Publication Items

‘They’re Back’ — Veteran Journalists on Braving the Specter of Trump’s Return [1]

How can environmental reporters best cover the upheavals of a second Trump administration? SEJournal commissioned a special analysis to draw on the experience of reporters who were there to chronicle the first. Contributing editor Jennifer Weeks spoke to more than half a dozen news veterans of Trump’s earlier environmental and energy policy initiatives, with insights and tips on how to handle what’s ahead.

SEJ Publication Types:
Features [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Air [3]
Chemicals [4]
Climate Change [5]
Disasters [6]
Energy & Fuel [7]
Environmental Justice [8]
Environmental Politics [9]
Government [10]
Journalism & Media [11]
Laws & Regulations [12]
Natural Resources [13]
Policy [14]
Pollution [15]
Water & Oceans [16]
Visibility:
Public [17]
- Read more about ‘They’re Back’ — Veteran Journalists on Braving the Specter of Trump’s Return [1]
Climate Risk Data Helps Decisions, Stories About Looming Disaster [18]

Environmental journalists aiming to report local or regional stories on real estate climate risk should explore an impressive bit of data journalism on the subject; Reporter’s Toolbox lauds it not just for the exemplary work, but also because the project, from The Washington Post, allows them to look up a variety of risks in their own locales.

SEJ Publication Types:
Reporters Toolbox [19]
Topics on the Beat:
Climate Change [5]
Disasters [6]
Journalism & Media [11]
Planning & Growth [20]
Region:
National (U.S.) [21]
Visibility:
Public [17]
- Read more about Climate Risk Data Helps Decisions, Stories About Looming Disaster [18]
Insurance Meltdown a Foreseeable Climate Disaster [22]

Whether fires in California or flooding in North Carolina, climate disasters are revealing a major fault line in U.S. emergency response — a serious insurance shortfall that may lead to financial catastrophe. The new Issue Backgrounder explores the risks of underinsured disasters, the limits to the national flood insurance programs and FEMA aid, and the predictable scapegoating that has created solution gridlock.

SEJ Publication Types:
Backgrounders [23]
Topics on the Beat:
Climate Change [5]
Consumer [24]
Disasters [6]
Economy & Business [25]
Government [10]
Laws & Regulations [12]
People & Population [26]
Planning & Growth [20]
Policy [14]
Water & Oceans [16]
Visibility:
Public [17]
- Read more about Insurance Meltdown a Foreseeable Climate Disaster [22]
Communities at Risk Are Climate Stories Too [27]

As environmental journalists scramble to cover dizzying changes in climate and energy policy under the new administration, columnist Yessenia Funes offers an admonition: Do not forget about those whose human rights are being targeted by Trump, and look to connect the changing planet with changes felt by threatened communities. The new Voices of Environmental Justice on exiting the echo chamber.

SEJ Publication Types:
Voices of Environmental Justice [28]
Topics on the Beat:
Activism [29]
Climate Change [5]
Disasters [6]
Environmental Justice [8]
Environmental Politics [9]
Government [10]
Health [30]
Journalism & Media [11]
People & Population [26]
Policy [14]
Region:
National (U.S.) [21]
International [31]
Visibility:
Public [17]
- Read more about Communities at Risk Are Climate Stories Too [27]
When Disasters Hit, Nursing Homes Can Be Disasters Waiting To Happen [32]

In any disaster, among the most vulnerable populations are the residents of nursing homes. Yet many communities may simply not be ready to protect them, despite a complex patchwork of state, federal and local regulatory oversight. That means environmental journalists should get on the case, reporting the risk in their locales, advises the latest TipSheet. Insights, plus a dozen story ideas and reporting resources.

SEJ Publication Types:
TipSheet [33]
Topics on the Beat:
Climate Change [5]
Disasters [6]
Environmental Justice [8]
Health [30]
Journalism & Media [11]
People & Population [26]
Region:
National (U.S.) [21]
SE (AL AR FL GA KY LA MS NC PR SC TN) [34]
Visibility:
Public [17]
- Read more about When Disasters Hit, Nursing Homes Can Be Disasters Waiting To Happen [32]
How Climate Change Complicates the Refugee Crisis [35]

The displacement of populations by climate impacts, while not a new phenomenon in human history, is worsening in the face of global warming’s extreme weather patterns. Yet the extensive international regime to aid refugees doesn’t cover those migrating due to flooding, drought, natural disasters or climate change. Backgrounder considers the implications and how nations will respond to the new realities.

SEJ Publication Types:
Backgrounders [23]
Topics on the Beat:
Climate Change [5]
Disasters [6]
Environmental Politics [9]
People & Population [26]
Policy [14]
Region:
National (U.S.) [21]
California [36]
Great Plains (IA KS ND NE MO SD) [37]
Mid-Atlantic (DC DE MD PA VA WV) [38]
SE (AL AR FL GA KY LA MS NC PR SC TN) [34]
Southwest (AZ NM OK TX) [39]
International [31]
Mexico [40]
Africa [41]
Antarctica & Arctic [42]
Asia [43]
Central America & the Caribbean [44]
Europe [45]
Middle East [46]
South America [47]
Visibility:
Public [17]
- Read more about How Climate Change Complicates the Refugee Crisis [35]
New-Look Landslide Risk Database Captures Potential Human Costs [48]

Susceptibility to landslides is more on the minds of environmental reporters, especially in the wake of Hurricane Helene, which caused hundreds of them. To get a better read on local landslide risk for local stories, Reporter’s Toolbox recommends an enhanced resource from the U.S. Geological Survey, which layers the risk data into easily readable map form.

SEJ Publication Types:
Reporters Toolbox [19]
Topics on the Beat:
Climate Change [5]
Disasters [6]
Environmental Studies [49]
Journalism & Media [11]
People & Population [26]
Science [50]
Region:
National (U.S.) [21]
Northwest (OR WA) [51]
SE (AL AR FL GA KY LA MS NC PR SC TN) [34]
Visibility:
Public [17]
- Read more about New-Look Landslide Risk Database Captures Potential Human Costs [48]
Better Communicating for the Climate [52]

What if the news, instead of inducing fear or anxiety, was rewarding for the brain? That question sparked the creation of a novel, game show–inspired approach to helping journalists unlock new ways of reporting, using healthier, more holistic communication techniques. Drawing on research from neuroscience, community psychology and journalism, “Jourpardy” offers fresh perspectives on how to avoid doom-and-gloom reporting.

SEJ Publication Types:
Features [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Climate Change [5]
Disasters [6]
Journalism & Media [11]
Science [50]
Region:
National (U.S.) [21]
International [31]
Visibility:
Public [17]
- Read more about Better Communicating for the Climate [52]
Is Climate Data at Risk From Natural Disasters? [53]

When Hurricane Helene ravaged a swath of the Southeast in September, leaving at least 230 people dead, it also temporarily took out a critical repository of climate data in Asheville, North Carolina. That got Reporter’s Toolbox thinking about the risks to some of the nation’s other important storehouses of environmental information, whether from extreme weather, hackers or politics. Here’s a shortlist.

SEJ Publication Types:
Reporters Toolbox [19]
Topics on the Beat:
Climate Change [5]
Disasters [6]
Environmental Politics [9]
Environmental Studies [49]
Government [10]
Science [50]
Region:
National (U.S.) [21]
Mountain West (CO ID MT NV UT WY) [54]
SE (AL AR FL GA KY LA MS NC PR SC TN) [34]
Visibility:
Public [17]
- Read more about Is Climate Data at Risk From Natural Disasters? [53]
Will Your Local Dam Turn Deadly in the Next Big Storm? [55]

The devastating death toll and damage from Hurricane Helene are a dire warning of the risks of extreme weather and flooding. But one notable hazard is that such flooding may overwhelm any one of the thousands of small, neglected U.S. dams. TipSheet examines the issue and offers more than a dozen story angles and reporting resources.

SEJ Publication Types:
TipSheet [33]
Topics on the Beat:
Climate Change [5]
Disasters [6]
Infrastructure [56]
Journalism & Media [11]
Laws & Regulations [12]
Water & Oceans [16]
Region:
National (U.S.) [21]
California [36]
Mid-Atlantic (DC DE MD PA VA WV) [38]
SE (AL AR FL GA KY LA MS NC PR SC TN) [34]
Visibility:
Public [17]
- Read more about Will Your Local Dam Turn Deadly in the Next Big Storm? [55]

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