Publication Items

Disaster Preparedness Key Amid Pandemic [1]

Unheeded warnings are the hallmark of many disasters. And with coronavirus still hobbling the nation, communities and journalists must now watch for all the ways COVID-19 could make even the most familiar hazards far worse. Prepare with this extensive Backgrounder, which touches on issues around evacuations and emergency readiness when facing storms, fires, toxic releases and more.

SEJ Publication Types:
Backgrounders [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Air [3]
Chemicals [4]
Disasters [5]
Environmental Health [6]
Government [7]
Health [8]
Journalism & Media [9]
Laws & Regulations [10]
People & Population [11]
Planning & Growth [12]
Policy [13]
Region:
National (U.S.) [14]
California [15]
Great Lakes (IL IN MI MN OH WI) [16]
Mid-Atlantic (DC DE MD PA VA WV) [17]
Visibility:
Public [18]
- Read more about Disaster Preparedness Key Amid Pandemic [1]
While No One Was Watching — Changing Enviro Regs Under Trump [19]

Regulations that sprang from cornerstone environmental laws in place for decades are now under attack by the Trump administration, per legal experts in a recent webinar co-sponsored by the Society of Environmental Journalists and Columbia University’s Earth Institute. Get key takeaways and resources from the event from SEJ’s Dale Willman. Plus, watch the full webinar video.

SEJ Publication Types:
SEJ News [20]
Topics on the Beat:
Activism [21]
Air [3]
Chemicals [4]
Climate Change [22]
Energy & Fuel [23]
Environmental Health [6]
Environmental Politics [24]
Government [7]
Health [8]
Laws & Regulations [10]
Natural Resources [25]
Policy [13]
Pollution [26]
Science [27]
Transportation [28]
Waste [29]
Water & Oceans [30]
Region:
National (U.S.) [14]
Visibility:
Public [18]
- Read more about While No One Was Watching — Changing Enviro Regs Under Trump [19]
Parks Post-Coronavirus Reopening a Political Football? [31]

As the United States restarts fitfully following the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic, one source of controversy — and of numerous local or regional environmental stories — is what to do at the nation’s park system. The latest TipSheet explains why public access to these national treasures is so contentious, then provides numerous story ideas and reporting resources.

SEJ Publication Types:
TipSheet [32]
Topics on the Beat:
Disasters [5]
Environmental Politics [24]
Government [7]
Health [8]
Journalism & Media [9]
Laws & Regulations [10]
Natural Resources [25]
People & Population [11]
Region:
National (U.S.) [14]
Visibility:
Public [18]
- Read more about Parks Post-Coronavirus Reopening a Political Football? [31]
“Choked: Life and Breath in the Age of Air Pollution” [33]

To better grasp how COVID-19 is linked to the persistent problem of polluted air, our latest BookShelf review recommends going back to a prescient text, “Choked: Life and Breath in the Age of Air Pollution.” While the volume predates the pandemic, it makes painfully clear why, during this crisis, healthy air matters more than ever.

SEJ Publication Types:
BookShelf [34]
Topics on the Beat:
Air [3]
Disasters [5]
Health [8]
Laws & Regulations [10]
People & Population [11]
Pollution [26]
Science [27]
Region:
National (U.S.) [14]
International [35]
Asia [36]
Europe [37]
Visibility:
Public [18]
- Read more about “Choked: Life and Breath in the Age of Air Pollution” [33]
Could Combined Sewer Overflows Be a COVID-19 Threat? [38]

For reporters investigating the coronavirus-environment connection, you might look to the untreated sewage that can sometimes overflow municipal systems during wet weather, possibly bringing the novel pathogen to beaches and other places where people can get sick from it. The latest TipSheet takes a look at the reality, plus provides story ideas and reporter resources.

SEJ Publication Types:
TipSheet [32]
Topics on the Beat:
Disasters [5]
Environmental Health [6]
Environmental Studies [39]
Government [7]
Health [8]
Journalism & Media [9]
Laws & Regulations [10]
People & Population [11]
Pollution [26]
Waste [29]
Water & Oceans [30]
Region:
National (U.S.) [14]
California [15]
International [35]
Europe [37]
Visibility:
Public [18]
- Read more about Could Combined Sewer Overflows Be a COVID-19 Threat? [38]
COVID-19 Data Challenges Can Spark Better Journalism [40]

Reporting the COVID-19 pandemic may mean telling environmental stories, while using the best data to do it. The latest Reporter’s Toolbox spotlights three key resources to capture a detailed look at where and who the coronavirus is striking, and how it connects to the environment: a dashboard, an ambitious data platform and an unheralded tool for uncovering environmental injustice.

SEJ Publication Types:
Reporters Toolbox [41]
Topics on the Beat:
Disasters [5]
Environmental Health [6]
Health [8]
Journalism & Media [9]
People & Population [11]
Region:
National (U.S.) [14]
Visibility:
Public [18]
- Read more about COVID-19 Data Challenges Can Spark Better Journalism [40]
Smokey’s 420 Gets the ‘Dirt’ on Pot Crop [42]

The story of Smokey’s 420, mom-and-pop pot shop that’s taken a more environmental perspective. Plus, why the explosion in the infant business legal cannabis could be bad news for the environment [43], if left largely unregulated.

SEJ Publication Types:
Features [44]
Topics on the Beat:
Activism [21]
Agriculture [45]
Chemicals [4]
Consumer [46]
Economy & Business [47]
Energy & Fuel [23]
Environmental Politics [24]
Government [7]
Health [8]
Journalism & Media [9]
Laws & Regulations [10]
Policy [13]
Pollution [26]
Waste [29]
Water & Oceans [30]
Region:
National (U.S.) [14]
Mountain West (CO ID MT NV UT WY) [48]
Visibility:
Public [18]
- Read more about Smokey’s 420 Gets the ‘Dirt’ on Pot Crop [42]
Why an Unregulated Pot Business May Be Bad for the Environment [43]

One industry seemingly unharmed by the coronavirus-related shutdown is legal cannabis. But the explosion in this infant business could be bad news for the environment, if left largely unregulated. A closer look at the issues. Plus, the story of Smokey’s 420 [42], mom-and-pop pot shop that’s taken a more environmental perspective.

SEJ Publication Types:
Features [44]
Topics on the Beat:
Activism [21]
Agriculture [45]
Chemicals [4]
Economy & Business [47]
Energy & Fuel [23]
Environmental Politics [24]
Government [7]
Health [8]
Journalism & Media [9]
Laws & Regulations [10]
Policy [13]
Pollution [26]
Waste [29]
Water & Oceans [30]
Region:
National (U.S.) [14]
Mountain West (CO ID MT NV UT WY) [48]
Visibility:
Public [18]
- Read more about Why an Unregulated Pot Business May Be Bad for the Environment [43]
Ignoring COVID-19 Link, EPA Leaves Lax Soot Standard in Place [49]

As researchers are finding that soot and other forms of fine particulates in the air may actually make people more vulnerable to the coronavirus, the EPA decided earlier this month against tightening related standards under the Clean Air Act. The latest TipSheet explains why the decision matters, provides deeper context and offers story ideas and resources.

SEJ Publication Types:
TipSheet [32]
Topics on the Beat:
Air [3]
Disasters [5]
Environmental Health [6]
Environmental Politics [24]
Environmental Studies [39]
Government [7]
Health [8]
Journalism & Media [9]
Laws & Regulations [10]
People & Population [11]
Policy [13]
Pollution [26]
Science [27]
Transportation [28]
Region:
National (U.S.) [14]
Visibility:
Public [18]
- Read more about Ignoring COVID-19 Link, EPA Leaves Lax Soot Standard in Place [49]
When the Crisis Was Immense, SEJ Award-Winner Went Narrow [50]

How do you gain perspective on a widespread public health disaster? Award-winning reporter Apoorva Mandavilli shares valuable lessons on using a small lens to cover a big story — no, not COVID-19, but the deadly 1984 gas leak in Bhopal, India. And as she explains in this Inside Story Q&A, this decades-old story never really went away in the first place.

SEJ Publication Types:
Inside Story [51]
Topics on the Beat:
Activism [21]
Air [3]
Chemicals [4]
Disasters [5]
Environmental Health [6]
Government [7]
Health [8]
Journalism & Media [9]
People & Population [11]
Pollution [26]
Water & Oceans [30]
Region:
International [35]
Asia [36]
Visibility:
Public [18]
- Read more about When the Crisis Was Immense, SEJ Award-Winner Went Narrow [50]

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