Publication Items

#SEJ2026 LIVE — Coverage of Conference Tours [1]

Go on the scene of day-long tours from the annual Society of Environmental Journalists’ conference, April 15-18, in Chicago. Contributing journalists provide the first round of tour coverage from a conference newsroom of early-career freelance journalists who joined the SEJournal team for live #SEJ2026 coverage.

SEJ Publication Types:
SEJ News [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Activism [3]
Agriculture [4]
Air [5]
Biodiversity [6]
Chemicals [7]
Climate Change [8]
Consumer [9]
Economy & Business [10]
Energy & Fuel [11]
Environmental Health [12]
Environmental Justice [13]
Environmental Politics [14]
Environmental Studies [15]
Food [16]
Forests [17]
Government [18]
Health [19]
Infrastructure [20]
Journalism & Media [21]
Laws & Regulations [22]
Natural Resources [23]
People & Population [24]
Planning & Growth [25]
Policy [26]
Pollution [27]
Science [28]
Technology [29]
Transportation [30]
Waste [31]
Water & Oceans [32]
Wildlife [33]
Region:
National (U.S.) [34]
Great Lakes (IL IN MI MN OH WI) [35]
Visibility:
Public [36]
- Read more about #SEJ2026 LIVE — Coverage of Conference Tours [1]
Even in This Toxic River — A Salmon Story [37]

Seattle’s heavily polluted Duwamish River is no place to catch fish — except for salmon, which pass quickly through these troubled waters on their way from the sea to their freshwater spawning grounds. With fishing pole in hand, environmental journalist Alex Brown joins jostling crowds of industrial-zone anglers and catches a firsthand view of a spectacle that is both anomalous and awe-inspiring.

SEJ Publication Types:
Features [38]
Topics on the Beat:
Biodiversity [6]
Chemicals [7]
Environmental Health [12]
Fish & Fisheries [39]
Food [16]
Pollution [27]
Water & Oceans [32]
Wildlife [33]
Region:
National (U.S.) [34]
Northwest (OR WA) [40]
Visibility:
Public [36]
- Read more about Even in This Toxic River — A Salmon Story [37]
From Words to Frames — Writer Learns To Wield Power of Visual Storytelling [41]

When writer Gulnaz Khan saw how global warming drove both natural loss and spiritual breaks for surrounding human communities, it started her on a PBS documentary series exploring sacred sites around the world threatened by climate change. But she also undertook another odyssey, one from writer to visual storyteller. What she learned on her journey from text to screen, in the new EJ InSight column.

SEJ Publication Types:
EJ InSight [42]
Topics on the Beat:
Agriculture [4]
Biodiversity [6]
Climate Change [8]
Environmental Health [12]
Environmental Justice [13]
Food [16]
Forests [17]
Government [18]
Health [19]
Journalism & Media [21]
Natural Resources [23]
People & Population [24]
Pollution [27]
Religion, Faith and Spirituality [43]
Science [28]
Waste [31]
Water & Oceans [32]
Wildlife [33]
Region:
International [44]
Africa [45]
Asia [46]
South America [47]
Visibility:
Public [36]
- Read more about From Words to Frames — Writer Learns To Wield Power of Visual Storytelling [41]
The Cost of Losing Our ‘Sacred Acres’ [48]

In “We Are Eating the Earth,” author Michael Grunwald explains masterfully how good intentions have led us astray over our food system and climate change, writes BookShelf editor Tom Henry. Whether it’s our obsession with meat, myths about biofuels and regenerative agriculture, or feel-good ideas based on bad science, Grunwald argues it’s time for a fundamental shift in values.

SEJ Publication Types:
BookShelf [49]
Topics on the Beat:
Agriculture [4]
Climate Change [8]
Consumer [9]
Economy & Business [10]
Food [16]
Natural Resources [23]
Policy [26]
Science [28]
Region:
National (U.S.) [34]
International [44]
Visibility:
Public [36]
- Read more about The Cost of Losing Our ‘Sacred Acres’ [48]
Targets on Their Backs … and Ours? Reporting on Immigrant Farmworkers [50]

For years, state-sponsored programs have helped California farmworkers get much-needed access to clean water. But many immigrants now shun these services, afraid of exposure to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents. As Circle of Blue intern Anahita Banerjee dug into this story, she discovered that their fear extended to speaking with journalists — and that ICE activities threatened her own safety.

SEJ Publication Types:
Features [38]
Topics on the Beat:
Activism [3]
Agriculture [4]
Environmental Justice [13]
Environmental Politics [14]
Food [16]
Government [18]
Health [19]
Journalism & Media [21]
Laws & Regulations [22]
People & Population [24]
Water & Oceans [32]
Region:
National (U.S.) [34]
California [51]
Visibility:
Public [36]
- Read more about Targets on Their Backs … and Ours? Reporting on Immigrant Farmworkers [50]
Crop Cover Database Seeds Local Environment Coverage [52]

Cropland can easily be found time and again at the heart of the key concerns on the environment beat, whether climate, water, chemicals or, of course, land. The latest Reporter’s Toolbox shares a high-quality, mappable database that can serve up stories on more than 100 categories of crops, with numbers drawn from satellite imagery. Plus, a pro tip on using the data smartly.

SEJ Publication Types:
Reporters Toolbox [53]
Topics on the Beat:
Agriculture [4]
Chemicals [7]
Climate Change [8]
Environmental Health [12]
Environmental Studies [15]
Food [16]
Journalism & Media [21]
Science [28]
Region:
National (U.S.) [34]
Visibility:
Public [36]
- Read more about Crop Cover Database Seeds Local Environment Coverage [52]
Chronic Wasting Disease May Be Stalking Deer Hunters [54]

Fall deer hunting season is getting underway across much of North America. And with it, the uncertain risks from chronic wasting disease. Environmental journalists would do well to report the story to help keep safe those who eat the meat of deer and elk they kill. The latest TipSheet has more on the backstory, along with 10 story ideas and reporting resources.

SEJ Publication Types:
TipSheet [55]
Topics on the Beat:
Environmental Health [12]
Food [16]
Health [19]
Journalism & Media [21]
Science [28]
Wildlife [33]
Region:
National (U.S.) [34]
International [44]
Canada [56]
Visibility:
Public [36]
- Read more about Chronic Wasting Disease May Be Stalking Deer Hunters [54]
From Fear to Fascination — A New Insect Narrative [57]

Media coverage of “bugs” is often sensationalistic and centered on fear and disgust. But conservation photographer and writer Danae Wolfe says journalists should be highlighting the importance, beauty and plight of insects and spiders. Reporting that offers alternative perspectives on these essential creatures can inspire curiosity and admiration, and encourage efforts to protect them. Wolfe on why to write about insects.

SEJ Publication Types:
Features [38]
Topics on the Beat:
Activism [3]
Agriculture [4]
Biodiversity [6]
Chemicals [7]
Climate Change [8]
Environmental Health [12]
Environmental Studies [15]
Food [16]
Forests [17]
Journalism & Media [21]
Pollution [27]
Science [28]
Wildlife [33]
Region:
National (U.S.) [34]
International [44]
Visibility:
Public [36]
- Read more about From Fear to Fascination — A New Insect Narrative [57]
Why Now’s the Time To Tell a Good Fish Tale [58]

With fishing season underway across the United States, reporters have a line to an array of great, local environmental stories, whether about the recreation and tourism industries or overfishing and the health of regional ecosystems. The latest TipSheet has more than a dozen story ideas and reporting resources to help you reel in an angle of your own.

SEJ Publication Types:
TipSheet [55]
Topics on the Beat:
Activism [3]
Biodiversity [6]
Climate Change [8]
Environmental Health [12]
Fish & Fisheries [39]
Food [16]
Journalism & Media [21]
Natural Resources [23]
Water & Oceans [32]
Wildlife [33]
Region:
National (U.S.) [34]
Visibility:
Public [36]
- Read more about Why Now’s the Time To Tell a Good Fish Tale [58]
In West Bank, Hope for Future in Link Between Land and People [59]

On a tour of the West Bank this spring, Yessenia Funes found a region where the relationship between land and people serves as a counterweight to occupation and the threat of violence. For her Voices of Environmental Justice column, Funes exhorts fellow environment journalists to report on that struggle, through stories that touch on wildlife, wildfire, food, climate and more.

SEJ Publication Types:
Voices of Environmental Justice [60]
Topics on the Beat:
Agriculture [4]
Climate Change [8]
Environmental Justice [13]
Environmental Politics [14]
Food [16]
Government [18]
Journalism & Media [21]
Military [61]
People & Population [24]
Policy [26]
Water & Oceans [32]
Region:
International [44]
Middle East [62]
Visibility:
Public [36]
- Read more about In West Bank, Hope for Future in Link Between Land and People [59]

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