Publication Items

Watching the Watchers: How Journalistic Teamwork Uncovered Years of Regulatory Failure in Texas [1]

After a massive fire at a Texas petrochemical storage facility, reporters from Public Health Watch and The Texas Tribune worked together to shed light on who was responsible for this disaster and what health threats had been hidden from the public. This behind-the-scenes report from Public Health Watch’s David Leffler and Savanna Strott looks at the challenges the team faced and how they overcame them.

SEJ Publication Types:
Features [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Air [3]
Chemicals [4]
Disasters [5]
Economy & Business [6]
Energy & Fuel [7]
Environmental Health [8]
Environmental Justice [9]
Environmental Politics [10]
Government [11]
Health [12]
Journalism & Media [13]
Laws & Regulations [14]
Pollution [15]
Region:
National (U.S.) [16]
Southwest (AZ NM OK TX) [17]
Visibility:
Public [18]
- Read more about Watching the Watchers: How Journalistic Teamwork Uncovered Years of Regulatory Failure in Texas [1]
From TV Meteorologists, More Straight Talk About Climate Change [19]

Reporters covering floods, fires and other weather-driven disasters sometimes hesitate to link these extreme events to climate change. But TV meteorologists increasingly see an opportunity — and a responsibility — to help local audiences better understand the connections. Their unique relationship with viewers makes it easier to get past partisan divisions, while innovative tools are providing new ways to communicate information.

SEJ Publication Types:
Features [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Climate Change [20]
Disasters [5]
Journalism & Media [13]
Region:
National (U.S.) [16]
California [21]
Southwest (AZ NM OK TX) [17]
Visibility:
Public [18]
- Read more about From TV Meteorologists, More Straight Talk About Climate Change [19]
Heat Warning — Expect Extreme Temps To Be Local Story This Summer [22]

Some areas of the United States are hot and getting hotter, thanks to climate change and now the coming El Niño. But some areas have little history with extreme temperatures — and those places are among the ones to watch this summer for local and regional reporting. Plus, who are the most vulnerable in your community when it comes to heat waves?

SEJ Publication Types:
TipSheet [23]
Topics on the Beat:
Climate Change [20]
Disasters [5]
Environmental Justice [9]
Health [12]
Journalism & Media [13]
People & Population [24]
Region:
National (U.S.) [16]
California [21]
Great Lakes (IL IN MI MN OH WI) [25]
Northwest (OR WA) [26]
International [27]
Visibility:
Public [18]
- Read more about Heat Warning — Expect Extreme Temps To Be Local Story This Summer [22]
On the Front Lines, When Wildfires Turn Personal [28]

Forest fires have grown increasingly dangerous in a warming climate, a subject freelance journalist Jane Braxton Little has covered extensively in recent years. But her reporting turned personal when the rampaging Dixie Fire destroyed her small California town. As she explains in the new Inside Story Q&A, the wildfire disaster gave her a perspective no reporter would wish for.

SEJ Publication Types:
Inside Story [29]
Topics on the Beat:
Climate Change [20]
Disasters [5]
Forests [30]
Journalism & Media [13]
People & Population [24]
Region:
National (U.S.) [16]
California [21]
Visibility:
Public [18]
- Read more about On the Front Lines, When Wildfires Turn Personal [28]
When Extreme Weather Amplifies Hazardous Waste Threats [31]

Toxic waste is bad enough when it’s in one spot. But it can be even more dangerous when it is made mobile by climate-induced natural disasters. The latest TipSheet looks at just a few of the problems that can arise — or have already arisen. Plus, story ideas and reporting resources to cover this issue in your locale.

SEJ Publication Types:
TipSheet [23]
Topics on the Beat:
Air [3]
Chemicals [4]
Climate Change [20]
Disasters [5]
Environmental Health [8]
Health [12]
Journalism & Media [13]
People & Population [24]
Pollution [15]
Waste [32]
Water & Oceans [33]
Region:
National (U.S.) [16]
SE (AL AR FL GA KY LA MS NC PR SC TN) [34]
Southwest (AZ NM OK TX) [17]
Visibility:
Public [18]
- Read more about When Extreme Weather Amplifies Hazardous Waste Threats [31]
Why Journalists Should Investigate the Twin Mental Health and Climate Crises [35]

The complicated interplay between climate change and trauma, poorly understood and little covered, is holding back the response by individuals and communities to the realities of the climate crisis, argues the head of a network of mental health and other organizations. Here’s what he has found when it comes to how climate-generated anguish is blocking climate solutions and what can be done about it.

SEJ Publication Types:
Features [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Activism [36]
Climate Change [20]
Disasters [5]
Environmental Health [8]
Environmental Justice [9]
Health [12]
Policy [37]
Religion, Faith and Spirituality [38]
Region:
National (U.S.) [16]
California [21]
Northwest (OR WA) [26]
SE (AL AR FL GA KY LA MS NC PR SC TN) [34]
International [27]
Canada [39]
Visibility:
Public [18]
- Read more about Why Journalists Should Investigate the Twin Mental Health and Climate Crises [35]
Coming Your Way by Rail Today — A Hazmat Rogues’ Gallery [40]

Environmental reporters can prepare for possible rail accidents involving hazardous materials — like the one that hit East Palestine, Ohio — by having a keener understanding of what hazmat may be regularly carried through their communities. The latest Reporter’s Toolbox guides you to helpful lists of dangerous substances while offering a rundown of nearly a dozen-and-a-half of the worst offenders and their risks.

SEJ Publication Types:
Reporters Toolbox [41]
Topics on the Beat:
Air [3]
Chemicals [4]
Disasters [5]
Health [12]
Journalism & Media [13]
Transportation [42]
Region:
National (U.S.) [16]
Great Lakes (IL IN MI MN OH WI) [25]
Visibility:
Public [18]
- Read more about Coming Your Way by Rail Today — A Hazmat Rogues’ Gallery [40]
Finding the Secret Rail Hazmat Routes Near You [43]

Under federal rules, states can decide whether to divulge information about hazardous materials rolling along their railways — and mostly they don’t. Not knowing where and when hazmat trains are traveling or what’s on board creates anxiety and raises the risk for those who live near the tracks. TipSheet offers resources and step-by-step instructions for investigating railway hazmat threats to your community.

SEJ Publication Types:
TipSheet [23]
Topics on the Beat:
Chemicals [4]
Disasters [5]
Economy & Business [6]
Energy & Fuel [7]
Environmental Health [8]
Government [11]
Health [12]
Infrastructure [44]
Journalism & Media [13]
Laws & Regulations [14]
Policy [37]
Pollution [15]
Transportation [42]
Region:
National (U.S.) [16]
Great Lakes (IL IN MI MN OH WI) [25]
International [27]
Canada [39]
Visibility:
Public [18]
- Read more about Finding the Secret Rail Hazmat Routes Near You [43]
Diving Deeper on the Wetlands Beat Yields Groundbreaking Coverage [45]

Two journalists covering water policy used a wide range of reporting techniques, from FOIA appeals to on-the-ground reporting, to get at the heart of how problems with wetlands and waterways in the United States are tied to climate change concerns. Inside Story spoke with Hannah Northey and Kevin Bogardus of E&E News about their award-winning beat reporting.

SEJ Publication Types:
Inside Story [29]
Topics on the Beat:
Biodiversity [46]
Climate Change [20]
Disasters [5]
Diversity [47]
Economy & Business [6]
Environmental Health [8]
Environmental Justice [9]
Environmental Politics [10]
Government [11]
Health [12]
Infrastructure [44]
Journalism & Media [13]
Laws & Regulations [14]
Policy [37]
Pollution [15]
Science [48]
Technology [49]
Water & Oceans [33]
Region:
National (U.S.) [16]
Great Lakes (IL IN MI MN OH WI) [25]
SE (AL AR FL GA KY LA MS NC PR SC TN) [34]
Visibility:
Public [18]
- Read more about Diving Deeper on the Wetlands Beat Yields Groundbreaking Coverage [45]
Hazmat Highway Routes Key to Keeping Public Safe [50]

In the wake of the train derailment and toxic spill in Ohio, now is a good time for environmental journalists to be ready for the next such accident. The latest Reporter’s Toolbox offers up a data source for another transportation risk — hazardous materials transported via highway. Plus, why rail hazmat data can be trickier to access.

SEJ Publication Types:
Reporters Toolbox [41]
Topics on the Beat:
Chemicals [4]
Disasters [5]
Environmental Politics [10]
Health [12]
Infrastructure [44]
Journalism & Media [13]
Laws & Regulations [14]
Transportation [42]
Region:
National (U.S.) [16]
Great Lakes (IL IN MI MN OH WI) [25]
Visibility:
Public [18]
- Read more about Hazmat Highway Routes Key to Keeping Public Safe [50]

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