Publication Items

Reporting on Environmental Solutions and Equity — at a Watershed Scale [1]

Reporting on interconnected ecosystems lends itself to better environmental stories, and so tracing how water moves across landscapes, communities, industries and regulatory schemes can help the public connect the dots. That’s how Annie Ropeik, who helps run the Mississippi River Basin Ag & Water Desk, sees the watershed beat. She shares expert views and offers insights for environment journalists to use in their reporting.

SEJ Publication Types:
Features [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Activism [3]
Agriculture [4]
Climate Change [5]
Diversity [6]
Economy & Business [7]
Environmental Health [8]
Environmental Justice [9]
Environmental Politics [10]
Environmental Studies [11]
Government [12]
Health [13]
Infrastructure [14]
Journalism & Media [15]
Laws & Regulations [16]
Natural Resources [17]
Planning & Growth [18]
Policy [19]
Pollution [20]
Water & Oceans [21]
Region:
National (U.S.) [22]
Great Lakes (IL IN MI MN OH WI) [23]
Great Plains (IA KS ND NE MO SD) [24]
Mountain West (CO ID MT NV UT WY) [25]
Northwest (OR WA) [26]
SE (AL AR FL GA KY LA MS NC PR SC TN) [27]
International [28]
Canada [29]
Visibility:
Public [30]
- Read more about Reporting on Environmental Solutions and Equity — at a Watershed Scale [1]
Seabed Mining May Dredge Up Real Minerals, Fishy Worries in 2024 [31]

The mining of the ocean floor has stirred up significant debate, much of which clouds the realities of whether and to what degree it would cause ecological harm to one of the world’s greatest resources. This week’s TipSheet looks more closely at the controversy, which may well come to a head in the coming year. The latest entry in SEJournal’s 2024 Journalists’ Guide to Environment and Energy.

SEJ Publication Types:
TipSheet [32]
Topics on the Beat:
Activism [3]
Biodiversity [33]
Climate Change [5]
Economy & Business [7]
Environmental Health [8]
Environmental Politics [10]
Fish & Fisheries [34]
Food [35]
Government [12]
Journalism & Media [15]
Laws & Regulations [16]
Natural Resources [17]
Policy [19]
Pollution [20]
Water & Oceans [21]
Region:
International [28]
Visibility:
Public [30]
- Read more about Seabed Mining May Dredge Up Real Minerals, Fishy Worries in 2024 [31]
High-Risk Reporting Yields Results on Palm Oil Investigation [36]

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 [37]
Topics on the Beat:
Agriculture [4]
Chemicals [38]
Economy & Business [7]
Environmental Health [8]
Environmental Justice [9]
Environmental Politics [10]
Food [35]
Forests [39]
Government [12]
Health [13]
Journalism & Media [15]
Natural Resources [17]
People & Population [40]
Pollution [20]
Water & Oceans [21]
Region:
International [28]
South America [41]
Visibility:
Public [30]
- Read more about High-Risk Reporting Yields Results on Palm Oil Investigation [36]
Exposed for Pig Pollution, Nebraska Governor Slimes the Reporter [42]

When the governor of Nebraska personally attacked an investigative reporter who’d covered environmental problems in his family business, it drew a national spotlight and a quick response from free press supporters, including the Society of Environmental Journalists. WatchDog Opinion looks at what happened and observes that politicians’ name-calling of journalists has an unfortunate history — but must never be allowed to stop the truthtelling.

SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog [43]
Topics on the Beat:
Agriculture [4]
Environmental Politics [10]
Government [12]
Journalism & Media [15]
Policy [19]
Pollution [20]
Region:
National (U.S.) [22]
Great Plains (IA KS ND NE MO SD) [24]
Visibility:
Public [30]
- Read more about Exposed for Pig Pollution, Nebraska Governor Slimes the Reporter [42]
Electric Vehicles Will Be Burning Rubber in 2024 [44]

As global sales of electric vehicles surge, the positive impact on climate change emissions could be a critical benefit. But as our Backgrounder points out, it’s not as simple as that. There are challenges with politics, tax laws, mineral access, related pollution regulations and union jobs. Get an overview of the issue, in this latest entry in our expanding 2024 Journalists’ Guide to Environment + Energy.

SEJ Publication Types:
Backgrounders [45]
Topics on the Beat:
Climate Change [5]
Consumer [46]
Energy & Fuel [47]
Environmental Politics [10]
Government [12]
Journalism & Media [15]
Laws & Regulations [16]
Natural Resources [17]
Policy [19]
Pollution [20]
Science [48]
Technology [49]
Transportation [50]
Region:
National (U.S.) [22]
International [28]
Asia [51]
Europe [52]
Visibility:
Public [30]
- Read more about Electric Vehicles Will Be Burning Rubber in 2024 [44]
Funding To Replace Lead Pipes Is Just the Start of the Story [53]

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 [32]
Topics on the Beat:
Consumer [46]
Disasters [54]
Environmental Justice [9]
Environmental Studies [11]
Government [12]
Health [13]
Infrastructure [14]
Journalism & Media [15]
Laws & Regulations [16]
Pollution [20]
Water & Oceans [21]
Region:
National (U.S.) [22]
Great Lakes (IL IN MI MN OH WI) [23]
Visibility:
Public [30]
- Read more about Funding To Replace Lead Pipes Is Just the Start of the Story [53]
Waste Incineration May Put Toxics Into Local Air [55]

Sometimes on the environment beat, what seems like an old story is perpetually new again. That’s the case with waste incineration, finds the latest TipSheet. Rather than being reduced, incinerators are just being transformed, with the ongoing burning of plastics especially troubling for the environment and public health. Get the backstory on where the regulatory regime may have holes, plus key reporting angles and story ideas.

SEJ Publication Types:
TipSheet [32]
Topics on the Beat:
Activism [3]
Air [56]
Chemicals [38]
Energy & Fuel [47]
Environmental Health [8]
Environmental Justice [9]
Environmental Politics [10]
Health [13]
Journalism & Media [15]
Laws & Regulations [16]
Pollution [20]
Waste [57]
Region:
National (U.S.) [22]
Visibility:
Public [30]
- Read more about Waste Incineration May Put Toxics Into Local Air [55]
Data on Pesticide Incidents Openly Available for First Time [58]

A decade’s worth of government pesticide data — only available before through FOIA — has been made newly available. And, explains the latest Reporter’s Toolbox, it can lead to revealing environmental, public health and environmental justice stories. More on how the data came to be compiled and advice on using it smartly, along with some caveats.

SEJ Publication Types:
Reporters Toolbox [59]
Topics on the Beat:
Agriculture [4]
Chemicals [38]
Environmental Health [8]
Environmental Justice [9]
Food [35]
Health [13]
Journalism & Media [15]
Laws & Regulations [16]
Pollution [20]
Region:
National (U.S.) [22]
Visibility:
Public [30]
- Read more about Data on Pesticide Incidents Openly Available for First Time [58]
Missouri, Florida Journalism Professors Join Classes on Multistate Fertilizer Investigation [60]

What brought together two teams of student reporters, half a dozen states and 1,000 miles apart? For one, the high environmental cost of chemical fertilizer. For another, a pair of dedicated journalism teachers. Cynthia Barnett and Sara Shipley Hiles share how they took the project from daydream to reality, brought students into the field and got pickup from numerous news outlets, in the latest EJ Academy.

SEJ Publication Types:
EJ Academy [61]
Topics on the Beat:
Agriculture [4]
Chemicals [38]
Economy & Business [7]
Environmental Health [8]
Environmental Justice [9]
Environmental Studies [11]
Fish & Fisheries [34]
Food [35]
Journalism & Media [15]
Pollution [20]
Water & Oceans [21]
Region:
National (U.S.) [22]
Great Lakes (IL IN MI MN OH WI) [23]
SE (AL AR FL GA KY LA MS NC PR SC TN) [27]
Southwest (AZ NM OK TX) [62]
Visibility:
Public [30]
- Read more about Missouri, Florida Journalism Professors Join Classes on Multistate Fertilizer Investigation [60]
Painful Process Underway of Regulating PFAS in Drinking Water [63]

Long-growing concern over dangerous “forever” chemicals has drawn the attention of federal and state policymakers, local communities and the utilities that provide their drinking water. But little about regulating PFAS will be quick or easy, making it a major environmental and public health story for years to come. Issue Backgrounder unfolds the regulatory moves, the politics and the larger implications of PFAS policy.

SEJ Publication Types:
Backgrounders [45]
Topics on the Beat:
Chemicals [38]
Consumer [46]
Environmental Health [8]
Environmental Politics [10]
Government [12]
Health [13]
Infrastructure [14]
Journalism & Media [15]
Laws & Regulations [16]
Pollution [20]
Water & Oceans [21]
Region:
National (U.S.) [22]
Visibility:
Public [30]
- Read more about Painful Process Underway of Regulating PFAS in Drinking Water [63]

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