Publication Items

Battle Builds Over Science Integrity in Environmental Policy [1]

Purges of EPA science panels by Administrator Scott Pruitt are just one among many moves in an ongoing dispute over the integrity of the environmental sciences in government policymaking. The latest Issue Backgrounder takes a deep dive with a briefing on five likely battles ahead for the coming year.

SEJ Publication Types:
Backgrounders [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Agriculture [3]
Air [4]
Chemicals [5]
Climate Change [6]
Energy & Fuel [7]
Environmental Politics [8]
Environmental Studies [9]
Government [10]
Health [11]
Laws & Regulations [12]
Policy [13]
Pollution [14]
Science [15]
Technology [16]
Region:
National (U.S.) [17]
Visibility:
Public [18]
- Read more about Battle Builds Over Science Integrity in Environmental Policy [1]
For Pruitt EPA, There Is No Bad News on Ozone Pollution [19]

Trying to figure out the air quality in your coverage area? The EPA may not be much help. But this week's TipSheet suggests some effective work-arounds for your reporting. Get the backstory on ozone standards, tips on how to track ozone "nonattainment" for your area and learn why smog matters so much to public health.

SEJ Publication Types:
TipSheet [20]
Topics on the Beat:
Air [4]
Chemicals [5]
Energy & Fuel [7]
Environmental Politics [8]
Government [10]
Health [11]
Journalism & Media [21]
Laws & Regulations [12]
Policy [13]
Pollution [14]
Region:
National (U.S.) [17]
California [22]
Great Plains (IA KS ND NE MO SD) [23]
Mid-Atlantic (DC DE MD PA VA WV) [24]
Northeast (CT MA ME NH NJ NY RI VT) [25]
Southwest (AZ NM OK TX) [26]
Visibility:
Public [18]
- Read more about For Pruitt EPA, There Is No Bad News on Ozone Pollution [19]
Clean Power Plan Showdown Ahead, But Will It Matter? [27]

President Trump campaigned partly on the promise to abolish an Obama-era program to cut power plant CO2 emissions. But as TipSheet explains in the first in a series of special reports on key issues in the coming year, the program is tied up in complex court proceedings that may, in the end, be moot. Learn why.

SEJ Publication Types:
TipSheet [20]
Topics on the Beat:
Air [4]
Climate Change [6]
Energy & Fuel [7]
Environmental Politics [8]
Laws & Regulations [12]
Pollution [14]
Region:
National (U.S.) [17]
Visibility:
Public [18]
- Read more about Clean Power Plan Showdown Ahead, But Will It Matter? [27]
SEJ Objects Over EPA Response to AP Story; plus, Suits & Rulings Involving Interior, EPA, NOAA [28]

The SEJ has written the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to object to its criticism of an Associated Press story about Superfund sites following Hurricane Harvey floods. That, plus a judge rules against EPA for withholding records on the pesticide Enlist Duo, and more, in this month's WatchDog.

SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet [29]
Topics on the Beat:
Activism [30]
Chemicals [5]
Climate Change [6]
Energy & Fuel [7]
Environmental Health [31]
Environmental Politics [8]
Government [10]
Journalism & Media [21]
Laws & Regulations [12]
Policy [13]
Pollution [14]
Science [15]
Water & Oceans [32]
Region:
National (U.S.) [17]
Visibility:
Public [18]
- Read more about SEJ Objects Over EPA Response to AP Story; plus, Suits & Rulings Involving Interior, EPA, NOAA [28]
As Power Goes Out, Time To Design a More Resilient Grid? [33]

Hurricane Irma left millions of Floridians in the dark, while Maria stripped Puerto Ricans of power, potentially for months. Can the electric grid be made less vulnerable? Our Backgrounder has a dozen-plus angles to jump-start your power reporting, from stronger poles to microgrids. Plus, hurricane coverage resources. [34]

SEJ Publication Types:
Backgrounders [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Disasters [35]
Energy & Fuel [7]
Nuclear Power & Radiation [36]
Planning & Growth [37]
Technology [16]
Region:
National (U.S.) [17]
Mountain West (CO ID MT NV UT WY) [38]
Northeast (CT MA ME NH NJ NY RI VT) [25]
SE (AL AR FL GA KY LA MS NC PR SC TN) [39]
Canada [40]
Visibility:
Public [18]
- Read more about As Power Goes Out, Time To Design a More Resilient Grid? [33]
Is There a Post-Flood “Toxic Stew” Near You? [41]

Flooding disasters can unleash some nasty substances into the environment, whether from Superfund sites, sewage plants or petrochemical and other industrial facilities handling toxic and hazardous materials.This week's TipSheet identifies some of the biggest risks, and offers starting points for your local reporting.

SEJ Publication Types:
TipSheet [20]
Topics on the Beat:
Chemicals [5]
Disasters [35]
Energy & Fuel [7]
Environmental Health [31]
Health [11]
Journalism & Media [21]
People & Population [42]
Pollution [14]
Region:
National (U.S.) [17]
Southwest (AZ NM OK TX) [26]
Visibility:
Public [18]
- Read more about Is There a Post-Flood “Toxic Stew” Near You? [41]
Trump Environmental Rule Rollback — Tracking the Trackers [43]

The Trump administration has moved aggressively to roll back environmental and energy-related rules, so much so that keeping tabs on all the developments has become a major challenge. To help reporters get the lay of the land, this week's TipSheet has a roundup of more than a dozen regulatory tracking reports. Track the trackers.

SEJ Publication Types:
TipSheet [20]
Topics on the Beat:
Climate Change [6]
Economy & Business [44]
Energy & Fuel [7]
Environmental Politics [8]
Government [10]
Journalism & Media [21]
Laws & Regulations [12]
Policy [13]
Region:
National (U.S.) [17]
Visibility:
Public [18]
- Read more about Trump Environmental Rule Rollback — Tracking the Trackers [43]
Court Strikes Down “Ag-Gag” Law; plus a Journalist’s Legal Guide; State Shield for Climate Research and More [45]

A federal court has ruled unconstitutional a Utah law that made undercover filming of livestock operations illegal. What's it mean for similar laws elsewhere? The latest WatchDog has the story, plus news on protecting whistleblowers, a digital journalist's legal guide, shielding of climate info and leaked government reports.

SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet [29]
Topics on the Beat:
Activism [30]
Agriculture [3]
Climate Change [6]
Economy & Business [44]
Energy & Fuel [7]
Environmental Health [31]
Environmental Politics [8]
Food [46]
Government [10]
Journalism & Media [21]
Laws & Regulations [12]
Nuclear Power & Radiation [36]
Policy [13]
Water & Oceans [32]
Region:
National (U.S.) [17]
Great Plains (IA KS ND NE MO SD) [23]
Mountain West (CO ID MT NV UT WY) [38]
Northeast (CT MA ME NH NJ NY RI VT) [25]
SE (AL AR FL GA KY LA MS NC PR SC TN) [39]
Visibility:
Public [18]
- Read more about Court Strikes Down “Ag-Gag” Law; plus a Journalist’s Legal Guide; State Shield for Climate Research and More [45]
Interior Appropriations — Dead on Arrival and Live at Five [47]

Even though big proposed budget cuts may be DOA for the Interior Department, it doesn't mean there aren't a wide range of land and resource-related stories emerging from the debates. The latest TipSheet sets the scene and offers a half-dozen ways to localize the Interior Department funding story.

SEJ Publication Types:
TipSheet [20]
Topics on the Beat:
Energy & Fuel [7]
Environmental Politics [8]
Forests [48]
Government [10]
Journalism & Media [21]
Laws & Regulations [12]
Natural Resources [49]
Region:
National (U.S.) [17]
Great Plains (IA KS ND NE MO SD) [23]
Mid-Atlantic (DC DE MD PA VA WV) [24]
Mountain West (CO ID MT NV UT WY) [38]
SE (AL AR FL GA KY LA MS NC PR SC TN) [39]
Southwest (AZ NM OK TX) [26]
Visibility:
Public [18]
- Read more about Interior Appropriations — Dead on Arrival and Live at Five [47]
Feds Scrub Climate Info; plus Libel Suit, Spill Catcher, Surveillance & Water Data [50]

As some warned, federal environmental agencies have begun to purge web info on topics like climate change. WatchDog TipSheet has that story, plus items about an unusual libel lawsuit, a news outfit using satellite for groundtruthing, a new source of online water data, how journalists can protect against surveillance and more.

SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet [29]
Topics on the Beat:
Climate Change [6]
Disasters [35]
Energy & Fuel [7]
Environmental Politics [8]
Government [10]
Journalism & Media [21]
Laws & Regulations [12]
Water & Oceans [32]
Region:
National (U.S.) [17]
Visibility:
Public [18]
- Read more about Feds Scrub Climate Info; plus Libel Suit, Spill Catcher, Surveillance & Water Data [50]

Pages