Publication Items

Unique Podcast Team Gives Voice to Troubled Communities Near Declining Salton Sea [1]

In the Coachella Valley east of Los Angeles, the massive Salton Sea is rapidly drying up, threatening vulnerable immigrant communities in a growing toxic environment. The Living Downstream podcast reported extensively on these hazards, winning third place in the Society of Environmental Journalists’ Awards for Reporting on the Environment’s explanatory reporting, small, category, in 2022. Inside Story spoke with one of the prizewinners.

SEJ Publication Types:
Inside Story [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Activism [3]
Agriculture [4]
Climate Change [5]
Disasters [6]
Environmental Health [7]
Environmental Justice [8]
Environmental Politics [9]
Health [10]
Journalism & Media [11]
Natural Resources [12]
People & Population [13]
Water & Oceans [14]
Region:
National (U.S.) [15]
California [16]
Visibility:
Public [17]
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Between the Lines — Great Lakes Author Looks Back on a Writing Career, Forward to Journalism’s Future [18]

With a dozen books under his belt, environmental writer and Great Lakes policy expert Dave Dempsey is ready to put away his pen. But not before sharing important lessons from his career, how he found hope amid the destruction and how he sees journalism succeeding. BookShelf contributor Gary Wilson talks with the author for our occasional “Between the Lines” interview series.

SEJ Publication Types:
BookShelf [19]
Topics on the Beat:
Activism [3]
Environmental Health [7]
Journalism & Media [11]
Natural Resources [12]
Policy [20]
Water & Oceans [14]
Region:
National (U.S.) [15]
Great Lakes (IL IN MI MN OH WI) [21]
Visibility:
Public [17]
- Read more about Between the Lines — Great Lakes Author Looks Back on a Writing Career, Forward to Journalism’s Future [18]
Disabilities and Disasters — What Questions Should You Be Asking Planners? [22]

As hurricane season ramps up, how are the disaster planners considering those with disabilities in your community? Texas-based journalist Greg Harman shares the story of one group that sued their city over claims it failed to properly prepare. And he extracts some rules of thumb to help determine if emergency planners are taking those with disabilities into consideration where you are.

SEJ Publication Types:
Features [23]
Topics on the Beat:
Activism [3]
Climate Change [5]
Disasters [6]
Diversity [24]
Environmental Health [7]
Environmental Justice [8]
Environmental Politics [9]
Government [25]
Health [10]
Infrastructure [26]
Journalism & Media [11]
Laws & Regulations [27]
People & Population [13]
Policy [20]
Region:
National (U.S.) [15]
Northeast (CT MA ME NH NJ NY RI VT) [28]
Southwest (AZ NM OK TX) [29]
Visibility:
Public [17]
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Waste Incineration May Put Toxics Into Local Air [30]

Sometimes on the environment beat, what seems like an old story is perpetually new again. That’s the case with waste incineration, finds the latest TipSheet. Rather than being reduced, incinerators are just being transformed, with the ongoing burning of plastics especially troubling for the environment and public health. Get the backstory on where the regulatory regime may have holes, plus key reporting angles and story ideas.

SEJ Publication Types:
TipSheet [31]
Topics on the Beat:
Activism [3]
Air [32]
Chemicals [33]
Energy & Fuel [34]
Environmental Health [7]
Environmental Justice [8]
Environmental Politics [9]
Health [10]
Journalism & Media [11]
Laws & Regulations [27]
Pollution [35]
Waste [36]
Region:
National (U.S.) [15]
Visibility:
Public [17]
- Read more about Waste Incineration May Put Toxics Into Local Air [30]
Why Nobelists Are Joining the Fight Against Disinformation’s Dangers [37]

A recent gathering of Nobel laureates in Washington, D.C., including Filipina journalist Maria Ressa (pictured, left), highlighted the growing risks of disinformation — including on efforts to combat climate change — but also the rising sense of hope that comes from those who pledge to stand up to its challenge. This month’s WatchDog Opinion column shares a perspective from the event.

SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog [38]
Topics on the Beat:
Activism [3]
Climate Change [5]
Environmental Politics [9]
Journalism & Media [11]
Region:
National (U.S.) [15]
International [39]
Visibility:
Public [17]
- Read more about Why Nobelists Are Joining the Fight Against Disinformation’s Dangers [37]
The Community We’ve Long Ignored [40]

Veteran environmental justice reporter Yessenia Funes this week launches “Voices of Environmental Justice,” her new SEJournal column. Each quarterly commentary will focus on spotlighting the perspectives of affected communities that environmental and climate journalists often ignore. For her inaugural entry, with Pride month nearing its end, a look at how climate change and environmental pollution exacerbate the already elevated health risks of LGBTQIA+ people.

SEJ Publication Types:
Voices of Environmental Justice [41]
Topics on the Beat:
Activism [3]
Agriculture [4]
Climate Change [5]
Diversity [24]
Environmental Justice [8]
Environmental Politics [9]
Health [10]
Journalism & Media [11]
People & Population [13]
Region:
National (U.S.) [15]
California [16]
Visibility:
Public [17]
- Read more about The Community We’ve Long Ignored [40]
Both Sides Now — How Permitting Reform May Affect Fossil Fuel, Clean Energy Industries [42]

It’s a political knot with the potential to tangle the fossil energy industry, the clean energy industry … or both. Environmental journalists looking to better report on the impacts of permitting reform can start with our latest Backgrounder, which explores the issue’s recent history and the competing visions that have stalled changes. There’s also the “backroom problem.” Plus, get a rundown of key actors.

SEJ Publication Types:
Backgrounders [43]
Topics on the Beat:
Activism [3]
Climate Change [5]
Energy & Fuel [34]
Environmental Politics [9]
Government [25]
Infrastructure [26]
Journalism & Media [11]
Laws & Regulations [27]
Natural Resources [12]
Policy [20]
Region:
National (U.S.) [15]
Alaska and Hawaii [44]
Great Plains (IA KS ND NE MO SD) [45]
Mid-Atlantic (DC DE MD PA VA WV) [46]
International [39]
Canada [47]
Visibility:
Public [17]
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Threats to Press Come in Many Forms. Some Are Violent. [48]

Attacks of all kinds on U.S. journalists clearly hamper a free press. And environmental journalists are not spared such aggressions, especially when covering contested places like pipeline construction sites. WatchDog Opinion outlines the problem and explores how journalists might be spared from such violations, including with a prospective law explicitly protecting journalists from assault.

SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog [38]
Topics on the Beat:
Activism [3]
Energy & Fuel [34]
Environmental Politics [9]
Journalism & Media [11]
Laws & Regulations [27]
Policy [20]
Region:
National (U.S.) [15]
Mountain West (CO ID MT NV UT WY) [49]
SE (AL AR FL GA KY LA MS NC PR SC TN) [50]
International [39]
Canada [47]
South America [51]
Visibility:
Public [17]
- Read more about Threats to Press Come in Many Forms. Some Are Violent. [48]
Grant Prompts Improved Coverage of Indigenous Perspectives at Bears Ears [52]

Inspired by a discussion at a Society of Environmental Journalists conference, freelancer Rico Moore (pictured, left) applied for a Fund for Environmental Journalism grant to report on Bears Ears National Monument. Then, armed with advice for better covering Indigenous communities and Native American tribes, Moore found a new way to write about the cultural and environmental richness of those lands. His experience, in the new FEJ StoryLog.

SEJ Publication Types:
FEJ StoryLog [53]
Topics on the Beat:
Activism [3]
Diversity [24]
Environmental Justice [8]
Environmental Politics [9]
Journalism & Media [11]
Natural Resources [12]
People & Population [13]
Region:
National (U.S.) [15]
Mountain West (CO ID MT NV UT WY) [49]
Visibility:
Public [17]
- Read more about Grant Prompts Improved Coverage of Indigenous Perspectives at Bears Ears [52]
Funding Initiative May Help Surface Overlooked Environmental Justice Stories [54]

A new government-organized network of environmental justice assistance centers may not only assist the community groups applying for billions in federal funds but could also help point environmental journalists toward undercovered stories on the beat. The latest TipSheet explains how the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency initiative will work and how to locate the centers for your reporting.

SEJ Publication Types:
TipSheet [31]
Topics on the Beat:
Activism [3]
Environmental Justice [8]
Environmental Politics [9]
Government [25]
Infrastructure [26]
Journalism & Media [11]
Policy [20]
Region:
National (U.S.) [15]
Visibility:
Public [17]
- Read more about Funding Initiative May Help Surface Overlooked Environmental Justice Stories [54]

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