Publication Items

Does Kamala Harris Have a Green Streak? [1]

While Kamala Harris has provided little detail about what her environment and energy policies would be as president, her record has been enough to win her the quick support of most major environmental groups, finds the latest Issue Backgrounder. A look at her record on the Green New Deal and fracking, her presidential environmental platform and her contrasts with GOP rival Donald Trump.

SEJ Publication Types:
Backgrounders [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Activism [3]
Climate Change [4]
Energy & Fuel [5]
Environmental Politics [6]
Government [7]
Infrastructure [8]
Laws & Regulations [9]
Policy [10]
Region:
National (U.S.) [11]
California [12]
International [13]
Visibility:
Public [14]
- Read more about Does Kamala Harris Have a Green Streak? [1]
Should Weather Data Really Be Withheld From the Public? [15]

Project 2025, which many consider a blueprint for a second Trump term, calls for breaking up the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and pivoting its National Weather Service to commercial operations, shutting down its free flow of data to news outlets and others. WatchDog Opinion column argues a not-so-hidden motive is at the heart of these sweeping changes: the desire to obscure evidence of climate change.

SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog [16]
Topics on the Beat:
Climate Change [4]
Consumer [17]
Economy & Business [18]
Environmental Politics [6]
Government [7]
Journalism & Media [19]
Policy [10]
Science [20]
Region:
National (U.S.) [11]
Visibility:
Public [14]
- Read more about Should Weather Data Really Be Withheld From the Public? [15]
Investigation Explores Dueling Narratives for Addressing Climate Change [21]

Is carbon capture a climate solution or a dangerous distraction? That was the question that Inside Climate News reporter Nicholas Kusnetz asked in his award-winning explanatory series, “Pipe Dreams.” For Inside Story, Kusnetz talks of the challenges of writing about a technology that largely doesn’t yet exist, and the variety of story forms he used to explore the reality of industry promises.

SEJ Publication Types:
Inside Story [22]
Topics on the Beat:
Climate Change [4]
Economy & Business [18]
Energy & Fuel [5]
Environmental Justice [23]
Environmental Politics [6]
Government [7]
Infrastructure [8]
Journalism & Media [19]
Laws & Regulations [9]
Natural Resources [24]
People & Population [25]
Policy [10]
Pollution [26]
Technology [27]
Region:
National (U.S.) [11]
Southwest (AZ NM OK TX) [28]
International [13]
Visibility:
Public [14]
- Read more about Investigation Explores Dueling Narratives for Addressing Climate Change [21]
What Would Trump 2.0 Mean for the Environment? [29]

If former President Donald Trump recaptures the White House this fall, it would likely bring back a radical deregulatory, climate change-oblivious, fossil fuel-intensive environmental policy. But could the fallout be even greater? The new Issue Backgrounder examines how the Project 2025 agenda of Trump’s allies takes aim, in particular, at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

SEJ Publication Types:
Backgrounders [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Chemicals [30]
Climate Change [4]
Energy & Fuel [5]
Environmental Justice [23]
Environmental Politics [6]
Government [7]
Laws & Regulations [9]
Natural Resources [24]
Policy [10]
Water & Oceans [31]
Region:
International [13]
Visibility:
Public [14]
- Read more about What Would Trump 2.0 Mean for the Environment? [29]
What Would a Second Trump Reign Mean for Press Freedom? [32]

The possibility of a second Trump administration has WatchDog Opinion sweating blood over the potential for a serious undermining of the press, whether by choking off access to public records, opening up libel laws that help protect journalists from libel suits by public figures or going to virtual war with the news media. What might be in store if Trump wins back the presidency?

SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog [16]
Topics on the Beat:
Environmental Politics [6]
Government [7]
Journalism & Media [19]
Laws & Regulations [9]
Policy [10]
Region:
National (U.S.) [11]
Visibility:
Public [14]
- Read more about What Would a Second Trump Reign Mean for Press Freedom? [32]
Will the Coming Plastics Treaty Solve the Problem Or Enshrine It? [33]

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 [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Chemicals [30]
Climate Change [4]
Consumer [17]
Economy & Business [18]
Energy & Fuel [5]
Environmental Health [34]
Environmental Politics [6]
Government [7]
Health [35]
Journalism & Media [19]
Policy [10]
Pollution [26]
Waste [36]
Water & Oceans [31]
Region:
National (U.S.) [11]
International [13]
Asia [37]
Visibility:
Public [14]
- Read more about Will the Coming Plastics Treaty Solve the Problem Or Enshrine It? [33]
Pulling Back the Curtain on the Plunder of the Planet [38]

“Pitfall: The Race to Mine the World’s Most Vulnerable Places,” a new work by investigative journalist Christopher Pollon, offers a sweeping global view of how the mining industry profits, despite causing vast environmental losses and failing to acknowledge Indigenous ownership or rights to the land it mines. BookShelf’s Melody Kemp lauds Pollon’s searing observations and investigations. Read her review.

SEJ Publication Types:
BookShelf [39]
Topics on the Beat:
Activism [3]
Biodiversity [40]
Consumer [17]
Economy & Business [18]
Environmental Health [34]
Environmental Justice [23]
Environmental Politics [6]
Fish & Fisheries [41]
Forests [42]
Natural Resources [24]
Policy [10]
Pollution [26]
Technology [27]
Water & Oceans [31]
Wildlife [43]
Region:
International [13]
Africa [44]
Asia [37]
Australia & Oceania [45]
South America [46]
Visibility:
Public [14]
- Read more about Pulling Back the Curtain on the Plunder of the Planet [38]
Tracking the EPA Agenda Through Agency Grants [47]

Much of what the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency accomplishes, whether cleaning up water, shoring up infrastructure or reducing climate change, is done through its grants program. To help track that spending, the latest Reporter’s Toolbox points reporters to an enhanced EPA grant database tool that lets you search by geography and across other databases. More on how to make the most of it.

SEJ Publication Types:
Reporters Toolbox [48]
Topics on the Beat:
Climate Change [4]
Government [7]
Infrastructure [8]
Journalism & Media [19]
Policy [10]
Water & Oceans [31]
Region:
National (U.S.) [11]
Visibility:
Public [14]
- Read more about Tracking the EPA Agenda Through Agency Grants [47]
Rethinking Rural Reporting — How To Get Past the Cliches [49]

When covering rural America, mainstream media often defaults to stereotypes steeped in politics and ignores the diversity that actually exists there, as expanding news deserts exacerbate the problem. Reporter Claire Carlson on why this matters — including in discouraging investment around climate change or resource industries urban dwellers depend on. Here’s how journalists can report richer, more nuanced stories about rural people and places.

SEJ Publication Types:
Features [50]
Topics on the Beat:
Agriculture [51]
Climate Change [4]
Disasters [52]
Diversity [53]
Economy & Business [18]
Environmental Politics [6]
Government [7]
Journalism & Media [19]
People & Population [25]
Policy [10]
Region:
National (U.S.) [11]
Visibility:
Public [14]
- Read more about Rethinking Rural Reporting — How To Get Past the Cliches [49]
Why the Press Needs To Press for Senate Action on the PRESS Act [54]

A promising federal shield law that would protect journalists from jail for refusing to reveal sources months ago passed the House of Representatives but has since stalled in the Senate. The new WatchDog Opinion column can tell you why … and why this measure, dubbed the PRESS Act, matters so much for reporters, including those that cover climate and the environment.

SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog [16]
Topics on the Beat:
Journalism & Media [19]
Laws & Regulations [9]
Policy [10]
Region:
National (U.S.) [11]
Visibility:
Public [14]
- Read more about Why the Press Needs To Press for Senate Action on the PRESS Act [54]

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