Publication Items

Epic Struggles Ahead in 2023 on Energy Transition, Pollution [1]

In our annual analysis of what’s ahead on the environment beat in 2023, there are some things to count on: worsening climate disasters and continued politicking over energy transitions, but also regulatory action on greenhouse gas emissions (not to mention on “forever chemicals”). Other things are less clear: environmental rulings by a conservative U.S. Supreme Court, energy impacts of war in Europe and the effectiveness of COP28 and treaty talks on plastic pollution. Read the full overview and get more in our “2023 Journalists’ Guide to Energy & Environment [2]” special report.

SEJ Publication Types:
Special Reports [3]
Topics on the Beat:
Activism [4]
Agriculture [5]
Air [6]
Biodiversity [7]
Chemicals [8]
Climate Change [9]
Disasters [10]
Economy & Business [11]
Energy & Fuel [12]
Environmental Justice [13]
Environmental Politics [14]
Fish & Fisheries [15]
Government [16]
Health [17]
Infrastructure [18]
Journalism & Media [19]
Laws & Regulations [20]
Military [21]
Natural Resources [22]
Planning & Growth [23]
Policy [24]
Pollution [25]
Science [26]
Waste [27]
Water & Oceans [28]
Region:
National (U.S.) [29]
International [30]
Europe [31]
Middle East [32]
Visibility:
Public [33]
- Read more about Epic Struggles Ahead in 2023 on Energy Transition, Pollution [1]
Cascadia Bioregion Rife With Energy, Environment Troubles To Report in 2023 [34]

Iconic critters like salmon, orca and wolves. Climate controversies like natural gas greenwashing and carbon auctions. And wildfire fallout like “smoke-a-geddon.” These are just some of the wide array of stories worth covering as environmental journalists scan Cascadia, the huge area encompassing Washington, Oregon and Idaho, and stretching from Alaska to Utah. This special TipSheet, part of our 2023 Journalists’ Guide to Energy & Environment, outlines top issues in the region, offering insights, resources and story angles.

SEJ Publication Types:
TipSheet [35]
Topics on the Beat:
Activism [4]
Agriculture [5]
Air [6]
Biodiversity [7]
Climate Change [9]
Consumer [36]
Disasters [10]
Diversity [37]
Economy & Business [11]
Energy & Fuel [12]
Environmental Health [38]
Environmental Justice [13]
Environmental Politics [14]
Environmental Studies [39]
Fish & Fisheries [15]
Food [40]
Forests [41]
Government [16]
Health [17]
Infrastructure [18]
Journalism & Media [19]
Laws & Regulations [20]
Natural Resources [22]
Planning & Growth [23]
Policy [24]
Pollution [25]
Transportation [42]
Waste [27]
Water & Oceans [28]
Wildlife [43]
Region:
National (U.S.) [29]
Alaska and Hawaii [44]
California [45]
Mountain West (CO ID MT NV UT WY) [46]
Northwest (OR WA) [47]
International [30]
Canada [48]
Visibility:
Public [33]
- Read more about Cascadia Bioregion Rife With Energy, Environment Troubles To Report in 2023 [34]
Exploring the Impacts of Hydroelectric Megaprojects on Indigenous Lands [49]

Nearly two-thirds of the world’s rivers are impeded by dams and we keep building them in our quest for cleaner and greener sources of electricity. But as podcast producer Farha Akhtar learned while producing a recent episode, these monumental structures are having a profound impact on our planet and catastrophic consequences for many Indigenous people.

SEJ Publication Types:
Features [50]
Topics on the Beat:
Activism [4]
Biodiversity [7]
Chemicals [8]
Climate Change [9]
Consumer [36]
Diversity [37]
Economy & Business [11]
Energy & Fuel [12]
Environmental Health [38]
Environmental Justice [13]
Environmental Politics [14]
Fish & Fisheries [15]
Food [40]
Government [16]
Health [17]
Infrastructure [18]
Journalism & Media [19]
Natural Resources [22]
Pollution [25]
Religion, Faith and Spirituality [51]
Science [26]
Technology [52]
Water & Oceans [28]
Wildlife [43]
Region:
National (U.S.) [29]
International [30]
Canada [48]
Asia [53]
Visibility:
Public [33]
- Read more about Exploring the Impacts of Hydroelectric Megaprojects on Indigenous Lands [49]
Determined Grantee Weaves Together Unique Project on Ash Trees, Wetlands and Baskets [54]

When the global pandemic interfered with independent journalist Gabriel Popkin’s plans for a grant-funded biodiversity reporting project on the emerald ash borer, an invasive pest threatening ash forests, he came up with a surprising solution. In this FEJ StoryLog, Popkin shares how he worked around travel shutdowns and subsequent story pitch rejections to ultimately discover an alternative storytelling option to keep his project alive.

SEJ Publication Types:
FEJ StoryLog [55]
Topics on the Beat:
Biodiversity [7]
Environmental Health [38]
Environmental Justice [13]
Forests [41]
Journalism & Media [19]
Natural Resources [22]
Religion, Faith and Spirituality [51]
Region:
National (U.S.) [29]
Great Lakes (IL IN MI MN OH WI) [56]
Mid-Atlantic (DC DE MD PA VA WV) [57]
Northeast (CT MA ME NH NJ NY RI VT) [58]
Visibility:
Public [33]
- Read more about Determined Grantee Weaves Together Unique Project on Ash Trees, Wetlands and Baskets [54]
Winning Over Editors and Others with Award Winners’ Multimedia Nuggets [59]

If you’re looking to engage key constituencies for your journalism — whether editors, sources, students or people who have been marginalized — a new set of short videos from award-winning journalists (like KESQ's Angela Chen, at left) can serve as a helpful resource. Inside Story has a roadmap of how to make smart use of these video nuggets to, for instance, convince newsroom powerbrokers to give you more time and support for ambitious stories.

SEJ Publication Types:
Inside Story [60]
Topics on the Beat:
Agriculture [5]
Air [6]
Biodiversity [7]
Chemicals [8]
Climate Change [9]
Diversity [37]
Environmental Health [38]
Environmental Justice [13]
Environmental Politics [14]
Government [16]
Health [17]
Journalism & Media [19]
Natural Resources [22]
Policy [24]
Pollution [25]
Science [26]
Water & Oceans [28]
Wildlife [43]
Region:
National (U.S.) [29]
California [45]
Northwest (OR WA) [47]
SE (AL AR FL GA KY LA MS NC PR SC TN) [61]
International [30]
Visibility:
Public [33]
- Read more about Winning Over Editors and Others with Award Winners’ Multimedia Nuggets [59]
Water-Sharing in the West: An Urgent and Complicated Environmental Story [62]

Water has always been a precious commodity in the western states. Now, with rapid population growth and a drying climate, the way this resource is shared and distributed is becoming more contentious across the region. Freelance journalist Jennifer Oldham talks about the tensions between supply and demand and how to drill down into water rights laws and policies.

SEJ Publication Types:
Features [50]
Topics on the Beat:
Agriculture [5]
Climate Change [9]
Consumer [36]
Economy & Business [11]
Environmental Health [38]
Environmental Politics [14]
Government [16]
Infrastructure [18]
Journalism & Media [19]
Laws & Regulations [20]
Natural Resources [22]
People & Population [63]
Planning & Growth [23]
Policy [24]
Technology [52]
Water & Oceans [28]
Region:
National (U.S.) [29]
California [45]
Mountain West (CO ID MT NV UT WY) [46]
Southwest (AZ NM OK TX) [64]
Visibility:
Public [33]
- Read more about Water-Sharing in the West: An Urgent and Complicated Environmental Story [62]
As Concern Over Methane Mounts, Emission Controls Yield Stories [65]

While carbon dioxide is the greenhouse gas most often in the news, methane has greater warming power and accounts for a big chunk of the current increase in global warming. Now, growing regulatory pressure may help shift that focus and could drive more local environmental reporting, per the latest TipSheet. The backstory, plus reporting ideas and resources.

SEJ Publication Types:
TipSheet [35]
Topics on the Beat:
Agriculture [5]
Air [6]
Climate Change [9]
Energy & Fuel [12]
Environmental Health [38]
Environmental Politics [14]
Journalism & Media [19]
Laws & Regulations [20]
Natural Resources [22]
Policy [24]
Pollution [25]
Waste [27]
Region:
National (U.S.) [29]
International [30]
Visibility:
Public [33]
- Read more about As Concern Over Methane Mounts, Emission Controls Yield Stories [65]
New Kolbert Volume Addresses Value of Human Efforts To Control Nature [66]

When engineers reversed the Chicago River, they also upended a hydrologic system that years later required electrification to repel an invasive species threatening a major fishery. This is but one example from the latest book by New Yorker writer Elizabeth Kolbert of the unintended consequences of human actions to dominate nature that may solve one problem only to create another. BookShelf contributor Gary Wilson has a review.

SEJ Publication Types:
BookShelf [67]
Topics on the Beat:
Climate Change [9]
Environmental Health [38]
Fish & Fisheries [15]
Infrastructure [18]
Natural Resources [22]
Planning & Growth [23]
Policy [24]
Science [26]
Technology [52]
Water & Oceans [28]
Wildlife [43]
Region:
National (U.S.) [29]
Great Lakes (IL IN MI MN OH WI) [56]
SE (AL AR FL GA KY LA MS NC PR SC TN) [61]
Visibility:
Public [33]
- Read more about New Kolbert Volume Addresses Value of Human Efforts To Control Nature [66]
ESA Inaction Spells Trouble for an Iconic Grassland Bird [68]

The lesser prairie-chicken is in dire need of protection, but a decision on listing it under the Endangered Species Act is months overdue. Environmental reporter Mike Smith looks at the causes and potential consequences of the bureaucratic delay and muses on whether this unique bird will go the way of its even more imperiled relative, the Attwater’s prairie-chicken [69].

SEJ Publication Types:
Features [50]
Topics on the Beat:
Activism [4]
Agriculture [5]
Biodiversity [7]
Economy & Business [11]
Energy & Fuel [12]
Environmental Politics [14]
Government [16]
Laws & Regulations [20]
Natural Resources [22]
Policy [24]
Science [26]
Wildlife [43]
Region:
National (U.S.) [29]
Great Plains (IA KS ND NE MO SD) [70]
Mountain West (CO ID MT NV UT WY) [46]
SE (AL AR FL GA KY LA MS NC PR SC TN) [61]
Southwest (AZ NM OK TX) [64]
Visibility:
Public [33]
- Read more about ESA Inaction Spells Trouble for an Iconic Grassland Bird [68]
Could Biodiversity Be Bee’s Knees for Environmental Journalists This Fall? [71]

While a global gathering on biodiversity this winter will be news in itself, enterprising reporters can also find many biodiversity stories in their own backyards. The latest TipSheet offers insight into the domestic U.S. battle over endangered species, with a tale of a Tennessee dam, and a better understanding of the biodiversity-habitat connection. Plus, story ideas and reporting resources.

SEJ Publication Types:
TipSheet [35]
Topics on the Beat:
Activism [4]
Biodiversity [7]
Environmental Health [38]
Environmental Politics [14]
Fish & Fisheries [15]
Forests [41]
Government [16]
Journalism & Media [19]
Laws & Regulations [20]
Natural Resources [22]
Policy [24]
Water & Oceans [28]
Wildlife [43]
Region:
National (U.S.) [29]
SE (AL AR FL GA KY LA MS NC PR SC TN) [61]
International [30]
Visibility:
Public [33]
- Read more about Could Biodiversity Be Bee’s Knees for Environmental Journalists This Fall? [71]

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