Publication Items

Why the Silencing of Protest Matters [1]

As the Trump administration and its allies seek to stifle free speech and paint protest as domestic terrorism, Voices columnist Yessenia Funes argues that environmental journalists must heed the impact on the environmental movement we cover. Start with what happened in Standing Rock, which swept back into the news this spring. Funes explains the connection, and where we may be headed.

SEJ Publication Types:
Voices of Environmental Justice [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Activism [3]
Climate Change [4]
Energy & Fuel [5]
Environmental Health [6]
Environmental Justice [7]
Environmental Politics [8]
Government [9]
Journalism & Media [10]
Natural Resources [11]
People & Population [12]
Policy [13]
Pollution [14]
Religion, Faith and Spirituality [15]
Water & Oceans [16]
Region:
National (U.S.) [17]
Great Lakes (IL IN MI MN OH WI) [18]
Great Plains (IA KS ND NE MO SD) [19]
SE (AL AR FL GA KY LA MS NC PR SC TN) [20]
Visibility:
Public [21]
- Read more about Why the Silencing of Protest Matters [1]
Gas Prices Are Environment — and Human — Story [22]

As the Iran war effectively turns the Strait of Hormuz into a bottleneck for much of the world’s oil and natural gas, the price of gasoline in the United States has spiked, creating inflationary worries. So it’s a good time for journalists to remind their audiences of the overall environmental impacts of fossil fuels. TipSheet has more, including 10-plus story ideas and reporting resources.

SEJ Publication Types:
TipSheet [23]
Topics on the Beat:
Consumer [24]
Energy & Fuel [5]
Environmental Health [6]
Journalism & Media [10]
Military [25]
Natural Resources [11]
Transportation [26]
Region:
National (U.S.) [17]
International [27]
Middle East [28]
Visibility:
Public [21]
- Read more about Gas Prices Are Environment — and Human — Story [22]
Renewable Job Training Makes the Grade at Community Colleges [29]

Jobs are relatively plentiful in green energy fields, whether in solar, wind, geothermal, energy efficiency, storage or hydro. To get at the trend, environmental journalists can check in with area community colleges, many of which offer technical training — and local stories. TipSheet has a closer look at the phenomenon, with a dozen story ideas and reporting resources for your coverage.

SEJ Publication Types:
TipSheet [23]
Topics on the Beat:
Consumer [24]
Economy & Business [30]
Energy & Fuel [5]
Infrastructure [31]
Journalism & Media [10]
Natural Resources [11]
Planning & Growth [32]
Policy [13]
Technology [33]
Region:
National (U.S.) [17]
Visibility:
Public [21]
- Read more about Renewable Job Training Makes the Grade at Community Colleges [29]
Database Details Planetary Asset — Canada’s Forests [34]

They’re a carbon sink, a playground and a major market, but also a source of smoke pollution and pest infestation. Millions of acres of Canadian forest are a big North American story, and the latest Reporter’s Toolbox points you to a central data source that can help quantify, analyze and visualize the numbers and see the proverbial forest for the trees.

SEJ Publication Types:
Reporters Toolbox [35]
Topics on the Beat:
Agriculture [36]
Air [37]
Climate Change [4]
Economy & Business [30]
Energy & Fuel [5]
Environmental Health [6]
Environmental Politics [8]
Forests [38]
Natural Resources [11]
Policy [13]
Pollution [14]
Region:
National (U.S.) [17]
International [27]
Canada [39]
Visibility:
Public [21]
- Read more about Database Details Planetary Asset — Canada’s Forests [34]
ANWR Well Is Deep and Dark — But Is It Dry? [40]

Journalists love a secret. And WatchDog Opinion delves into a whopper on the environment beat — the hidden data surrounding a singular test well drilled in one of the most contested ecosystems in the United States. Now that the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge has been reopened for oil leasing by the Trump administration, do the findings even matter? More on the saga.

SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog [41]
Topics on the Beat:
Energy & Fuel [5]
Environmental Health [6]
Environmental Politics [8]
Government [9]
Laws & Regulations [42]
Natural Resources [11]
Policy [13]
Region:
National (U.S.) [17]
Alaska and Hawaii [43]
Visibility:
Public [21]
- Read more about ANWR Well Is Deep and Dark — But Is It Dry? [40]
Geothermal a Valuable, But Overlooked Clean Energy Source? [44]

More heat pumps than ever are going into homes and businesses in the United States these days. But they are just one small-scale use of geothermal energy, a promising utility-scale technology that is growing worldwide — and with a minimal carbon footprint to boot. But there are drawbacks as well. The new Issue Backgrounder explains how it all works.

SEJ Publication Types:
Backgrounders [45]
Topics on the Beat:
Climate Change [4]
Energy & Fuel [5]
Natural Resources [11]
Technology [33]
Region:
National (U.S.) [17]
California [46]
International [27]
Asia [47]
Australia & Oceania [48]
Europe [49]
Middle East [28]
Visibility:
Public [21]
- Read more about Geothermal a Valuable, But Overlooked Clean Energy Source? [44]
Top Environment and Energy Topics To Watch in 2026 [50]

Explore our 10th annual Journalists’ Guide to Environment + Energy, as we scour the beat to identify 15 top stories to put on your radar for 2026. Our updated format for the special report provides a quick read and a broad scope — with insights on climate change and environmental justice, bird and insect declines, data centers and deep sea mining, deregulation and PFAS and much more. Get started here [50].

SEJ Publication Types:
SEJ News [51]
Topics on the Beat:
Activism [3]
Agriculture [36]
Air [37]
Biodiversity [52]
Chemicals [53]
Climate Change [4]
Disasters [54]
Economy & Business [30]
Energy & Fuel [5]
Environmental Health [6]
Environmental Justice [7]
Environmental Politics [8]
Environmental Studies [55]
Fish & Fisheries [56]
Forests [38]
Government [9]
Health [57]
Infrastructure [31]
Journalism & Media [10]
Laws & Regulations [42]
Military [25]
Natural Resources [11]
Policy [13]
Pollution [14]
Science [58]
Technology [33]
Waste [59]
Water & Oceans [16]
Wildlife [60]
Region:
National (U.S.) [17]
Alaska and Hawaii [43]
California [46]
Great Lakes (IL IN MI MN OH WI) [18]
Great Plains (IA KS ND NE MO SD) [19]
Mid-Atlantic (DC DE MD PA VA WV) [61]
Mountain West (CO ID MT NV UT WY) [62]
Northeast (CT MA ME NH NJ NY RI VT) [63]
Northwest (OR WA) [64]
SE (AL AR FL GA KY LA MS NC PR SC TN) [20]
Southwest (AZ NM OK TX) [65]
International [27]
Visibility:
Public [21]
- Read more about Top Environment and Energy Topics To Watch in 2026 [50]
Orphans and Zombies — Reporting on Abandoned Oil and Gas Wells Across the Country [66]

For more than a century, oil and gas companies have been drilling — and abandoning — wells across the country, leaving hundreds of thousands to potentially leak pollutants into the air, water and soil. Climate and environment reporter Martha Pskowski looks at how funding and regulatory issues are impacting efforts to identify and plug these wells, and offers resources for drilling into their story.

SEJ Publication Types:
Features [67]
Topics on the Beat:
Agriculture [36]
Air [37]
Climate Change [4]
Economy & Business [30]
Energy & Fuel [5]
Environmental Health [6]
Government [9]
Health [57]
Journalism & Media [10]
Laws & Regulations [42]
Natural Resources [11]
Policy [13]
Pollution [14]
Technology [33]
Water & Oceans [16]
Wildlife [60]
Region:
National (U.S.) [17]
Great Lakes (IL IN MI MN OH WI) [18]
Great Plains (IA KS ND NE MO SD) [19]
Mid-Atlantic (DC DE MD PA VA WV) [61]
Mountain West (CO ID MT NV UT WY) [62]
Southwest (AZ NM OK TX) [65]
Visibility:
Public [21]
- Read more about Orphans and Zombies — Reporting on Abandoned Oil and Gas Wells Across the Country [66]
Data Centers — A Local Drain on Power and Water, Coming to a Community Near You [68]

Thousands of energy-hungry, water-gulping data centers are helping fuel the artificial intelligence boom in the United States (and elsewhere). The latest TipSheet takes a closer look at this escalating phenomenon and encourages environmental journalists to look into how it may be playing out in their communities. Ten story ideas and reporting resources to cover data centers’ local impact.

SEJ Publication Types:
TipSheet [23]
Topics on the Beat:
Energy & Fuel [5]
Infrastructure [31]
Journalism & Media [10]
Planning & Growth [32]
Policy [13]
Pollution [14]
Water & Oceans [16]
Region:
National (U.S.) [17]
International [27]
Visibility:
Public [21]
- Read more about Data Centers — A Local Drain on Power and Water, Coming to a Community Near You [68]
Tapping Into COP30 To Cover Indigenous Issues [69]

COP30 negotiators from around the world gather next week in Belém, Brazil, at the mouth of the Amazon River. Our Voices of Environmental Justice columnist Yessenia Funes says it’s a vital opportunity to engage with the Indigenous peoples who help protect the vast rainforest region — even for environmental reporters not there in person. Here’s how to tell their stories.

SEJ Publication Types:
Voices of Environmental Justice [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Agriculture [36]
Biodiversity [52]
Climate Change [4]
Economy & Business [30]
Energy & Fuel [5]
Environmental Health [6]
Environmental Justice [7]
Environmental Politics [8]
Forests [38]
Government [9]
Journalism & Media [10]
Natural Resources [11]
People & Population [12]
Planning & Growth [32]
Policy [13]
Pollution [14]
Water & Oceans [16]
Region:
International [27]
South America [70]
Visibility:
Public [21]
- Read more about Tapping Into COP30 To Cover Indigenous Issues [69]

Pages