Publication Items

How 'Rights of Nature' Is Recasting the Relationship Between Law and the Earth [1]

In 2006, a local government council in Pennsylvania concerned about sewage sludge dumping enacted the Western legal system’s first formal “rights of nature” instrument. Today, numerous countries have laws recognizing specific rights or even legal personhood for nature. As legal expert Alice Bleby explains, this new perspective arises from a wide range of contexts and plays out in many different ways.

SEJ Publication Types:
Features [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Activism [3]
Biodiversity [4]
Chemicals [5]
Climate Change [6]
Environmental Health [7]
Environmental Justice [8]
Environmental Politics [9]
Environmental Studies [10]
Fish & Fisheries [11]
Forests [12]
Government [13]
Laws & Regulations [14]
Natural Resources [15]
Policy [16]
Pollution [17]
Religion, Faith and Spirituality [18]
Water & Oceans [19]
Region:
National (U.S.) [20]
California [21]
Great Lakes (IL IN MI MN OH WI) [22]
Mid-Atlantic (DC DE MD PA VA WV) [23]
International [24]
Africa [25]
Asia [26]
Australia & Oceania [27]
South America [28]
Visibility:
Public [29]
- Read more about How 'Rights of Nature' Is Recasting the Relationship Between Law and the Earth [1]
Ocean and Climate Change Toolbox [30]

Oceans and climate change intersect with many other issues, a crossover likely to be emphasized in the upcoming United Nations Ocean Conference and in future ocean-based climate discussions. This list of resources reflects some of that intersection in order to help environmental journalists better cover the field of “blue climate” solutions.

SEJ Publication Types:
Special Reports [31]
Topics on the Beat:
Biodiversity [4]
Climate Change [6]
Environmental Health [7]
Environmental Politics [9]
Environmental Studies [10]
Fish & Fisheries [11]
Laws & Regulations [14]
Natural Resources [15]
Policy [16]
Pollution [17]
Science [32]
Water & Oceans [19]
Region:
National (U.S.) [20]
International [24]
Visibility:
Public [29]
- Read more about Ocean and Climate Change Toolbox [30]
EPA Leak on Problem Coal Ash Sites Could Yield Local Drinking Water Stories [33]

Closure plans for more than 160 coal ash facilities crisscrossing the United States are under renewed scrutiny by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, according to a newly leaked list. The latest TipSheet credits that leak with offering local environmental reporters story leads on potential drinking water pollution in their communities. Get the details, plus story ideas and reporting resources.

SEJ Publication Types:
TipSheet [34]
Topics on the Beat:
Chemicals [5]
Energy & Fuel [35]
Environmental Politics [9]
Health [36]
Journalism & Media [37]
Laws & Regulations [14]
Pollution [17]
Waste [38]
Water & Oceans [19]
Region:
National (U.S.) [20]
SE (AL AR FL GA KY LA MS NC PR SC TN) [39]
Visibility:
Public [29]
- Read more about EPA Leak on Problem Coal Ash Sites Could Yield Local Drinking Water Stories [33]
Fine Particle Pollution Will Soon Spawn a Stormcloud of News [40]

New rules on soot may soon be on the way and will likely stir up the long-standing controversy over air pollution from particulate matter. The latest TipSheet has the backstory on the pending regulations, reviews human health impacts and offers a range of story ideas and reporting resources for environmental journalists to tell the story on a local and regional basis.

SEJ Publication Types:
TipSheet [34]
Topics on the Beat:
Air [41]
Chemicals [5]
Environmental Justice [8]
Environmental Politics [9]
Health [36]
Journalism & Media [37]
Laws & Regulations [14]
Policy [16]
Pollution [17]
Region:
National (U.S.) [20]
Visibility:
Public [29]
- Read more about Fine Particle Pollution Will Soon Spawn a Stormcloud of News [40]
Massive Drilling Database Helps Track Threats From Local Oil, Gas Wells [42]

A new data tool that captures information on 1.5 million-plus active U.S. oil and gas production facilities can be a powerful tool for journalists looking to report on potential pollutants, especially when overlaid with local census data, school locations and the like. Reporter’s Toolbox takes a closer look at the new Oil & Gas Threat Map, shares caveats and offers story ideas.

SEJ Publication Types:
Reporters Toolbox [43]
Topics on the Beat:
Air [41]
Chemicals [5]
Energy & Fuel [35]
Environmental Health [7]
Health [36]
Journalism & Media [37]
Pollution [17]
Region:
National (U.S.) [20]
Visibility:
Public [29]
- Read more about Massive Drilling Database Helps Track Threats From Local Oil, Gas Wells [42]
Septic Systems Often Hide Neglected Local Stories [44]

Millions of Americans rely on their own onsite wastewater treatment, commonly known as septic systems. And many of those systems are connected to private wells. But unless they are properly sited, designed, built and maintained, they can contaminate drinking water, bringing dangerous waterborne illnesses. The latest TipSheet explains how to turn this often ignored issue into a local story.

SEJ Publication Types:
TipSheet [34]
Topics on the Beat:
Chemicals [5]
Consumer [45]
Environmental Justice [8]
Health [36]
Infrastructure [46]
Journalism & Media [37]
Laws & Regulations [14]
Planning & Growth [47]
Pollution [17]
Waste [38]
Water & Oceans [19]
Region:
National (U.S.) [20]
Northeast (CT MA ME NH NJ NY RI VT) [48]
SE (AL AR FL GA KY LA MS NC PR SC TN) [39]
Visibility:
Public [29]
- Read more about Septic Systems Often Hide Neglected Local Stories [44]
On the Mafia To-Do List? Take Out the Trash [49]

A student op-ed zeroing in on Rome’s trash problem, the role of organized crime and the silencing of Italy’s journalists has won the Society of Environmental Journalists’ first-ever Student Press Freedom Day contest. Our EJ Academy column shares Macy Berendsen’s opinion piece, which asks what the news media there can do to help clean up the Eternal City.

SEJ Publication Types:
EJ Academy [50]
Topics on the Beat:
Environmental Politics [9]
Journalism & Media [37]
Pollution [17]
Waste [38]
Region:
International [24]
Europe [51]
Visibility:
Public [29]
- Read more about On the Mafia To-Do List? Take Out the Trash [49]
Climate Change Action May Depend on Supreme Court [52]

A milestone legal challenge soon to be decided by the U.S. high court could severely limit how the U.S. government regulates the greenhouse gasses that cause climate change. The new Issue Backgrounder takes a look at West Virginia v. EPA, its legal implications, the politics behind it and what it would mean for efforts to curb future impacts of global warming.

SEJ Publication Types:
Backgrounders [53]
Topics on the Beat:
Air [41]
Climate Change [6]
Energy & Fuel [35]
Environmental Politics [9]
Government [13]
Laws & Regulations [14]
Policy [16]
Pollution [17]
Region:
National (U.S.) [20]
Mid-Atlantic (DC DE MD PA VA WV) [23]
Northeast (CT MA ME NH NJ NY RI VT) [48]
Visibility:
Public [29]
- Read more about Climate Change Action May Depend on Supreme Court [52]
Investigation Into Dry Oil Wells Reveals High Risks, Costs to Nearby Neighborhoods [54]

A casual query from an editor prompted an investigative reporter to pair up with a data journalism reporter at a partner news organization to dig into the risks that thousands of dry oil wells across California posed to surrounding communities, including many low-income Latino neighborhoods. How the resulting award-winning series came together, in an Inside Story Q&A with reporter Mark Olalde.

SEJ Publication Types:
Inside Story [55]
Topics on the Beat:
Energy & Fuel [35]
Environmental Health [7]
Environmental Justice [8]
Health [36]
Journalism & Media [37]
Pollution [17]
Region:
National (U.S.) [20]
California [21]
Visibility:
Public [29]
- Read more about Investigation Into Dry Oil Wells Reveals High Risks, Costs to Nearby Neighborhoods [54]
As Summer Worsens Air Pollution, Data Sources Help Coverage [56]

As the weather grows warmer, air pollution from smog typically worsens, as does smoke from spreading wildfires. The latest Reporter’s Toolbox spotlights the data that can help improve your coverage, whether via an easy-to-use report on the state of the air from a prominent nonprofit, or straight from various quality EPA data resources. Find help getting started on your air pollution coverage projects now.

SEJ Publication Types:
Reporters Toolbox [43]
Topics on the Beat:
Air [41]
Climate Change [6]
Environmental Health [7]
Environmental Justice [8]
Health [36]
Journalism & Media [37]
Pollution [17]
Region:
National (U.S.) [20]
Visibility:
Public [29]
- Read more about As Summer Worsens Air Pollution, Data Sources Help Coverage [56]

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