Publication Items

Covering Food Systems — The Next Climate Action Battleground [1]

Freelance food systems reporter Thin Lei Win believes that if the world doesn’t change the way it produces, processes, transports, consumes and discards food, climate change will worsen and hunger levels will spike. But she also worries that powerful interests want to keep the status quo and cites parallels with the tobacco and fossil fuel industries. More in Freelance Files, including places for freelancers to pitch climate-food stories.

SEJ Publication Types:
Freelance Files [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Agriculture [3]
Climate Change [4]
Consumer [5]
Economy & Business [6]
Energy & Fuel [7]
Food [8]
Journalism & Media [9]
People & Population [10]
Policy [11]
Pollution [12]
Region:
National (U.S.) [13]
International [14]
Visibility:
Public [15]
- Read more about Covering Food Systems — The Next Climate Action Battleground [1]
Do Home Buyers Have a Right to Flood Risk Disclosure? [16]

In the second of a two-parter for our 2024 Journalists’ Guide to Environment + Energy [17], the latest TipSheet considers how local environmental journalists can make news out of the state-by-state patchwork of flood risk disclosure laws amid rising climate extremes. A dozen-and-a-half story ideas and reporting resources on the topic. Plus, see part one [18] on climate and insurance.

SEJ Publication Types:
TipSheet [19]
Topics on the Beat:
Climate Change [4]
Consumer [5]
Disasters [20]
Government [21]
Infrastructure [22]
Journalism & Media [9]
Laws & Regulations [23]
Planning & Growth [24]
Policy [11]
Water & Oceans [25]
Region:
National (U.S.) [13]
Visibility:
Public [15]
- Read more about Do Home Buyers Have a Right to Flood Risk Disclosure? [16]
Electric Vehicles Will Be Burning Rubber in 2024 [26]

As global sales of electric vehicles surge, the positive impact on climate change emissions could be a critical benefit. But as our Backgrounder points out, it’s not as simple as that. There are challenges with politics, tax laws, mineral access, related pollution regulations and union jobs. Get an overview of the issue, in this latest entry in our expanding 2024 Journalists’ Guide to Environment + Energy.

SEJ Publication Types:
Backgrounders [27]
Topics on the Beat:
Climate Change [4]
Consumer [5]
Energy & Fuel [7]
Environmental Politics [28]
Government [21]
Journalism & Media [9]
Laws & Regulations [23]
Natural Resources [29]
Policy [11]
Pollution [12]
Science [30]
Technology [31]
Transportation [32]
Region:
National (U.S.) [13]
International [14]
Asia [33]
Europe [34]
Visibility:
Public [15]
- Read more about Electric Vehicles Will Be Burning Rubber in 2024 [26]
Home Insurance Likely To Be a 2024 Climate Story Near You [18]

In the first of a two-parter for our 2024 Journalists’ Guide to Environment & Energy, TipSheet looks at what climate-driven disasters mean for the home insurance market. Storms, floods and fire rip through communities, yet a federal insurance program falls short, lawmakers shy away from real reform and insurers grow hesitant to cover the risks, while homeowners often attempt to rebuild in the same problematic locales. Plus, see part two [16] on extreme weather and insurance.

SEJ Publication Types:
TipSheet [19]
Topics on the Beat:
Climate Change [4]
Consumer [5]
Disasters [20]
Economy & Business [6]
Environmental Politics [28]
Government [21]
Journalism & Media [9]
Laws & Regulations [23]
People & Population [10]
Planning & Growth [24]
Policy [11]
Region:
National (U.S.) [13]
California [35]
Northeast (CT MA ME NH NJ NY RI VT) [36]
SE (AL AR FL GA KY LA MS NC PR SC TN) [37]
Visibility:
Public [15]
- Read more about Home Insurance Likely To Be a 2024 Climate Story Near You [18]
Funding To Replace Lead Pipes Is Just the Start of the Story [38]

Billions of dollars in federal funding to get rid of lead pipes is only the beginning — now the pipes have to be located, removed and replaced. And the latest TipSheet says that’s a story that’s found in many U.S. communities, so is ripe for local reporting. Here’s the backstory and why it matters, along with more than a dozen story ideas and reporting resources.

SEJ Publication Types:
TipSheet [19]
Topics on the Beat:
Consumer [5]
Disasters [20]
Environmental Justice [39]
Environmental Studies [40]
Government [21]
Health [41]
Infrastructure [22]
Journalism & Media [9]
Laws & Regulations [23]
Pollution [12]
Water & Oceans [25]
Region:
National (U.S.) [13]
Great Lakes (IL IN MI MN OH WI) [42]
Visibility:
Public [15]
- Read more about Funding To Replace Lead Pipes Is Just the Start of the Story [38]
Painful Process Underway of Regulating PFAS in Drinking Water [43]

Long-growing concern over dangerous “forever” chemicals has drawn the attention of federal and state policymakers, local communities and the utilities that provide their drinking water. But little about regulating PFAS will be quick or easy, making it a major environmental and public health story for years to come. Issue Backgrounder unfolds the regulatory moves, the politics and the larger implications of PFAS policy.

SEJ Publication Types:
Backgrounders [27]
Topics on the Beat:
Chemicals [44]
Consumer [5]
Environmental Health [45]
Environmental Politics [28]
Government [21]
Health [41]
Infrastructure [22]
Journalism & Media [9]
Laws & Regulations [23]
Pollution [12]
Water & Oceans [25]
Region:
National (U.S.) [13]
Visibility:
Public [15]
- Read more about Painful Process Underway of Regulating PFAS in Drinking Water [43]
Tilling the Storytelling Fields on the Food, Ag and Environment Beat [46]

In his more than a decade at the helm of the Food & Environment Reporting Network, Samuel Fromartz was instrumental in shaping a new way of covering food, agriculture and environmental issues. As he prepares to turn over the top editor’s job to his successor, Fromartz talks about FERN’s innovative business model and the power of narrative.

SEJ Publication Types:
Features [47]
Topics on the Beat:
Agriculture [3]
Biodiversity [48]
Climate Change [4]
Consumer [5]
Economy & Business [6]
Environmental Health [45]
Environmental Justice [39]
Food [8]
Government [21]
Health [41]
Journalism & Media [9]
Pollution [12]
Waste [49]
Region:
National (U.S.) [13]
Visibility:
Public [15]
- Read more about Tilling the Storytelling Fields on the Food, Ag and Environment Beat [46]
Is EV-Driven Demand for Lithium on Collision Course With Environment Concerns? [50]

The push to replace gas-guzzling vehicles with electric-powered alternatives is hitting significant speed bumps. The existing supply of lithium for batteries can’t keep up with demand, and new mining proposals often face opposition from area residents worried about local impacts. Radio reporter David Boraks has been covering one such conflict in North Carolina. He shares his insights and reporting tips.

SEJ Publication Types:
Features [47]
Topics on the Beat:
Activism [51]
Agriculture [3]
Air [52]
Biodiversity [48]
Climate Change [4]
Consumer [5]
Economy & Business [6]
Energy & Fuel [7]
Environmental Health [45]
Environmental Politics [28]
Government [21]
Journalism & Media [9]
Laws & Regulations [23]
Natural Resources [29]
Policy [11]
Pollution [12]
Technology [31]
Transportation [32]
Water & Oceans [25]
Region:
National (U.S.) [13]
California [35]
Mountain West (CO ID MT NV UT WY) [53]
SE (AL AR FL GA KY LA MS NC PR SC TN) [37]
International [14]
Asia [33]
Visibility:
Public [15]
- Read more about Is EV-Driven Demand for Lithium on Collision Course With Environment Concerns? [50]
Bring Home Cyber Risks to Water Supply, in Wake of EPA Tightening [54]

With the federal government now requiring that states pay closer attention to cybersecurity risks in their regular audits of public drinking water systems, environmental journalists should be doing the same, suggests the latest TipSheet. Here’s how to gauge the cyber risk and to understand the current safe drinking water regulatory regime, plus story ideas and resources to bolster your local reporting.

SEJ Publication Types:
TipSheet [19]
Topics on the Beat:
Chemicals [44]
Consumer [5]
Government [21]
Health [41]
Infrastructure [22]
Journalism & Media [9]
Laws & Regulations [23]
Technology [31]
Water & Oceans [25]
Region:
National (U.S.) [13]
SE (AL AR FL GA KY LA MS NC PR SC TN) [37]
Visibility:
Public [15]
- Read more about Bring Home Cyber Risks to Water Supply, in Wake of EPA Tightening [54]
Cascadia Bioregion Rife With Energy, Environment Troubles To Report in 2023 [55]

Iconic critters like salmon, orca and wolves. Climate controversies like natural gas greenwashing and carbon auctions. And wildfire fallout like “smoke-a-geddon.” These are just some of the wide array of stories worth covering as environmental journalists scan Cascadia, the huge area encompassing Washington, Oregon and Idaho, and stretching from Alaska to Utah. This special TipSheet, part of our 2023 Journalists’ Guide to Energy & Environment, outlines top issues in the region, offering insights, resources and story angles.

SEJ Publication Types:
TipSheet [19]
Topics on the Beat:
Activism [51]
Agriculture [3]
Air [52]
Biodiversity [48]
Climate Change [4]
Consumer [5]
Disasters [20]
Diversity [56]
Economy & Business [6]
Energy & Fuel [7]
Environmental Health [45]
Environmental Justice [39]
Environmental Politics [28]
Environmental Studies [40]
Fish & Fisheries [57]
Food [8]
Forests [58]
Government [21]
Health [41]
Infrastructure [22]
Journalism & Media [9]
Laws & Regulations [23]
Natural Resources [29]
Planning & Growth [24]
Policy [11]
Pollution [12]
Transportation [32]
Waste [49]
Water & Oceans [25]
Wildlife [59]
Region:
National (U.S.) [13]
Alaska and Hawaii [60]
California [35]
Mountain West (CO ID MT NV UT WY) [53]
Northwest (OR WA) [61]
International [14]
Canada [62]
Visibility:
Public [15]
- Read more about Cascadia Bioregion Rife With Energy, Environment Troubles To Report in 2023 [55]

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