Publication Items

Sewage Sludge Can Spread the Harm of Many Toxic Chemicals [1]

What was once benignly dubbed biosolids is more accurately tagged toxic sludge. And some of it may be finding its way into our food. The latest TipSheet reports how that came to be despite (or perhaps because of) Clean Water Act regulation, and how hard it is to calculate the potential harms. Plus, more than a dozen reporting ideas and resources for this highly localizable story.

SEJ Publication Types:
TipSheet [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Agriculture [3]
Environmental Politics [4]
Food [5]
Government [6]
Health [7]
Journalism & Media [8]
Laws & Regulations [9]
Pollution [10]
Waste [11]
Region:
National (U.S.) [12]
Visibility:
Public [13]
- Read more about Sewage Sludge Can Spread the Harm of Many Toxic Chemicals [1]
Grant Brings Documentary Team to Chesapeake Bay’s Vastness [14]

New York-based documentarians Sebastian Tuinder and Duy Linh Tu took their multimedia skills on the road to explore the environmental problems plaguing the Chesapeake Bay. The resulting project, “Trouble in the Chesapeake,” was nominated for a local Emmy award and was credited with helping efforts to curb over-the-limit discharges from Maryland’s wastewater plants. Lessons learned from the grant-funded effort, in the latest FEJ StoryLog.

SEJ Publication Types:
FEJ StoryLog [15]
Topics on the Beat:
Agriculture [3]
Climate Change [16]
Environmental Health [17]
Fish & Fisheries [18]
Journalism & Media [8]
Natural Resources [19]
Pollution [10]
Waste [11]
Water & Oceans [20]
Region:
National (U.S.) [12]
Mid-Atlantic (DC DE MD PA VA WV) [21]
Visibility:
Public [13]
- Read more about Grant Brings Documentary Team to Chesapeake Bay’s Vastness [14]
Eco-Alternatives to the Perfect, Weedless Lawn [22]

A good and very localizable environmental story is right outside your front door … or at least outside your neighbor’s. Lawns and the myriad ways they are managed can provide a window into wildness, or resource use, or chemical pollution. The latest TipSheet offers more than a dozen story ideas and reporting resources, from xeriscaping and butterfly gardens to nurseries and planning boards.

SEJ Publication Types:
TipSheet [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Agriculture [3]
Chemicals [23]
Consumer [24]
Environmental Health [17]
Government [6]
Journalism & Media [8]
Laws & Regulations [9]
Planning & Growth [25]
Pollution [10]
Waste [11]
Water & Oceans [20]
Wildlife [26]
Region:
National (U.S.) [12]
International [27]
Visibility:
Public [13]
- Read more about Eco-Alternatives to the Perfect, Weedless Lawn [22]
Will the Coming Plastics Treaty Solve the Problem Or Enshrine It? [28]

A major intergovernmental gathering later this year will address plastic pollution, including in oceans. But an overview from our Issue Backgrounder notes that the likelihood of solving the problem may be small. One reason? Petrochemical industry lobbying. Another? The shifting world market for plastic waste. And there are more concerns, such as the effectiveness of incineration and chemical recycling techniques. More, including questions to ask, in Backgrounder.

SEJ Publication Types:
Backgrounders [29]
Topics on the Beat:
Chemicals [23]
Climate Change [16]
Consumer [24]
Economy & Business [30]
Energy & Fuel [31]
Environmental Health [17]
Environmental Politics [4]
Government [6]
Health [7]
Journalism & Media [8]
Policy [32]
Pollution [10]
Waste [11]
Water & Oceans [20]
Region:
National (U.S.) [12]
International [27]
Asia [33]
Visibility:
Public [13]
- Read more about Will the Coming Plastics Treaty Solve the Problem Or Enshrine It? [28]
Climate Crisis Makes for Real Fashion Emergency [34]

Fast fashion’s lack of sustainability has long been the subject of news media coverage. But now the realities of climate change mean that fashion reporting must be reimagined to include the lived environmental and human rights realities of workers making what we wear, writes contributor Yessenia Funes in the new Voices of Environmental Justice column. Ideas and resources for getting past simplistic fashion industry narratives.

SEJ Publication Types:
Voices of Environmental Justice [35]
Topics on the Beat:
Activism [36]
Agriculture [3]
Climate Change [16]
Consumer [24]
Economy & Business [30]
Environmental Justice [37]
Health [7]
Journalism & Media [8]
People & Population [38]
Policy [32]
Waste [11]
Region:
National (U.S.) [12]
International [27]
Asia [33]
Visibility:
Public [13]
- Read more about Climate Crisis Makes for Real Fashion Emergency [34]
Philly Steaks Out New Ground [39]

It just wouldn’t be the Society of Environmental Journalists annual conference recap without the waggish tales of SEJ’s resident wit, David Helvarg, who once again this year skewers the lot of us, sparing not a jot of our five days in Philadelphia. Read on and prepare to snicker.

SEJ Publication Types:
SEJ News [40]
Topics on the Beat:
Agriculture [3]
Climate Change [16]
Disasters [41]
Economy & Business [30]
Energy & Fuel [31]
Environmental Politics [4]
Food [5]
Government [6]
Health [7]
Infrastructure [42]
Journalism & Media [8]
Natural Resources [19]
Nuclear Power & Radiation [43]
Policy [32]
Pollution [10]
Technology [44]
Transportation [45]
Waste [11]
Water & Oceans [20]
Wildlife [26]
Region:
National (U.S.) [12]
Mid-Atlantic (DC DE MD PA VA WV) [21]
Visibility:
Public [13]
- Read more about Philly Steaks Out New Ground [39]
Six Ways To Cover the Environmental Impacts of Animal Agriculture [46]

Animal agriculture is a massive industry with a vast environmental footprint, so there are plenty of reporting opportunities for journalists on the “eat beat.” In the second of two parts [47], following last week’s examination of diet-related greenhouse gas emissions, food-and-climate journalist Jenny Splitter serves up a variety of story ideas and information sources, plus some thoughts on solutions journalism.

SEJ Publication Types:
Features [48]
Topics on the Beat:
Activism [36]
Agriculture [3]
Air [49]
Biodiversity [50]
Climate Change [16]
Consumer [24]
Economy & Business [30]
Environmental Health [17]
Environmental Justice [37]
Environmental Politics [4]
Environmental Studies [51]
Food [5]
Forests [52]
Government [6]
Health [7]
Journalism & Media [8]
Pollution [10]
Waste [11]
Water & Oceans [20]
Wildlife [26]
Region:
National (U.S.) [12]
International [27]
Visibility:
Public [13]
- Read more about Six Ways To Cover the Environmental Impacts of Animal Agriculture [46]
Eat Local for Climate’s Sake? No, Eat Less Meat [47]

Many people who want to reduce their carbon footprint consider the climate impacts of diet, but their efforts may be misdirected. When it comes to greenhouse gas emissions, it turns out what we eat is often more important than where it comes from. Sentient Media’s Jenny Splitter unpacks the locavore myth and explains methane burps, carbon opportunity costs and more. First of two parts [46].

SEJ Publication Types:
Features [48]
Topics on the Beat:
Activism [36]
Agriculture [3]
Climate Change [16]
Consumer [24]
Economy & Business [30]
Environmental Health [17]
Environmental Politics [4]
Environmental Studies [51]
Food [5]
Forests [52]
Government [6]
Health [7]
Journalism & Media [8]
Pollution [10]
Transportation [45]
Waste [11]
Water & Oceans [20]
Region:
National (U.S.) [12]
International [27]
Visibility:
Public [13]
- Read more about Eat Local for Climate’s Sake? No, Eat Less Meat [47]
In Their Own Words — Story Insights From SEJ’s 2023 Award Winners [53]

When Inside Story co-editor Rocky Kistner reviewed video statements from first-place winners of the Society of Environmental Journalists 2023 reporting awards, he found a series of striking insights into the work of environmental journalism. From environment as a true crime story and going beyond the headlines, to covering communities at risk and through powerful interests, a look at nine highly effective approaches to telling environmental stories.

SEJ Publication Types:
Inside Story [54]
Topics on the Beat:
Biodiversity [50]
Chemicals [23]
Climate Change [16]
Economy & Business [30]
Energy & Fuel [31]
Environmental Health [17]
Environmental Justice [37]
Environmental Politics [4]
Forests [52]
Government [6]
Health [7]
Infrastructure [42]
Journalism & Media [8]
Natural Resources [19]
People & Population [38]
Policy [32]
Pollution [10]
Waste [11]
Water & Oceans [20]
Wildlife [26]
Region:
National (U.S.) [12]
California [55]
Great Lakes (IL IN MI MN OH WI) [56]
Mid-Atlantic (DC DE MD PA VA WV) [21]
International [27]
Africa [57]
South America [58]
Visibility:
Public [13]
- Read more about In Their Own Words — Story Insights From SEJ’s 2023 Award Winners [53]
Drainage Infrastructure Leads to Wet Basement Stories [59]

Nothing may seem more personal than a home flooded by heavy rains. But the latest TipSheet points out that for local environmental reporters, there’s a bigger story to be told: how your community regulates stormwater and storm sewers, especially in the face of climate change-driven extreme precipitation. More than a dozen reporting ideas and resources.

SEJ Publication Types:
TipSheet [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Climate Change [16]
Infrastructure [42]
Journalism & Media [8]
Planning & Growth [25]
Waste [11]
Water & Oceans [20]
Region:
National (U.S.) [12]
Great Lakes (IL IN MI MN OH WI) [56]
Great Plains (IA KS ND NE MO SD) [60]
Mid-Atlantic (DC DE MD PA VA WV) [21]
Visibility:
Public [13]
- Read more about Drainage Infrastructure Leads to Wet Basement Stories [59]

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