Publication Items

What Would Trump 2.0 Mean for the Environment? [1]

If former President Donald Trump recaptures the White House this fall, it would likely bring back a radical deregulatory, climate change-oblivious, fossil fuel-intensive environmental policy. But could the fallout be even greater? The new Issue Backgrounder examines how the Project 2025 agenda of Trump’s allies takes aim, in particular, at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

SEJ Publication Types:
Backgrounders [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Chemicals [3]
Climate Change [4]
Energy & Fuel [5]
Environmental Justice [6]
Environmental Politics [7]
Government [8]
Laws & Regulations [9]
Natural Resources [10]
Policy [11]
Water & Oceans [12]
Region:
International [13]
Visibility:
Public [14]
- Read more about What Would Trump 2.0 Mean for the Environment? [1]
Will the Coming Plastics Treaty Solve the Problem Or Enshrine It? [15]

A major intergovernmental gathering later this year will address plastic pollution, including in oceans. But an overview from our Issue Backgrounder notes that the likelihood of solving the problem may be small. One reason? Petrochemical industry lobbying. Another? The shifting world market for plastic waste. And there are more concerns, such as the effectiveness of incineration and chemical recycling techniques. More, including questions to ask, in Backgrounder.

SEJ Publication Types:
Backgrounders [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Chemicals [3]
Climate Change [4]
Consumer [16]
Economy & Business [17]
Energy & Fuel [5]
Environmental Health [18]
Environmental Politics [7]
Government [8]
Health [19]
Journalism & Media [20]
Policy [11]
Pollution [21]
Waste [22]
Water & Oceans [12]
Region:
National (U.S.) [23]
International [13]
Asia [24]
Visibility:
Public [14]
- Read more about Will the Coming Plastics Treaty Solve the Problem Or Enshrine It? [15]
The EPA’s Power Plant Rule … We’ll See You in Court [25]

A new federal rule to cut power plant pollution and carbon dioxide emissions promises to escalate a yearslong, highly partisan battle at the core of U.S. climate change policy. Our Issue Backgrounder lays out the shifting regulatory approaches from the administrations of George W. Bush to Joe Biden, and notes the legal tug-of-war that has heightened the importance of another big player — the Supreme Court.

SEJ Publication Types:
Backgrounders [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Air [26]
Climate Change [4]
Energy & Fuel [5]
Environmental Health [18]
Environmental Politics [7]
Government [8]
Laws & Regulations [9]
Policy [11]
Pollution [21]
Region:
National (U.S.) [23]
Visibility:
Public [14]
- Read more about The EPA’s Power Plant Rule … We’ll See You in Court [25]
‘Green’ Steel: Five Things To Know About the U.S. Transition [27]

Plans for two new U.S. facilities that will use hydrogen instead of coal to make steel hold the promise of decarbonizing this essential but dirty industry. But don’t expect overnight change. Reporter Maria Gallucci looks at the complexities of making the switch, from ditching the blast furnace to reducing pollution all along the supply chain.

SEJ Publication Types:
Features [28]
Topics on the Beat:
Activism [29]
Air [26]
Chemicals [3]
Climate Change [4]
Economy & Business [17]
Energy & Fuel [5]
Environmental Health [18]
Environmental Justice [6]
Environmental Politics [7]
Government [8]
Natural Resources [10]
Policy [11]
Pollution [21]
Science [30]
Technology [31]
Region:
National (U.S.) [23]
Great Lakes (IL IN MI MN OH WI) [32]
Mid-Atlantic (DC DE MD PA VA WV) [33]
Southwest (AZ NM OK TX) [34]
International [13]
Europe [35]
Visibility:
Public [14]
- Read more about ‘Green’ Steel: Five Things To Know About the U.S. Transition [27]
Greenhouse Gas Inventory Data Helps Tell the Climate Story [36]

A massive data set that tracks greenhouse gas emissions in the United States is now newly updated, and the latest Reporter’s Toolbox calls it essential for informed reporting on U.S. climate policy. Its three decades-plus of measurements can help journalists track big emitters near them and from a variety of major sources ranging from landfill methane to industrial polluters.

SEJ Publication Types:
Reporters Toolbox [37]
Topics on the Beat:
Agriculture [38]
Air [26]
Climate Change [4]
Energy & Fuel [5]
Environmental Health [18]
Government [8]
Journalism & Media [20]
Laws & Regulations [9]
Policy [11]
Pollution [21]
Transportation [39]
Region:
National (U.S.) [23]
Visibility:
Public [14]
- Read more about Greenhouse Gas Inventory Data Helps Tell the Climate Story [36]
Rapid Response Grant Yields Oil Patch Stories, Book Chapter [40]

Mid-pandemic, freelancer Erika Bolstad struck out from Oregon for the boom-bust Bakken oil fields of North Dakota, with cash from a grant, two story assignments and years of book research. She shares her experience on the road, dealing with COVID risks, tricky timing and a stubborn bureaucracy, as well as a generous well-plugger and supportive editors. Read the new FEJ StoryLog.

SEJ Publication Types:
FEJ StoryLog [41]
Topics on the Beat:
Energy & Fuel [5]
Journalism & Media [20]
Natural Resources [10]
Policy [11]
Region:
National (U.S.) [23]
Great Plains (IA KS ND NE MO SD) [42]
Visibility:
Public [14]
- Read more about Rapid Response Grant Yields Oil Patch Stories, Book Chapter [40]
EV Charging Stations — Are They There Yet? [43]

For all the talk about the energy transition and the robust growth in electric vehicle sales, there’s one big reason for unease: getting charged. The new Backgrounder takes a deep dive on the state of EV charging stations in the United States, exploring Tesla’s diminishing dominance, coming charger standardization, charging levels, software and for-pay realities, plus the effects of government policy.

SEJ Publication Types:
Backgrounders [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Climate Change [4]
Consumer [16]
Energy & Fuel [5]
Environmental Politics [7]
Infrastructure [44]
Planning & Growth [45]
Policy [11]
Technology [31]
Transportation [39]
Region:
National (U.S.) [23]
Visibility:
Public [14]
- Read more about EV Charging Stations — Are They There Yet? [43]
Ag Census Offers Journalists Acres of Data [46]

The latest data from the five-year USDA agriculture census has specialized features that suggest numerous environmental stories — whether on irrigation, pesticides and fertilizer, renewable energy, conservation or more. There’s even a feature that provides data by congressional district. The latest Reporter’s Toolbox has more on the data source and how to use it smartly for your coverage.

SEJ Publication Types:
Reporters Toolbox [37]
Topics on the Beat:
Agriculture [38]
Chemicals [3]
Climate Change [4]
Energy & Fuel [5]
Environmental Health [18]
Food [47]
Journalism & Media [20]
Pollution [21]
Water & Oceans [12]
Region:
National (U.S.) [23]
Visibility:
Public [14]
- Read more about Ag Census Offers Journalists Acres of Data [46]
Spurt in Hydro Relicensing To Leave U.S. Awash in Environmental Stories [48]

Hundreds of hydropower dams in the United States will see their licenses expiring in the next decade, generating years-long federal relicensing processes. That prospect calls for close local and regional coverage of the complicated balance between renewable energy needs with negative environmental impacts. The latest TipSheet explains the licensing process and the dam backstory, along with a dozen story ideas and reporting resources.

SEJ Publication Types:
TipSheet [49]
Topics on the Beat:
Activism [29]
Climate Change [4]
Consumer [16]
Energy & Fuel [5]
Environmental Health [18]
Environmental Politics [7]
Fish & Fisheries [50]
Infrastructure [44]
Journalism & Media [20]
Laws & Regulations [9]
Natural Resources [10]
Policy [11]
Water & Oceans [12]
Region:
National (U.S.) [23]
California [51]
Great Lakes (IL IN MI MN OH WI) [32]
Northeast (CT MA ME NH NJ NY RI VT) [52]
Northwest (OR WA) [53]
Visibility:
Public [14]
- Read more about Spurt in Hydro Relicensing To Leave U.S. Awash in Environmental Stories [48]
Philly Steaks Out New Ground [54]

It just wouldn’t be the Society of Environmental Journalists annual conference recap without the waggish tales of SEJ’s resident wit, David Helvarg, who once again this year skewers the lot of us, sparing not a jot of our five days in Philadelphia. Read on and prepare to snicker.

SEJ Publication Types:
SEJ News [55]
Topics on the Beat:
Agriculture [38]
Climate Change [4]
Disasters [56]
Economy & Business [17]
Energy & Fuel [5]
Environmental Politics [7]
Food [47]
Government [8]
Health [19]
Infrastructure [44]
Journalism & Media [20]
Natural Resources [10]
Nuclear Power & Radiation [57]
Policy [11]
Pollution [21]
Technology [31]
Transportation [39]
Waste [22]
Water & Oceans [12]
Wildlife [58]
Region:
National (U.S.) [23]
Mid-Atlantic (DC DE MD PA VA WV) [33]
Visibility:
Public [14]
- Read more about Philly Steaks Out New Ground [54]

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