regulations [7]
Natural Resources [30]
Policy [32]
Pollution [8]
Science [33]
Technology [44]
Waste [34]
Water & Oceans [10]
Wildlife [45]
Region:
National (U.S.) [11]
Alaska and Hawaii [62]
California [50]
Northeast (CT MA ME NH NJ NY RI VT) [57]
Northwest (OR WA) [51]
SE (AL AR FL GA KY LA MS NC PR SC TN) [52]
Southwest (AZ NM OK TX) [63]
International [35]
Mexico [64]
Africa [65]
Asia [47]
Europe [36]
Visibility:
Public [12]
- Read more about On the Persistence of Ocean Plastics [60]
Air Conditioner HFCs Are on the Way Out — The Kigali Amendment Explained [66]

For the first time in years, the United States has ratified a climate change-related treaty — one that phases out HFCs, the greenhouse gas widely used as a refrigerant. That leaves environmental reporters to report how the change will affect everyday objects like ACs, refrigerators and cars. TipSheet has the backstory on the Kigali Amendment, along with story ideas and reporting resources.

SEJ Publication Types:
TipSheet [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Chemicals [3]
Climate Change [20]
Economy & Business [22]
Environmental Politics [25]
Government [27]
Journalism & Media [6]
Laws & Regulations [7]
Policy [32]
Pollution [8]
Technology [44]
Region:
National (U.S.) [11]
International [35]
Visibility:
Public [12]
- Read more about Air Conditioner HFCs Are on the Way Out — The Kigali Amendment Explained [66]
Methane, a Key Global Warming Source, Is Targeted by Nations [67]

Carbon dioxide may get more attention, but the second-most damaging greenhouse gas, methane, is now the focus of a global pledge to cut emissions 30% by 2030. As part of a Society of Environmental Journalists publishing project focused on covering climate solutions, we take a closer look at methane with energy reporter Nushin Huq. A primer on the climate-related problems of methane and the promise of methane-based solutions. Plus, watch a recent SEJ methane solutions webinar [68] and see our Methane and Climate Change Toolbox [69].

SEJ Publication Types:
Special Reports [15]
Topics on the Beat:
Chemicals [3]
Climate Change [20]
Energy & Fuel [23]
Environmental Health [4]
Environmental Politics [25]
Environmental Studies [61]
Government [27]
Journalism & Media [6]
Natural Resources [30]
Policy [32]
Pollution [8]
Region:
National (U.S.) [11]
Alaska and Hawaii [62]
Great Plains (IA KS ND NE MO SD) [70]
Mountain West (CO ID MT NV UT WY) [71]
SE (AL AR FL GA KY LA MS NC PR SC TN) [52]
Southwest (AZ NM OK TX) [63]
International [35]
Visibility:
Public [12]
- Read more about Methane, a Key Global Warming Source, Is Targeted by Nations [67]

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