Publication Items

High-Risk Reporting Yields Results on Palm Oil Investigation [1]

The devastation caused by the Amazonian palm oil industry was at the heart of an investigation by Mongabay reporter Karla Mendes. But first she had to face hostile sources, intransigent regulators and a robbery attempt. Ultimately, the project not only won a reporting prize from the Society of Environmental Journalists but brought global awareness and government action. Her experience, in Inside Story Q&A.

SEJ Publication Types:
Inside Story [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Agriculture [3]
Chemicals [4]
Economy & Business [5]
Environmental Health [6]
Environmental Justice [7]
Environmental Politics [8]
Food [9]
Forests [10]
Government [11]
Health [12]
Journalism & Media [13]
Natural Resources [14]
People & Population [15]
Pollution [16]
Water & Oceans [17]
Region:
International [18]
South America [19]
Visibility:
Public [20]
- Read more about High-Risk Reporting Yields Results on Palm Oil Investigation [1]
New Climate Vulnerability Index Made for Local, Regional Stories [21]

For environmental journalists looking to get granular on their coverage of climate risk, Reporter’s Toolbox recommends a new collaborative effort that integrates dozens of separate datasets to provide insights down to the census-tract level. Because it can also be cross-indexed by subjects like health and socioeconomics, it’s particularly useful for environmental justice reporting. Toolbox walks you through the new Climate Vulnerability Index.

SEJ Publication Types:
Reporters Toolbox [22]
Topics on the Beat:
Climate Change [23]
Environmental Justice [7]
Health [12]
Infrastructure [24]
Journalism & Media [13]
Region:
National (U.S.) [25]
Visibility:
Public [20]
- Read more about New Climate Vulnerability Index Made for Local, Regional Stories [21]
Author Brings Far-Reaching Insight to ‘The Three Ages of Water’ [26]

Leading water expert Peter Gleick’s new book on water’s past, present and future is an ambitious volume that offers a panoramic look at this essential resource — and hope for living in harmony with it in the future. BookShelf Editor Tom Henry calls “The Three Ages of Water” a rare book of breadth and depth, part history and part sustainable remedy. Read his review.

SEJ Publication Types:
BookShelf [27]
Topics on the Beat:
Climate Change [23]
Environmental Health [6]
Environmental Justice [7]
Food [9]
Health [12]
Natural Resources [14]
People & Population [15]
Planning & Growth [28]
Policy [29]
Science [30]
Water & Oceans [17]
Region:
National (U.S.) [25]
Great Lakes (IL IN MI MN OH WI) [31]
International [18]
Africa [32]
Asia [33]
Visibility:
Public [20]
- Read more about Author Brings Far-Reaching Insight to ‘The Three Ages of Water’ [26]
Here’s Your Handy Doomsday Dataviz Dashboard [34]

If you’re harboring serious doubts about the climate future but want to be prepared to cover it, the latest Reporter’s Toolbox offers up a seasonably ghoulish list of a dozen and a half great visualization sources to help tell the story. And lest it leave you spooked, remember, as the saying goes, everything will be OK in the end. And if it's not OK, it's not the end.

SEJ Publication Types:
Reporters Toolbox [22]
Topics on the Beat:
Air [35]
Climate Change [23]
Disasters [36]
Environmental Health [6]
Health [12]
Journalism & Media [13]
Water & Oceans [17]
Region:
National (U.S.) [25]
International [18]
Visibility:
Public [20]
- Read more about Here’s Your Handy Doomsday Dataviz Dashboard [34]
Unique Podcast Team Gives Voice to Troubled Communities Near Declining Salton Sea [37]

In the Coachella Valley east of Los Angeles, the massive Salton Sea is rapidly drying up, threatening vulnerable immigrant communities in a growing toxic environment. The Living Downstream podcast reported extensively on these hazards, winning third place in the Society of Environmental Journalists’ Awards for Reporting on the Environment’s explanatory reporting, small, category, in 2022. Inside Story spoke with one of the prizewinners.

SEJ Publication Types:
Inside Story [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Activism [38]
Agriculture [3]
Climate Change [23]
Disasters [36]
Environmental Health [6]
Environmental Justice [7]
Environmental Politics [8]
Health [12]
Journalism & Media [13]
Natural Resources [14]
People & Population [15]
Water & Oceans [17]
Region:
National (U.S.) [25]
California [39]
Visibility:
Public [20]
- Read more about Unique Podcast Team Gives Voice to Troubled Communities Near Declining Salton Sea [37]
CDC Data Offer Multiplicity of Starting Points for Environmental Health Stories [40]

For reporters seeking stories that connect environmental and health issues, there may be no better — or more wide-ranging — place to start than with high-quality data from the Centers for Disease Control’s wide range of datasets. The latest Reporter’s Toolbox looks into where the CDC’s data originates from and how that affects its usefulness, and offers up a helpful overview of CDC data surveys.

SEJ Publication Types:
Reporters Toolbox [22]
Topics on the Beat:
Environmental Studies [41]
Government [11]
Health [12]
Journalism & Media [13]
Science [30]
Region:
National (U.S.) [25]
Visibility:
Public [20]
- Read more about CDC Data Offer Multiplicity of Starting Points for Environmental Health Stories [40]
Funding To Replace Lead Pipes Is Just the Start of the Story [42]

Billions of dollars in federal funding to get rid of lead pipes is only the beginning — now the pipes have to be located, removed and replaced. And the latest TipSheet says that’s a story that’s found in many U.S. communities, so is ripe for local reporting. Here’s the backstory and why it matters, along with more than a dozen story ideas and reporting resources.

SEJ Publication Types:
TipSheet [43]
Topics on the Beat:
Consumer [44]
Disasters [36]
Environmental Justice [7]
Environmental Studies [41]
Government [11]
Health [12]
Infrastructure [24]
Journalism & Media [13]
Laws & Regulations [45]
Pollution [16]
Water & Oceans [17]
Region:
National (U.S.) [25]
Great Lakes (IL IN MI MN OH WI) [31]
Visibility:
Public [20]
- Read more about Funding To Replace Lead Pipes Is Just the Start of the Story [42]
Disabilities and Disasters — What Questions Should You Be Asking Planners? [46]

As hurricane season ramps up, how are the disaster planners considering those with disabilities in your community? Texas-based journalist Greg Harman shares the story of one group that sued their city over claims it failed to properly prepare. And he extracts some rules of thumb to help determine if emergency planners are taking those with disabilities into consideration where you are.

SEJ Publication Types:
Features [47]
Topics on the Beat:
Activism [38]
Climate Change [23]
Disasters [36]
Diversity [48]
Environmental Health [6]
Environmental Justice [7]
Environmental Politics [8]
Government [11]
Health [12]
Infrastructure [24]
Journalism & Media [13]
Laws & Regulations [45]
People & Population [15]
Policy [29]
Region:
National (U.S.) [25]
Northeast (CT MA ME NH NJ NY RI VT) [49]
Southwest (AZ NM OK TX) [50]
Visibility:
Public [20]
- Read more about Disabilities and Disasters — What Questions Should You Be Asking Planners? [46]
To Cover Climate Equity Well, Journalists Must Maintain Mental Health [51]

When climate journalists — especially those confronting various forms of oppression in their own communities — witness environmental destruction and human suffering, the trauma can creep into our psyches. But sometimes our professional stance keeps us from seeing the harm to our mental health. In her new Voices of Environmental Justice column, Yessenia Funes looks at the question head-on, exploring resources and paths to better self-care.

SEJ Publication Types:
Voices of Environmental Justice [52]
Topics on the Beat:
Climate Change [23]
Disasters [36]
Diversity [48]
Environmental Justice [7]
Health [12]
Journalism & Media [13]
Region:
National (U.S.) [25]
Alaska and Hawaii [53]
International [18]
Asia [33]
Visibility:
Public [20]
- Read more about To Cover Climate Equity Well, Journalists Must Maintain Mental Health [51]
Top Data Sources Can Help Cover the Larger Wildfire Story [54]

In the aftermath of breaking wildfire news, when environmental journalists are looking to tell the bigger picture story, there are myriad resources that provide data and insight. To help you sort through it all, the latest Reporter’s Toolbox scans eight powerful data portals that provide everything from real-time tracking and satellite data to risk analysis and health impacts.

SEJ Publication Types:
Reporters Toolbox [22]
Topics on the Beat:
Air [35]
Climate Change [23]
Disasters [36]
Environmental Health [6]
Forests [10]
Government [11]
Health [12]
Journalism & Media [13]
Region:
National (U.S.) [25]
Visibility:
Public [20]
- Read more about Top Data Sources Can Help Cover the Larger Wildfire Story [54]

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