Publication Items

Great Lakes Offer Great Stories to Reporters in the Know [1]

The Great Lakes are not only the largest fresh water system in the world, supplying drinking water to tens of millions. They also face a range of environmental woes that make them ready fodder for reporters. This week’s TipSheet runs down some ongoing developments, plus key resources to cover them.

SEJ Publication Types:
TipSheet [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Agriculture [3]
Biodiversity [4]
Chemicals [5]
Consumer [6]
Economy & Business [7]
Energy & Fuel [8]
Environmental Health [9]
Environmental Politics [10]
Fish & Fisheries [11]
Health [12]
Journalism & Media [13]
Laws & Regulations [14]
Natural Resources [15]
People & Population [16]
Planning & Growth [17]
Pollution [18]
Water & Oceans [19]
Region:
National (U.S.) [20]
Great Lakes (IL IN MI MN OH WI) [21]
International [22]
Canada [23]
Visibility:
Public [24]
- Read more about Great Lakes Offer Great Stories to Reporters in the Know [1]
Selective Media Tour on EPA Scandal, ‘Weaponizing’ Transparency and More [25]

The EPA turns to friendly media to share its news, while limiting access to mainstream reporters. And the agency moves to “weaponize” transparency. Those stories, plus, a new way to map political influence on environmental policy, and key reports made public, in the latest WatchDog TipSheet.

SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet [26]
Topics on the Beat:
Activism [27]
Air [28]
Climate Change [29]
Consumer [6]
Economy & Business [7]
Energy & Fuel [8]
Environmental Politics [10]
Environmental Studies [30]
Government [31]
Health [12]
Journalism & Media [13]
Laws & Regulations [14]
Policy [32]
Pollution [18]
Science [33]
Region:
National (U.S.) [20]
Visibility:
Public [24]
- Read more about Selective Media Tour on EPA Scandal, ‘Weaponizing’ Transparency and More [25]
Drinking Water a Little-Noticed Environmental Justice Problem [34]

Health risks from unsafe drinking water afflict many, not only around the world, but in the United States too, especially the poor, ethnic minorities and those in remote rural areas. The latest Issue Backgrounder looks at this undercovered environmental justice story, and offers ideas and resources for how reporters can cover it.

SEJ Publication Types:
Backgrounders [35]
Topics on the Beat:
Activism [27]
Chemicals [5]
Environmental Politics [10]
Government [31]
Health [12]
Laws & Regulations [14]
People & Population [16]
Planning & Growth [17]
Policy [32]
Pollution [18]
Water & Oceans [19]
Region:
National (U.S.) [20]
Visibility:
Public [24]
- Read more about Drinking Water a Little-Noticed Environmental Justice Problem [34]
Are Combined Sewer Overflows Causing Pollution in Your Local Waters? [36]

Decades after the nation’s capital began its historic cleanup, sanitary sewage still occasionally swamps the Potomac River. Are sewage systems also dumping human waste and other pollutants into waterways near you? This week’s TipSheet has the background on the problem of combined sewage overflow, as well as resources for finding out what’s happening near you.

SEJ Publication Types:
TipSheet [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Environmental Health [9]
Health [12]
Journalism & Media [13]
Planning & Growth [17]
Pollution [18]
Waste [37]
Water & Oceans [19]
Region:
National (U.S.) [20]
Great Lakes (IL IN MI MN OH WI) [21]
Mid-Atlantic (DC DE MD PA VA WV) [38]
Northeast (CT MA ME NH NJ NY RI VT) [39]
Southwest (AZ NM OK TX) [40]
Visibility:
Public [24]
- Read more about Are Combined Sewer Overflows Causing Pollution in Your Local Waters? [36]
Searching for Environment Themes at Sundance 2018 [41]

While environmental themes were less prominent at the Sundance Film Festival this year, our correspondent JoAnn Valenti unearthed ecological messages from documentaries that explore the emergence of climate change refugees in the face of sea level rise, the escape from modernity into wilderness and the confrontation of environmental threats by young innovators.

SEJ Publication Types:
Features [42]
Topics on the Beat:
Activism [27]
Air [28]
Chemicals [5]
Climate Change [29]
Environmental Health [9]
Environmental Politics [10]
Forests [43]
Government [31]
Health [12]
Natural Resources [15]
People & Population [16]
Planning & Growth [17]
Policy [32]
Pollution [18]
Water & Oceans [19]
Region:
National (U.S.) [20]
International [22]
Australia & Oceania [44]
Visibility:
Public [24]
- Read more about Searching for Environment Themes at Sundance 2018 [41]
As Threat of Coal-Ash Pollution Grows, Data May Diminish [45]

Coal ash can contaminate surface and ground water with toxic heavy metals. But as this week’s TipSheet reports, Trump deregulation aims to loosen EPA rules on its disposal. That may mean a big local pollution story. If journalists can find the data, that is. The latest on the new rules, plus resources for coverage.

SEJ Publication Types:
TipSheet [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Chemicals [5]
Energy & Fuel [8]
Environmental Health [9]
Environmental Politics [10]
Government [31]
Health [12]
Journalism & Media [13]
Laws & Regulations [14]
Pollution [18]
Water & Oceans [19]
Region:
National (U.S.) [20]
Visibility:
Public [24]
- Read more about As Threat of Coal-Ash Pollution Grows, Data May Diminish [45]
Sun Doesn’t Shine at Trump Environmental Agencies [46]

There’s little cause to celebrate upcoming Sunshine Week for those who cover Trump administration environmental agencies. The latest WatchDog catalogues how the EPA has adopted a secretive approach and displays frequent hostility to the news media, including with a troubling series of attacks on individual journalists.

SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet [26]
Topics on the Beat:
Activism [27]
Chemicals [5]
Climate Change [29]
Consumer [6]
Disasters [47]
Economy & Business [7]
Environmental Politics [10]
Government [31]
Health [12]
Journalism & Media [13]
Laws & Regulations [14]
Policy [32]
Pollution [18]
Science [33]
Region:
National (U.S.) [20]
Visibility:
Public [24]
- Read more about Sun Doesn’t Shine at Trump Environmental Agencies [46]
EPA Mapping App Helps Find, Deepen Environmental Justice Stories [48]

As new research reminds us that pollution often disproportionately affects poor and minority communities in the United States, a long-standing mapping tool from the EPA can help reporters explore and discover those environmental justice stories nearest them. The latest TipSheet explains the problem, and walks you through the mapping app.

SEJ Publication Types:
TipSheet [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Activism [27]
Air [28]
Environmental Health [9]
Environmental Politics [10]
Environmental Studies [30]
Government [31]
Health [12]
Journalism & Media [13]
People & Population [16]
Pollution [18]
Technology [49]
Region:
National (U.S.) [20]
California [50]
Great Lakes (IL IN MI MN OH WI) [21]
Mid-Atlantic (DC DE MD PA VA WV) [38]
Mountain West (CO ID MT NV UT WY) [51]
Southwest (AZ NM OK TX) [40]
Visibility:
Public [24]
- Read more about EPA Mapping App Helps Find, Deepen Environmental Justice Stories [48]
“The Gulf: The Making of an American Sea” [52]

A new book on the Gulf of Mexico earns kudos for the balance and passion of its tone, as well as for its historical storytelling about this important ecosystem and the overfishing, oil spills, hurricanes, explosive growth and poor land-use decisions it faces. BookShelf reviews Jack Davis’ “The Gulf.”

SEJ Publication Types:
BookShelf [53]
Topics on the Beat:
Biodiversity [4]
Disasters [47]
Economy & Business [7]
Energy & Fuel [8]
Environmental Health [9]
Environmental Politics [10]
Fish & Fisheries [11]
Natural Resources [15]
People & Population [16]
Planning & Growth [17]
Policy [32]
Pollution [18]
Water & Oceans [19]
Region:
SE (AL AR FL GA KY LA MS NC PR SC TN) [54]
Southwest (AZ NM OK TX) [40]
Mexico [55]
Central America & the Caribbean [56]
Visibility:
Public [24]
- Read more about “The Gulf: The Making of an American Sea” [52]
Abandoned Mines — Stories Beneath Your Feet [57]

They count in the tens, perhaps hundreds of thousands, and each one is a potential story. This week’s TipSheet looks at abandoned mines spread across the United States, many of them polluted, and with few cleanups underway. Find out what’s at stake, and get reporting resources.

SEJ Publication Types:
TipSheet [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Disasters [47]
Energy & Fuel [8]
Government [31]
Journalism & Media [13]
Laws & Regulations [14]
Natural Resources [15]
Pollution [18]
Waste [37]
Region:
National (U.S.) [20]
Mountain West (CO ID MT NV UT WY) [51]
Visibility:
Public [24]
- Read more about Abandoned Mines — Stories Beneath Your Feet [57]

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