Publication Items

Will Science Be Stifled at the EPA? [1]

Anti-science policies are being instituted by the Trump administration at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and other federal offices, reports the latest Backgrounder. That makes it especially challenging to keep politics out of decision-making around everything from natural disasters to public health. An examination of scientific integrity under Trump 2.0 and what environmental journalists should watch for.

SEJ Publication Types:
Backgrounders [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Chemicals [3]
Climate Change [4]
Disasters [5]
Environmental Justice [6]
Environmental Politics [7]
Government [8]
Health [9]
Infrastructure [10]
Journalism & Media [11]
Laws & Regulations [12]
Policy [13]
Pollution [14]
Science [15]
Region:
National (U.S.) [16]
Visibility:
Public [17]
- Read more about Will Science Be Stifled at the EPA? [1]
‘They’re Back’ — Veteran Journalists on Braving the Specter of Trump’s Return [18]

How can environmental reporters best cover the upheavals of a second Trump administration? SEJournal commissioned a special analysis to draw on the experience of reporters who were there to chronicle the first. Contributing editor Jennifer Weeks spoke to more than half a dozen news veterans of Trump’s earlier environmental and energy policy initiatives, with insights and tips on how to handle what’s ahead.

SEJ Publication Types:
Features [19]
Topics on the Beat:
Air [20]
Chemicals [3]
Climate Change [4]
Disasters [5]
Energy & Fuel [21]
Environmental Justice [6]
Environmental Politics [7]
Government [8]
Journalism & Media [11]
Laws & Regulations [12]
Natural Resources [22]
Policy [13]
Pollution [14]
Water & Oceans [23]
Visibility:
Public [17]
- Read more about ‘They’re Back’ — Veteran Journalists on Braving the Specter of Trump’s Return [18]
Environmental Policies Upended, Climate Plans a Casualty As Trump Takes Power [24]

In the overview summary for our “2025 Journalists’ Guide to Environment + Energy” special report, we foresee the very real prospect that environmental protection and energy policies in place, in some cases, for decades could swiftly be swept aside by the Trump administration and a GOP-controlled Congress. Read our analysis [24], plus look back at more than three dozen stories gathered together in our ninth annual guide [25].

SEJ Publication Types:
Special Reports [26]
Topics on the Beat:
Climate Change [4]
Energy & Fuel [21]
Environmental Justice [6]
Environmental Politics [7]
Government [8]
Health [9]
Infrastructure [10]
Journalism & Media [11]
Laws & Regulations [12]
Policy [13]
Pollution [14]
Region:
National (U.S.) [16]
International [27]
Visibility:
Public [17]
- Read more about Environmental Policies Upended, Climate Plans a Casualty As Trump Takes Power [24]
Open Door to Industry for Trump Environmental Agency Appointees [28]

It’s not just the heads of Trump administration environmental agencies who come from the industries they now are entrusted to regulate. The latest TipSheet explains that it’s also the political appointees below them — officials responsible for overseeing air, water, toxic chemicals, Superfund, forests and drilling — who are now likely examples of regulatory capture. A short list. Plus, more from our new Trump 2.0 EJWatch special section [29].

SEJ Publication Types:
TipSheet [30]
Topics on the Beat:
Agriculture [31]
Air [20]
Chemicals [3]
Climate Change [4]
Economy & Business [32]
Energy & Fuel [21]
Environmental Politics [7]
Forests [33]
Government [8]
Journalism & Media [11]
Laws & Regulations [12]
Natural Resources [22]
Policy [13]
Pollution [14]
Waste [34]
Water & Oceans [23]
Region:
National (U.S.) [16]
Visibility:
Public [17]
- Read more about Open Door to Industry for Trump Environmental Agency Appointees [28]
The Forgotten Victims of Hidalgo [35]

Contaminated water sickened thousands of residents near Mexico City for 40 years — even as officials knew they were being poisoned. Then, an investigative news team turned its attention to the polluted region, and produced multiple video and text versions of an award-winning feature focused on the residents’ health, poverty and more. Read a revealing Q&A with investigative producer Carlos Carabaña in the new Inside Story.

SEJ Publication Types:
Inside Story [36]
Topics on the Beat:
Chemicals [3]
Environmental Justice [6]
Government [8]
Health [9]
Journalism & Media [11]
People & Population [37]
Pollution [14]
Waste [34]
Water & Oceans [23]
Region:
International [27]
Mexico [38]
Visibility:
Public [17]
- Read more about The Forgotten Victims of Hidalgo [35]
Telling the Stories of the Silent Sentinels [39]

To many, plants are a merely green backdrop, indistinguishable and inconsequential. But, freelancer Karen Mockler says that such “plant blindness” belies an urgent need for our notice. More than a third of the world’s trees and thousands of other plant species face extinction. Their plight — and their many blessings — offer perceptive journalists a wealth of reporting and storytelling opportunities. Mockler on why to write about plants.

SEJ Publication Types:
Features [19]
Topics on the Beat:
Agriculture [31]
Air [20]
Biodiversity [40]
Climate Change [4]
Environmental Health [41]
Environmental Justice [6]
Environmental Politics [7]
Environmental Studies [42]
Food [43]
Forests [33]
Government [8]
Health [9]
Journalism & Media [11]
Laws & Regulations [12]
Natural Resources [22]
Pollution [14]
Religion, Faith and Spirituality [44]
Science [15]
Water & Oceans [23]
Wildlife [45]
Region:
National (U.S.) [16]
California [46]
Northwest (OR WA) [47]
Southwest (AZ NM OK TX) [48]
International [27]
Canada [49]
Visibility:
Public [17]
- Read more about Telling the Stories of the Silent Sentinels [39]
What Biden Rules Could Congress Unplug With Review Act? [50]

As the Biden White House rushes to enact environment and energy policy before Inauguration Day, an obscure law leaves room for the incoming administration to claw them back. At risk: strengthened emissions standards for vehicles and power, tougher energy efficiency standards and plans to replace lead pipes. The latest EJ TransitionWatch explains how the reversal works — and why it might not.

SEJ Publication Types:
EJ TransitionWatch [51]
Topics on the Beat:
Air [20]
Climate Change [4]
Economy & Business [32]
Energy & Fuel [21]
Environmental Politics [7]
Government [8]
Infrastructure [10]
Laws & Regulations [12]
Policy [13]
Pollution [14]
Technology [52]
Transportation [53]
Water & Oceans [23]
Region:
National (U.S.) [16]
Visibility:
Public [17]
- Read more about What Biden Rules Could Congress Unplug With Review Act? [50]
What Will a Second Trump Term Mean for Environmental Justice? [54]

An incoming Trump administration hostile to the very idea of environmental justice likely means the rollback of numerous policies and regulations designed to protect disadvantaged communities, cuts to an important “whole-of-government” initiative and downsizing of key federal environmental justice offices. The latest EJ TransitionWatch examines what’s at stake. And for more, see our Topics on the Beat page on environmental justice [55].

SEJ Publication Types:
EJ TransitionWatch [51]
Topics on the Beat:
Air [20]
Climate Change [4]
Environmental Justice [6]
Environmental Politics [7]
Government [8]
Health [9]
Infrastructure [10]
Laws & Regulations [12]
People & Population [37]
Policy [13]
Pollution [14]
Waste [34]
Water & Oceans [23]
Region:
National (U.S.) [16]
Visibility:
Public [17]
- Read more about What Will a Second Trump Term Mean for Environmental Justice? [54]
Climate Action Looks First To Go Under New Administration [56]

President-elect Donald Trump has promised to pull the United States out of the Paris climate treaty and to maximize U.S. fossil fuel production. And as the transition to his incoming administration unfolds, he has named a cabinet replete with climate action skeptics. But will all that stop the transition to cleaner power? The latest EJ TransitionWatch has an assessment.

SEJ Publication Types:
EJ TransitionWatch [51]
Topics on the Beat:
Agriculture [31]
Climate Change [4]
Consumer [57]
Energy & Fuel [21]
Environmental Politics [7]
Government [8]
Infrastructure [10]
Laws & Regulations [12]
Policy [13]
Pollution [14]
Region:
National (U.S.) [16]
International [27]
Visibility:
Public [17]
- Read more about Climate Action Looks First To Go Under New Administration [56]
The Resilient Sea Turtle, Beset by Threats [58]

Sea turtles are in decline across the globe, victims of coastal development, algal blooms and, perhaps cruelest of all, plastic pollution. Marine biologist Christine Figgener, in a new book part memoir and part field guide, recounts the less than glamorous but rewarding work to spare them extinction, from arduous field work to viral video epiphanies. BookShelf editor Tom Henry reviews “My Life With Sea Turtles.”

SEJ Publication Types:
BookShelf [59]
Topics on the Beat:
Biodiversity [40]
Climate Change [4]
Environmental Health [41]
Environmental Studies [42]
Fish & Fisheries [60]
Pollution [14]
Science [15]
Water & Oceans [23]
Wildlife [45]
Region:
International [27]
Central America & the Caribbean [61]
Visibility:
Public [17]
- Read more about The Resilient Sea Turtle, Beset by Threats [58]

Pages