Publication Items

Houston Plays Host to First On-Site SEJ Conference Since 2019 [1]

Environmental journalists from around the country and beyond will gather in Houston later this month for the Society of Environmental Journalists’ 31st annual conference. Widely known as the energy capital of the world, this highly diverse city is an ideal place to drill down on the causes and consequences of climate change and other environmental issues of the day.

SEJ Publication Types:
SEJ News [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Activism [3]
Air [4]
Biodiversity [5]
Chemicals [6]
Climate Change [7]
Disasters [8]
Diversity [9]
Economy & Business [10]
Energy & Fuel [11]
Environmental Health [12]
Environmental Justice [13]
Environmental Politics [14]
Fish & Fisheries [15]
Food [16]
Forests [17]
Government [18]
Health [19]
Infrastructure [20]
Journalism & Media [21]
Laws & Regulations [22]
People & Population [23]
Planning & Growth [24]
Policy [25]
Pollution [26]
Religion, Faith and Spirituality [27]
Science [28]
Technology [29]
Transportation [30]
Waste [31]
Water & Oceans [32]
Wildlife [33]
Region:
National (U.S.) [34]
Southwest (AZ NM OK TX) [35]
International [36]
Mexico [37]
Central America & the Caribbean [38]
Europe [39]
South America [40]
Visibility:
Public [41]
- Read more about Houston Plays Host to First On-Site SEJ Conference Since 2019 [1]
Walking With the ‘Guardians of the Forest’ — Lessons From Coverage of Amazonian Fires [42]

Three teams of video journalists descended on the Brazilian Amazon amid some of its worst-ever fires to capture efforts of Indigenous rainforest “guardians” to protect it from destruction. They returned with award-winning reporting, but also a deeper understanding of the region and its people, and of how to bring the climate change story closer to home. They share their experiences, in the new EJ InSight.

SEJ Publication Types:
EJ InSight [43]
Topics on the Beat:
Activism [3]
Agriculture [44]
Biodiversity [5]
Climate Change [7]
Environmental Health [12]
Environmental Justice [13]
Environmental Politics [14]
Forests [17]
Journalism & Media [21]
Natural Resources [45]
People & Population [23]
Region:
International [36]
South America [40]
Visibility:
Public [41]
- Read more about Walking With the ‘Guardians of the Forest’ — Lessons From Coverage of Amazonian Fires [42]
Eating (and Reporting) My Way Through the Foods of the Rainforest [46]

Conserving crop diversity is a key to maintaining global food security, especially in the face of climate change. To understand those efforts, Portland, Ore.-based freelancer Virginia Gewin traveled to South America, supported by a grant from the Society of Environmental Journalists, to find out how Peruvian chefs and Amazon dwellers hope to save the rainforest by sharing native and wild foods.

SEJ Publication Types:
FEJ StoryLog [47]
Topics on the Beat:
Activism [3]
Agriculture [44]
Biodiversity [5]
Climate Change [7]
Economy & Business [10]
Environmental Justice [13]
Environmental Politics [14]
Food [16]
Forests [17]
Journalism & Media [21]
Natural Resources [45]
People & Population [23]
Planning & Growth [24]
Region:
International [36]
South America [40]
Visibility:
Public [41]
- Read more about Eating (and Reporting) My Way Through the Foods of the Rainforest [46]
Will Animal-To-Human Disease Transmission Bring the Next Big Pandemic? [48]

The COVID-19 outbreak has left little unchanged — including how environment reporters do their jobs, given that many experts believe the disruption of the human-wild interface could be the source of the next deadly virus. The new Backgrounder makes the case in this analysis, looking at how societies — and journalists — handled this pandemic and must prepare for possible future outbreaks.

SEJ Publication Types:
Backgrounders [49]
Topics on the Beat:
Agriculture [44]
Biodiversity [5]
Disasters [8]
Environmental Health [12]
Forests [17]
Government [18]
Health [19]
Journalism & Media [21]
People & Population [23]
Science [28]
Wildlife [33]
Region:
National (U.S.) [34]
International [36]
Asia [50]
Visibility:
Public [41]
- Read more about Will Animal-To-Human Disease Transmission Bring the Next Big Pandemic? [48]
New Landsat 9 Offers Variety of Resource Stories [51]

The launch of NASA’s new Landsat Earth-observing satellite is a reminder to reporters that millions of images from over five decades can help unearth many environmental trends, whether deforestation, coastal erosion, suburban sprawl or wildfire impacts. The new Reporter’s Toolbox explains how the service works and how to access the resource, along with examples of prize-winning stories.

SEJ Publication Types:
Reporters Toolbox [52]
Topics on the Beat:
Agriculture [44]
Climate Change [7]
Environmental Health [12]
Environmental Studies [53]
Forests [17]
Government [18]
Journalism & Media [21]
Natural Resources [45]
Science [28]
Technology [29]
Water & Oceans [32]
Wildlife [33]
Region:
National (U.S.) [34]
International [36]
Visibility:
Public [41]
- Read more about New Landsat 9 Offers Variety of Resource Stories [51]
Covering New IPCC Reports Helps Explain Gravity of Climate Crisis [54]

A new science assessment released this week pinpoints more global warming risks, but also represents reporting challenges to environmental journalists working to cover climate change. Veteran climate journalist Bob Berwyn has the latest news from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, and advice for reporters working the climate beat. Plus, links to other climate change reporting resources.

SEJ Publication Types:
Features [55]
Topics on the Beat:
Agriculture [44]
Climate Change [7]
Disasters [8]
Energy & Fuel [11]
Environmental Health [12]
Environmental Justice [13]
Environmental Politics [14]
Environmental Studies [53]
Forests [17]
Government [18]
Health [19]
Journalism & Media [21]
Laws & Regulations [22]
Planning & Growth [24]
Policy [25]
Science [28]
Transportation [30]
Water & Oceans [32]
Region:
National (U.S.) [34]
International [36]
Visibility:
Public [41]
- Read more about Covering New IPCC Reports Helps Explain Gravity of Climate Crisis [54]
Uncovering Inequality’s Roots in Timber Poaching [56]

Journalist Lyndsie Bourgon had covered timber poaching in the Pacific Northwest for over a decade when she decided to expand her scope, heading to the Peruvian Amazon to explore old-growth poaching there. In FEJ StoryLog, she shares the ups and downs of that project, made possible in part by a grant from the Society of Environmental Journalists’ Fund for Environmental Journalism.

SEJ Publication Types:
FEJ StoryLog [47]
Topics on the Beat:
Environmental Health [12]
Environmental Justice [13]
Environmental Politics [14]
Forests [17]
Journalism & Media [21]
Natural Resources [45]
People & Population [23]
Region:
National (U.S.) [34]
Northwest (OR WA) [57]
International [36]
Canada [58]
South America [40]
Visibility:
Public [41]
- Read more about Uncovering Inequality’s Roots in Timber Poaching [56]
Forest Service Offers Mapping Database on Potential Wildfire Hazards [59]

With a particularly dangerous wildfire season ahead, environmental journalists can better cover the heightened risk with a specialized U.S. Forest Service database. It predicts fire risk using a range of frequently updated variables like amount and condition of fuel, drought and topography, then maps it in high resolution with overlays of human structures and populations. The latest Reporter’s Toolbox has more on the database, and details how to make smart use of it.

SEJ Publication Types:
Reporters Toolbox [52]
Topics on the Beat:
Climate Change [7]
Disasters [8]
Forests [17]
Journalism & Media [21]
Region:
National (U.S.) [34]
Visibility:
Public [41]
- Read more about Forest Service Offers Mapping Database on Potential Wildfire Hazards [59]
Forest Inventory May Provide Trail Guide to Ongoing Policy Crisis [60]

U.S. forests face damage from drought, climate-driven disease and wildfire. To help track the state of our trees, Reporter’s Toolbox explores a massive set of Forest Service databases that details everything from deforestation and dead fuel status to deforestation and species mix. There’s even info on urban forests and grasslands. A closer look at the Forest Inventory and Analysis program.

SEJ Publication Types:
Reporters Toolbox [52]
Topics on the Beat:
Climate Change [7]
Environmental Health [12]
Forests [17]
Government [18]
Journalism & Media [21]
Natural Resources [45]
Science [28]
Region:
National (U.S.) [34]
Visibility:
Public [41]
- Read more about Forest Inventory May Provide Trail Guide to Ongoing Policy Crisis [60]
“Routledge Handbook of Environmental Journalism” [61]

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 [62]
Topics on the Beat:
Disasters [8]
Energy & Fuel [11]
Environmental Health [12]
Environmental Politics [14]
Forests [17]
Health [19]
Journalism & Media [21]
Nuclear Power & Radiation [63]
Waste [31]
Wildlife [33]
Region:
National (U.S.) [34]
Mountain West (CO ID MT NV UT WY) [64]
Northeast (CT MA ME NH NJ NY RI VT) [65]
Southwest (AZ NM OK TX) [35]
International [36]
Africa [66]
South America [40]
Visibility:
Public [41]
- Read more about “Routledge Handbook of Environmental Journalism” [61]

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