Publication Items

Chemical Safety Board May Have Finally Cleaned Its Slate. What Now? [1]

A key U.S. federal agency tasked with investigating the nation’s industrial chemical accidents has been limping along for years. Now, the latest Issue Backgrounder reports that replenished staffing and a funding boost may mean it’s found its footing. But as the pace of chemical accidents accelerates and safety regulations stagnate, will it make a difference?

SEJ Publication Types:
Backgrounders [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Chemicals [3]
Disasters [4]
Environmental Politics [5]
Government [6]
Laws & Regulations [7]
Policy [8]
Region:
National (U.S.) [9]
International [10]
Asia [11]
Visibility:
Public [12]
- Read more about Chemical Safety Board May Have Finally Cleaned Its Slate. What Now? [1]
Why Parking, Long Term, Presents a Lot of Problems [13]

A new book makes the case that U.S. cities have had their environments, their housing and their businesses warped by parking policies. BookShelf contributor Jennifer Weeks, who shares her own parking-related frustrations, explores the arguments made in “Paved Paradise: How Parking Explains the World,” and also takes a look at what the author sees as “parking-light” solutions.

SEJ Publication Types:
BookShelf [14]
Topics on the Beat:
Climate Change [15]
Consumer [16]
Economy & Business [17]
Energy & Fuel [18]
Environmental Health [19]
Environmental Politics [5]
Government [6]
Health [20]
Infrastructure [21]
Planning & Growth [22]
Policy [8]
Pollution [23]
Transportation [24]
Region:
National (U.S.) [9]
California [25]
Northeast (CT MA ME NH NJ NY RI VT) [26]
Visibility:
Public [12]
- Read more about Why Parking, Long Term, Presents a Lot of Problems [13]
Spill-Tracking Data Sources Help Cover Hazmat Events [27]

A new Spill Tracker website is a good source of information on chemical spills, albeit one with an agenda. But according to the latest Reporter’s Toolbox, it’s just one among a set of powerful resources for covering dangerous releases, large and small. More on Spill Tracker, plus another half-dozen-plus government and nonprofit data sources on petrochemical incidents.

SEJ Publication Types:
Reporters Toolbox [28]
Topics on the Beat:
Chemicals [3]
Disasters [4]
Energy & Fuel [18]
Environmental Health [19]
Government [6]
Journalism & Media [29]
Pollution [23]
Region:
National (U.S.) [9]
International [10]
Visibility:
Public [12]
- Read more about Spill-Tracking Data Sources Help Cover Hazmat Events [27]
In Their Own Words — Story Insights From SEJ’s 2023 Award Winners [30]

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 [31]
Topics on the Beat:
Biodiversity [32]
Chemicals [3]
Climate Change [15]
Economy & Business [17]
Energy & Fuel [18]
Environmental Health [19]
Environmental Justice [33]
Environmental Politics [5]
Forests [34]
Government [6]
Health [20]
Infrastructure [21]
Journalism & Media [29]
Natural Resources [35]
People & Population [36]
Policy [8]
Pollution [23]
Waste [37]
Water & Oceans [38]
Wildlife [39]
Region:
National (U.S.) [9]
California [25]
Great Lakes (IL IN MI MN OH WI) [40]
Mid-Atlantic (DC DE MD PA VA WV) [41]
International [10]
Africa [42]
South America [43]
Visibility:
Public [12]
- Read more about In Their Own Words — Story Insights From SEJ’s 2023 Award Winners [30]
Chemical Plants, Terrorism and Regulations May Be Back on the Agenda [44]

For years, high-risk U.S. industrial facilities fell under a federal anti-terrorism program to ensure their potentially lethal chemicals would not become terrorist targets. But when the program expired last year, something unexpected happened. Veteran chemical industry reporter Jeff Johnson has a behind-the-scenes look at the maneuvering over how best to secure the country’s dangerous chemical stores.

SEJ Publication Types:
Features [45]
Topics on the Beat:
Chemicals [3]
Disasters [4]
Environmental Politics [5]
Government [6]
Laws & Regulations [7]
Region:
National (U.S.) [9]
Southwest (AZ NM OK TX) [46]
Visibility:
Public [12]
- Read more about Chemical Plants, Terrorism and Regulations May Be Back on the Agenda [44]
Will New EPA Policy Make It Easier To Interview Its Experts? [47]

Environmental journalists commonly grouse about obstacles the press office at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency throws up when reporters want to talk to its scientists. Might a newly proposed scientific integrity policy help change that? The WatchDog Opinion column, which regularly joins in the censuring, says there’s a chance it could. But will it? Why the outlook is cloudy.

SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog [48]
Topics on the Beat:
Environmental Politics [5]
Government [6]
Journalism & Media [29]
Policy [8]
Science [49]
Region:
National (U.S.) [9]
Visibility:
Public [12]
- Read more about Will New EPA Policy Make It Easier To Interview Its Experts? [47]
Rockets and Bombs and Chemicals — The Environmental Horrors of War [50]

With the world in the midst of wars in Ukraine and the Gaza Strip, it’s time for journalists to appraise — and report on — the intersection of conflict and the environment, argues the new Backgrounder. That means considering the environment not only as a victim of war, but also as the cause of war and a means of carrying it out.

SEJ Publication Types:
Backgrounders [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Chemicals [3]
Climate Change [15]
Disasters [4]
Environmental Health [19]
Environmental Politics [5]
Government [6]
Health [20]
Journalism & Media [29]
Military [51]
People & Population [36]
Policy [8]
Water & Oceans [38]
Region:
National (U.S.) [9]
Great Lakes (IL IN MI MN OH WI) [40]
Mid-Atlantic (DC DE MD PA VA WV) [41]
Mountain West (CO ID MT NV UT WY) [52]
Northeast (CT MA ME NH NJ NY RI VT) [26]
SE (AL AR FL GA KY LA MS NC PR SC TN) [53]
International [10]
Africa [42]
Asia [11]
Europe [54]
Middle East [55]
Visibility:
Public [12]
- Read more about Rockets and Bombs and Chemicals — The Environmental Horrors of War [50]
Take This Clean Electricity ‘Dashboard’ for a Trip Into the Energy Transition Future [56]

To better understand progress in the U.S. energy transition, some of the best nonpartisan data comes from the Energy Information Administration. And, as the latest Reporter’s Toolbox explains, EIA has an effective dashboard tool for exploring state-by-state variations in clean energy performance, among other things. Here’s how to use it smartly. Plus, a few caveats.

SEJ Publication Types:
Reporters Toolbox [28]
Topics on the Beat:
Energy & Fuel [18]
Government [6]
Journalism & Media [29]
Laws & Regulations [7]
Natural Resources [35]
Planning & Growth [22]
Policy [8]
Region:
National (U.S.) [9]
Visibility:
Public [12]
- Read more about Take This Clean Electricity ‘Dashboard’ for a Trip Into the Energy Transition Future [56]
What’s Ahead on Climate Justice, Climate Crisis Beat [57]

What environment stories will matter most in 2024 to communities of color and Indigenous communities? Columnist Yessenia Funes sheds light on concerns ranging from the environmental damage in Gaza and extreme weather across the United States to the fallout from the U.S. presidential election to the local impacts of the clean energy transition. Insights in the latest Voices of Environmental Justice.

SEJ Publication Types:
Voices of Environmental Justice [58]
Topics on the Beat:
Activism [59]
Climate Change [15]
Disasters [4]
Diversity [60]
Economy & Business [17]
Energy & Fuel [18]
Environmental Justice [33]
Environmental Politics [5]
Government [6]
Health [20]
Infrastructure [21]
Journalism & Media [29]
Military [51]
People & Population [36]
Planning & Growth [22]
Policy [8]
Pollution [23]
Water & Oceans [38]
Region:
National (U.S.) [9]
Alaska and Hawaii [61]
Northeast (CT MA ME NH NJ NY RI VT) [26]
SE (AL AR FL GA KY LA MS NC PR SC TN) [53]
International [10]
Middle East [55]
Visibility:
Public [12]
- Read more about What’s Ahead on Climate Justice, Climate Crisis Beat [57]
Will Journalism Be a Crime in a Second Trump Administration? [62]

For environmental journalists who recall the first Trump administration’s hostility toward media, the prospects of a second Trump presidency are troubling. But not nearly as worrying, WatchDog Opinion writes, as what a Trump reelection would mean for press freedom as a whole, nor for the democracy that hinges on that freedom. Read why the risks of journalists being targeted are real.

SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog [48]
Topics on the Beat:
Environmental Politics [5]
Government [6]
Journalism & Media [29]
Policy [8]
Region:
National (U.S.) [9]
Visibility:
Public [12]
- Read more about Will Journalism Be a Crime in a Second Trump Administration? [62]

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