Publication Items

Boom and Bust — Two Books Explore Working-Class Communities in the Clean Energy Transition [1]

For a clean energy transition to succeed, it almost certainly will have to bring along displaced workers and communities. To help journalists understand the challenges underlying that shift, BookShelf’s Jenny Weeks reviews two volumes. The first is a new memoir of working in North Dakota’s booming Bakken oil fields, the second an earlier account of decline in a working-class community in Oregon.

SEJ Publication Types:
BookShelf [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Economy & Business [3]
Energy & Fuel [4]
Environmental Justice [5]
Environmental Politics [6]
Health [7]
People & Population [8]
Policy [9]
Region:
National (U.S.) [10]
Great Plains (IA KS ND NE MO SD) [11]
Northwest (OR WA) [12]
Visibility:
Public [13]
- Read more about Boom and Bust — Two Books Explore Working-Class Communities in the Clean Energy Transition [1]
Is Investor Activism Really Greening Corporate Policy? [14]

Corporate boardrooms are increasingly arenas in the fight over the future of energy and the environment, making it vital for journalists to understand the players, their motivations and the potential impacts on business planning. The new Issue Backgrounder explores the implications of recent news around investment policy, explaining some of its origins and deciphering the shifting scrimmage ahead.

SEJ Publication Types:
Backgrounders [15]
Topics on the Beat:
Activism [16]
Climate Change [17]
Consumer [18]
Economy & Business [3]
Energy & Fuel [4]
Environmental Politics [6]
Journalism & Media [19]
Policy [9]
Region:
National (U.S.) [10]
International [20]
Visibility:
Public [13]
- Read more about Is Investor Activism Really Greening Corporate Policy? [14]
Before You Cover That Pipeline Protest, Check the Law [21]

At least 16 states currently have critical infrastructure anti-protest laws that could sweep up journalists on the scene, reports the latest TipSheet. The laws, which more states are considering, apply to pipelines, but sometimes other facilities that impact the environment too, like powerlines, dams, port facilities and refineries. How to keep track and avoid going to jail.

SEJ Publication Types:
TipSheet [22]
Topics on the Beat:
Activism [16]
Energy & Fuel [4]
Environmental Justice [5]
Environmental Politics [6]
Government [23]
Infrastructure [24]
Journalism & Media [19]
Laws & Regulations [25]
Policy [9]
Region:
National (U.S.) [10]
Great Lakes (IL IN MI MN OH WI) [26]
Great Plains (IA KS ND NE MO SD) [11]
Mid-Atlantic (DC DE MD PA VA WV) [27]
Mountain West (CO ID MT NV UT WY) [28]
SE (AL AR FL GA KY LA MS NC PR SC TN) [29]
Southwest (AZ NM OK TX) [30]
Visibility:
Public [13]
- Read more about Before You Cover That Pipeline Protest, Check the Law [21]
Ready for Climate Change-Induced Grid Blackouts Along With Heat Waves? [31]

Climate change can mean doubling down on disasters, such as a combination of widespread power outages with the kind of extreme heat that kills. The latest TipSheet explores why such simultaneous disasters are so dangerous, where they’ve happened already, why they are increasingly likely to happen again and how to prepare to cover them in your area.

SEJ Publication Types:
TipSheet [22]
Topics on the Beat:
Climate Change [17]
Consumer [18]
Disasters [32]
Energy & Fuel [4]
Environmental Politics [6]
Health [7]
Infrastructure [24]
Journalism & Media [19]
Planning & Growth [33]
Region:
National (U.S.) [10]
California [34]
Great Lakes (IL IN MI MN OH WI) [26]
Mid-Atlantic (DC DE MD PA VA WV) [27]
Northwest (OR WA) [12]
International [20]
Europe [35]
Visibility:
Public [13]
- Read more about Ready for Climate Change-Induced Grid Blackouts Along With Heat Waves? [31]
“Routledge Handbook of Environmental Journalism” [36]

While a “Handbook of Environmental Journalism” might initially sound like a scholarly work on environmental journalism, our BookShelf reviewer finds that the volume reads more like an engaging assembly of accessible accounts on the profession from colleagues across the planet. That makes it a rich resource for working journalists ... and anyone else with a passing interest in environmental issues and how they’re covered.

SEJ Publication Types:
BookShelf [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Disasters [32]
Energy & Fuel [4]
Environmental Health [37]
Environmental Politics [6]
Forests [38]
Health [7]
Journalism & Media [19]
Nuclear Power & Radiation [39]
Waste [40]
Wildlife [41]
Region:
National (U.S.) [10]
Mountain West (CO ID MT NV UT WY) [28]
Northeast (CT MA ME NH NJ NY RI VT) [42]
Southwest (AZ NM OK TX) [30]
International [20]
Africa [43]
South America [44]
Visibility:
Public [13]
- Read more about “Routledge Handbook of Environmental Journalism” [36]
To-Do List for Climate Change Gas Methane Is Long, Challenging … and Newsy [45]

The climate change gas methane, relatively little controlled but with a global warming potential many times that of carbon dioxide, has been much in the news recently and promises to remain there. The latest Backgrounder helps environmental journalists track the problem by detailing methane’s sources — from oil and gas production, agriculture and landfills — and the politics surrounding its regulation.

SEJ Publication Types:
Backgrounders [15]
Topics on the Beat:
Agriculture [46]
Air [47]
Chemicals [48]
Climate Change [17]
Economy & Business [3]
Energy & Fuel [4]
Environmental Politics [6]
Government [23]
Journalism & Media [19]
Laws & Regulations [25]
Policy [9]
Pollution [49]
Waste [40]
Region:
National (U.S.) [10]
International [20]
Visibility:
Public [13]
- Read more about To-Do List for Climate Change Gas Methane Is Long, Challenging … and Newsy [45]
Does Climate’s Future Depend on Better Batteries? [50]

The path of our planetary climate may depend largely on our transition away from energy sources that cause global warming. And that, in turn, may rely on one thing: improved batteries. The new Backgrounder explores the future of energy storage — how batteries work, the progress the technology has made and the brutal battery competition ahead between the United States and China.

SEJ Publication Types:
Backgrounders [15]
Topics on the Beat:
Climate Change [17]
Consumer [18]
Economy & Business [3]
Energy & Fuel [4]
Environmental Politics [6]
Science [51]
Technology [52]
Transportation [53]
Region:
National (U.S.) [10]
International [20]
Asia [54]
Visibility:
Public [13]
- Read more about Does Climate’s Future Depend on Better Batteries? [50]
Flexibility in the Face of the Unexpected [55]

When a Chicago-based freelancer was just about to hit the road to report a three-part story and TV segment on the potential impacts of two proposed copper mines in the Great Lakes basin, there was a little hitch: The COVID-19 pandemic hit. The new FEJ StoryLog has the story of how Lorraine Boissoneault found the flexibility to complete her grant-supported project.

SEJ Publication Types:
FEJ StoryLog [56]
Topics on the Beat:
Energy & Fuel [4]
Environmental Health [37]
Environmental Politics [6]
Journalism & Media [19]
Natural Resources [57]
People & Population [8]
Water & Oceans [58]
Region:
National (U.S.) [10]
Great Lakes (IL IN MI MN OH WI) [26]
Visibility:
Public [13]
- Read more about Flexibility in the Face of the Unexpected [55]
Infrastructure Week All Year — But Will That Infrastructure Be Green? [59]

A much-anticipated infrastructure bill in Congress could help address the United States’ poorly rated roads, pipes and powerlines. But could the massive measure also do the heavy lifting for much-needed climate policy? The latest Backgrounder takes a deep dive into the context around climate-friendly infrastructure legislation, and looks ahead on what’s expected and how to report it.

SEJ Publication Types:
Backgrounders [15]
Topics on the Beat:
Activism [16]
Climate Change [17]
Consumer [18]
Energy & Fuel [4]
Environmental Politics [6]
Government [23]
Infrastructure [24]
Journalism & Media [19]
Laws & Regulations [25]
Planning & Growth [33]
Policy [9]
Pollution [49]
Technology [52]
Transportation [53]
Region:
National (U.S.) [10]
Visibility:
Public [13]
- Read more about Infrastructure Week All Year — But Will That Infrastructure Be Green? [59]
Biden Rollbacks of Trump Energy-Efficiency Cuts Generate Local Stories [60]

From cardigans to orange tans, the history of presidential politics around energy efficiency has been an odd one. But the story of so-called nega-watts is actually a compelling one. And with new efficiency rules being eyed by the Biden administration, it’s also time for reporters to explore the local angle to energy savings. Our latest TipSheet explains how.

SEJ Publication Types:
TipSheet [22]
Topics on the Beat:
Climate Change [17]
Consumer [18]
Energy & Fuel [4]
Environmental Politics [6]
Government [23]
Journalism & Media [19]
Laws & Regulations [25]
Policy [9]
Science [51]
Technology [52]
Region:
National (U.S.) [10]
Visibility:
Public [13]
- Read more about Biden Rollbacks of Trump Energy-Efficiency Cuts Generate Local Stories [60]

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