Publication Items

Renewable Job Training Makes the Grade at Community Colleges [1]

Jobs are relatively plentiful in green energy fields, whether in solar, wind, geothermal, energy efficiency, storage or hydro. To get at the trend, environmental journalists can check in with area community colleges, many of which offer technical training — and local stories. TipSheet has a closer look at the phenomenon, with a dozen story ideas and reporting resources for your coverage.

SEJ Publication Types:
TipSheet [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Consumer [3]
Economy & Business [4]
Energy & Fuel [5]
Infrastructure [6]
Journalism & Media [7]
Natural Resources [8]
Planning & Growth [9]
Policy [10]
Technology [11]
Region:
National (U.S.) [12]
Visibility:
Public [13]
- Read more about Renewable Job Training Makes the Grade at Community Colleges [1]
EPA Enforcement Falls to Record Low Under Trump 2.0 [14]

The enforcement of environmental laws suffered a dramatic collapse during the Trump administration’s first year, several studies have found. Even the most serious violations, typically referred to the Department of Justice, are left unpursued because of DOJ staffing declines. The latest Backgrounder has the details, a look at the administration’s rationale for the decline and the implications for the environment and public health.

SEJ Publication Types:
Backgrounders [15]
Topics on the Beat:
Air [16]
Chemicals [17]
Climate Change [18]
Economy & Business [4]
Environmental Health [19]
Environmental Politics [20]
Environmental Studies [21]
Government [22]
Health [23]
Journalism & Media [7]
Laws & Regulations [24]
Policy [10]
Pollution [25]
Waste [26]
Water & Oceans [27]
Region:
National (U.S.) [12]
Visibility:
Public [13]
- Read more about EPA Enforcement Falls to Record Low Under Trump 2.0 [14]
Is Disaster Aid Backlog Becoming a (Blue State) Disaster? [28]

A critical logjam is emerging for post-disaster aid to U.S. states, $11 billion or more, according to some calculations. At the same time, FEMA, which dispenses much of it, is in the Trump administration’s crosshairs. TipSheet explores how this looks on the ground and how politics play into the backlog, plus offers 10 story ideas and resources for local reporting.

SEJ Publication Types:
TipSheet [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Climate Change [18]
Disasters [29]
Environmental Politics [20]
Government [22]
Journalism & Media [7]
Policy [10]
Region:
National (U.S.) [12]
Visibility:
Public [13]
- Read more about Is Disaster Aid Backlog Becoming a (Blue State) Disaster? [28]
Database Details Planetary Asset — Canada’s Forests [30]

They’re a carbon sink, a playground and a major market, but also a source of smoke pollution and pest infestation. Millions of acres of Canadian forest are a big North American story, and the latest Reporter’s Toolbox points you to a central data source that can help quantify, analyze and visualize the numbers and see the proverbial forest for the trees.

SEJ Publication Types:
Reporters Toolbox [31]
Topics on the Beat:
Agriculture [32]
Air [16]
Climate Change [18]
Economy & Business [4]
Energy & Fuel [5]
Environmental Health [19]
Environmental Politics [20]
Forests [33]
Natural Resources [8]
Policy [10]
Pollution [25]
Region:
National (U.S.) [12]
International [34]
Canada [35]
Visibility:
Public [13]
- Read more about Database Details Planetary Asset — Canada’s Forests [30]
ANWR Well Is Deep and Dark — But Is It Dry? [36]

Journalists love a secret. And WatchDog Opinion delves into a whopper on the environment beat — the hidden data surrounding a singular test well drilled in one of the most contested ecosystems in the United States. Now that the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge has been reopened for oil leasing by the Trump administration, do the findings even matter? More on the saga.

SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog [37]
Topics on the Beat:
Energy & Fuel [5]
Environmental Health [19]
Environmental Politics [20]
Government [22]
Laws & Regulations [24]
Natural Resources [8]
Policy [10]
Region:
National (U.S.) [12]
Alaska and Hawaii [38]
Visibility:
Public [13]
- Read more about ANWR Well Is Deep and Dark — But Is It Dry? [36]
Between the Lines — Writing Nature Through Illness and Disability [39]

Writers with disabilities and chronic illnesses explore perspectives on nature and environment in a unique anthology, “Moving Mountains.” Editor Louise Kenward discusses the recent volume with contributor William Allen in a new BookShelf “Between the Lines” Q&A — the connection between climate change and disability, the benefits of learning to rest, the value of engaging with different perspectives and more.

SEJ Publication Types:
BookShelf [40]
Topics on the Beat:
Climate Change [18]
Disasters [29]
Diversity [41]
Environmental Justice [42]
Environmental Politics [20]
Health [23]
Journalism & Media [7]
People & Population [43]
Policy [10]
Region:
National (U.S.) [12]
International [34]
Visibility:
Public [13]
- Read more about Between the Lines — Writing Nature Through Illness and Disability [39]
Top Environment and Energy Topics To Watch in 2026 [44]

Explore our 10th annual Journalists’ Guide to Environment + Energy, as we scour the beat to identify 15 top stories to put on your radar for 2026. Our updated format for the special report provides a quick read and a broad scope — with insights on climate change and environmental justice, bird and insect declines, data centers and deep sea mining, deregulation and PFAS and much more. Get started here [44].

SEJ Publication Types:
SEJ News [45]
Topics on the Beat:
Activism [46]
Agriculture [32]
Air [16]
Biodiversity [47]
Chemicals [17]
Climate Change [18]
Disasters [29]
Economy & Business [4]
Energy & Fuel [5]
Environmental Health [19]
Environmental Justice [42]
Environmental Politics [20]
Environmental Studies [21]
Fish & Fisheries [48]
Forests [33]
Government [22]
Health [23]
Infrastructure [6]
Journalism & Media [7]
Laws & Regulations [24]
Military [49]
Natural Resources [8]
Policy [10]
Pollution [25]
Science [50]
Technology [11]
Waste [26]
Water & Oceans [27]
Wildlife [51]
Region:
National (U.S.) [12]
Alaska and Hawaii [38]
California [52]
Great Lakes (IL IN MI MN OH WI) [53]
Great Plains (IA KS ND NE MO SD) [54]
Mid-Atlantic (DC DE MD PA VA WV) [55]
Mountain West (CO ID MT NV UT WY) [56]
Northeast (CT MA ME NH NJ NY RI VT) [57]
Northwest (OR WA) [58]
SE (AL AR FL GA KY LA MS NC PR SC TN) [59]
Southwest (AZ NM OK TX) [60]
International [34]
Visibility:
Public [13]
- Read more about Top Environment and Energy Topics To Watch in 2026 [44]
Orphans and Zombies — Reporting on Abandoned Oil and Gas Wells Across the Country [61]

For more than a century, oil and gas companies have been drilling — and abandoning — wells across the country, leaving hundreds of thousands to potentially leak pollutants into the air, water and soil. Climate and environment reporter Martha Pskowski looks at how funding and regulatory issues are impacting efforts to identify and plug these wells, and offers resources for drilling into their story.

SEJ Publication Types:
Features [62]
Topics on the Beat:
Agriculture [32]
Air [16]
Climate Change [18]
Economy & Business [4]
Energy & Fuel [5]
Environmental Health [19]
Government [22]
Health [23]
Journalism & Media [7]
Laws & Regulations [24]
Natural Resources [8]
Policy [10]
Pollution [25]
Technology [11]
Water & Oceans [27]
Wildlife [51]
Region:
National (U.S.) [12]
Great Lakes (IL IN MI MN OH WI) [53]
Great Plains (IA KS ND NE MO SD) [54]
Mid-Atlantic (DC DE MD PA VA WV) [55]
Mountain West (CO ID MT NV UT WY) [56]
Southwest (AZ NM OK TX) [60]
Visibility:
Public [13]
- Read more about Orphans and Zombies — Reporting on Abandoned Oil and Gas Wells Across the Country [61]
Data Centers — A Local Drain on Power and Water, Coming to a Community Near You [63]

Thousands of energy-hungry, water-gulping data centers are helping fuel the artificial intelligence boom in the United States (and elsewhere). The latest TipSheet takes a closer look at this escalating phenomenon and encourages environmental journalists to look into how it may be playing out in their communities. Ten story ideas and reporting resources to cover data centers’ local impact.

SEJ Publication Types:
TipSheet [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Energy & Fuel [5]
Infrastructure [6]
Journalism & Media [7]
Planning & Growth [9]
Policy [10]
Pollution [25]
Water & Oceans [27]
Region:
National (U.S.) [12]
International [34]
Visibility:
Public [13]
- Read more about Data Centers — A Local Drain on Power and Water, Coming to a Community Near You [63]
The Cost of Losing Our ‘Sacred Acres’ [64]

In “We Are Eating the Earth,” author Michael Grunwald explains masterfully how good intentions have led us astray over our food system and climate change, writes BookShelf editor Tom Henry. Whether it’s our obsession with meat, myths about biofuels and regenerative agriculture, or feel-good ideas based on bad science, Grunwald argues it’s time for a fundamental shift in values.

SEJ Publication Types:
BookShelf [40]
Topics on the Beat:
Agriculture [32]
Climate Change [18]
Consumer [3]
Economy & Business [4]
Food [65]
Natural Resources [8]
Policy [10]
Science [50]
Region:
National (U.S.) [12]
International [34]
Visibility:
Public [13]
- Read more about The Cost of Losing Our ‘Sacred Acres’ [64]

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