Publication Items

Environmentalists Will Be Seeing Trump Forces in Court — Often [1]

The judiciary is looking to become a major environmental battleground for journalists to watch in the coming months and years, as activists confront the Trump administration over its deregulatory campaign. The new Issue Backgrounder maps out the action, explaining how key laws foster citizen suits, while numerous nonprofits are staffed up to sue. Plus, some ways to track the action.

SEJ Publication Types:
Backgrounders [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Activism [3]
Air [4]
Biodiversity [5]
Chemicals [6]
Climate Change [7]
Consumer [8]
Environmental Justice [9]
Environmental Politics [10]
Government [11]
Infrastructure [12]
Journalism & Media [13]
Laws & Regulations [14]
Natural Resources [15]
Policy [16]
Pollution [17]
Waste [18]
Water & Oceans [19]
Wildlife [20]
Region:
National (U.S.) [21]
Visibility:
Public [22]
- Read more about Environmentalists Will Be Seeing Trump Forces in Court — Often [1]
Trump Tariffs Blow Up Long U.S.-Canada Environmental Partnership [23]

As trade wars loom with U.S. allies, including our neighbors to the north and south, another kind of long-standing relationship is under threat — the environmental partnership between the United States and Canada. A Backgrounder Analysis examines deep-rooted ties over energy, water and timber. Does the brewing conflict over trade mean the long bonds over the environment have been broken?

SEJ Publication Types:
Backgrounders [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Consumer [8]
Economy & Business [24]
Energy & Fuel [25]
Environmental Health [26]
Environmental Politics [10]
Fish & Fisheries [27]
Forests [28]
Government [11]
Laws & Regulations [14]
Natural Resources [15]
Policy [16]
Water & Oceans [19]
Region:
National (U.S.) [21]
Great Lakes (IL IN MI MN OH WI) [29]
Northwest (OR WA) [30]
International [31]
Canada [32]
Mexico [33]
Visibility:
Public [22]
- Read more about Trump Tariffs Blow Up Long U.S.-Canada Environmental Partnership [23]
#SEJ2025 — Confronting the Past, Surviving the Future [34]

Next week, hundreds of environmental journalists are expected to gather in Arizona for #SEJ2025, the Society of Environmental Journalists’ expansive annual conference. Co-chair Kendal Blust has highlights of the four-day event, plus how the challenges facing the Southwest are those of communities across the United States, and why now is a critical time for journalists to come together. Read her rundown [34] and register now [35], before the April 16 midnight deadline.

SEJ Publication Types:
SEJ News [36]
Topics on the Beat:
Agriculture [37]
Biodiversity [5]
Climate Change [7]
Energy & Fuel [25]
Environmental Health [26]
Environmental Justice [9]
Environmental Politics [10]
Fish & Fisheries [27]
Food [38]
Government [11]
Health [39]
Journalism & Media [13]
Natural Resources [15]
People & Population [40]
Planning & Growth [41]
Policy [16]
Pollution [17]
Science [42]
Water & Oceans [19]
Wildlife [20]
Region:
National (U.S.) [21]
Southwest (AZ NM OK TX) [43]
International [31]
Mexico [33]
Visibility:
Public [22]
- Read more about #SEJ2025 — Confronting the Past, Surviving the Future [34]
How the Potomac Imparts the Capital’s Story [44]

The Potomac is one of the most prominent rivers in the United States, a defining ecological feature of Washington, D.C., at the same time it reveals the city’s history of racial inequality and disenfranchisement. Writer, historian, educator and herbalist Charlotte Taylor Fryar recounts that tale in her ambitious “Potomac Fever,” reviewed in the latest BookShelf by contributing editor Jennifer Weeks, herself a Washington native.

SEJ Publication Types:
BookShelf [45]
Topics on the Beat:
Environmental Health [26]
Environmental Justice [9]
Environmental Politics [10]
Natural Resources [15]
People & Population [40]
Pollution [17]
Water & Oceans [19]
Region:
National (U.S.) [21]
Mid-Atlantic (DC DE MD PA VA WV) [46]
Visibility:
Public [22]
- Read more about How the Potomac Imparts the Capital’s Story [44]
Dam Safety Firings Leave Downstream Residents at Risk [47]

Among the widespread federal firings that look like they’re putting the public increasingly at risk are those that strip away government oversight of dam safety. The latest TipSheet looks at what’s at stake and offers up a dozen story ideas, questions to ask and reporting resources to help environmental journalists spot the dam dangers nearest them.

SEJ Publication Types:
TipSheet [48]
Topics on the Beat:
Disasters [49]
Environmental Politics [10]
Government [11]
Infrastructure [12]
Journalism & Media [13]
Policy [16]
Water & Oceans [19]
Region:
National (U.S.) [21]
California [50]
Visibility:
Public [22]
- Read more about Dam Safety Firings Leave Downstream Residents at Risk [47]
‘A Myriad of Voices’ Tells of Restoring a Swamp in Crisis [51]

When a pair of journalists reported on a degraded Colombian mangrove swamp, they turned to two local fishermen to help tell the story, tapping into their experience as they worked to repair the ecosystem that fed their community. In the latest Inside Story Q&A, reporter Jacobo Patiño Giraldo explains their successful use of primary source solutions journalism.

SEJ Publication Types:
Inside Story [52]
Topics on the Beat:
Activism [3]
Biodiversity [5]
Environmental Health [26]
Environmental Justice [9]
Fish & Fisheries [27]
Forests [28]
Journalism & Media [13]
Natural Resources [15]
People & Population [40]
Water & Oceans [19]
Region:
International [31]
South America [53]
Visibility:
Public [22]
- Read more about ‘A Myriad of Voices’ Tells of Restoring a Swamp in Crisis [51]
Desperately Seeking Data? OECD Has Loads [54]

If the possibility of a politically driven dearth of data for your climate and environment reporting has you on edge, the new Reporter’s Toolbox just may have something to soothe your nerves: A data source from beyond the grasp of the Trump administration and outside the boundaries of the United States. Take a quick tour of environmental data from the OECD.

SEJ Publication Types:
Reporters Toolbox [55]
Topics on the Beat:
Agriculture [37]
Air [4]
Biodiversity [5]
Chemicals [6]
Climate Change [7]
Energy & Fuel [25]
Environmental Studies [56]
Fish & Fisheries [27]
Health [39]
Journalism & Media [13]
Natural Resources [15]
Pollution [17]
Transportation [57]
Waste [18]
Water & Oceans [19]
Region:
National (U.S.) [21]
International [31]
Europe [58]
Visibility:
Public [22]
- Read more about Desperately Seeking Data? OECD Has Loads [54]
New Angle for Reporting on Oil and Gas Industry — Radioactive Waste [59]

Industry experts and government regulators have long known that radionuclides reside in oil and natural gas. Yet radioactive emissions and waste continue to threaten the lives of workers and community members across the country. Investigative journalist Justin Nobel on the opportunities and urgent need for reporters to drill into a story steeped in questions of accountability, health and justice.

SEJ Publication Types:
Features [60]
Topics on the Beat:
Activism [3]
Air [4]
Chemicals [6]
Climate Change [7]
Consumer [8]
Economy & Business [24]
Energy & Fuel [25]
Environmental Health [26]
Environmental Politics [10]
Environmental Studies [56]
Government [11]
Health [39]
Journalism & Media [13]
Laws & Regulations [14]
Natural Resources [15]
Nuclear Power & Radiation [61]
People & Population [40]
Policy [16]
Pollution [17]
Science [42]
Technology [62]
Waste [18]
Water & Oceans [19]
Region:
National (U.S.) [21]
Great Lakes (IL IN MI MN OH WI) [29]
Great Plains (IA KS ND NE MO SD) [63]
Mid-Atlantic (DC DE MD PA VA WV) [46]
Mountain West (CO ID MT NV UT WY) [64]
Northeast (CT MA ME NH NJ NY RI VT) [65]
SE (AL AR FL GA KY LA MS NC PR SC TN) [66]
Southwest (AZ NM OK TX) [43]
International [31]
Canada [32]
South America [53]
Visibility:
Public [22]
- Read more about New Angle for Reporting on Oil and Gas Industry — Radioactive Waste [59]
With Climate, an Undercurrent of Violence [67]

In his ambitious first book, “The Heat and the Fury: On the Frontlines of Climate Violence,” journalist Peter Schwartzstein explores how climate change explains conflict, even war. BookShelf editor Tom Henry calls it a deeply researched volume that makes a strong case for the connections between global warming, political instability and violence, not just in poorer regions but for the richer West as well.

SEJ Publication Types:
BookShelf [45]
Topics on the Beat:
Climate Change [7]
Disasters [49]
Environmental Health [26]
Environmental Justice [9]
Environmental Politics [10]
Government [11]
Military [68]
Natural Resources [15]
People & Population [40]
Policy [16]
Water & Oceans [19]
Region:
National (U.S.) [21]
International [31]
Africa [69]
Asia [70]
Europe [58]
Middle East [71]
Visibility:
Public [22]
- Read more about With Climate, an Undercurrent of Violence [67]
‘They’re Back’ — Veteran Journalists on Braving the Specter of Trump’s Return [72]

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 [60]
Topics on the Beat:
Air [4]
Chemicals [6]
Climate Change [7]
Disasters [49]
Energy & Fuel [25]
Environmental Justice [9]
Environmental Politics [10]
Government [11]
Journalism & Media [13]
Laws & Regulations [14]
Natural Resources [15]
Policy [16]
Pollution [17]
Water & Oceans [19]
Visibility:
Public [22]
- Read more about ‘They’re Back’ — Veteran Journalists on Braving the Specter of Trump’s Return [72]

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