Publication Items

Covering Food Systems — The Next Climate Action Battleground [1]

Freelance food systems reporter Thin Lei Win believes that if the world doesn’t change the way it produces, processes, transports, consumes and discards food, climate change will worsen and hunger levels will spike. But she also worries that powerful interests want to keep the status quo and cites parallels with the tobacco and fossil fuel industries. More in Freelance Files, including places for freelancers to pitch climate-food stories.

SEJ Publication Types:
Freelance Files [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Agriculture [3]
Climate Change [4]
Consumer [5]
Economy & Business [6]
Energy & Fuel [7]
Food [8]
Journalism & Media [9]
People & Population [10]
Policy [11]
Pollution [12]
Region:
National (U.S.) [13]
International [14]
Visibility:
Public [15]
- Read more about Covering Food Systems — The Next Climate Action Battleground [1]
High-Risk Reporting Yields Results on Palm Oil Investigation [16]

The devastation caused by the Amazonian palm oil industry was at the heart of an investigation by Mongabay reporter Karla Mendes. But first she had to face hostile sources, intransigent regulators and a robbery attempt. Ultimately, the project not only won a reporting prize from the Society of Environmental Journalists but brought global awareness and government action. Her experience, in Inside Story Q&A.

SEJ Publication Types:
Inside Story [17]
Topics on the Beat:
Agriculture [3]
Chemicals [18]
Economy & Business [6]
Environmental Health [19]
Environmental Justice [20]
Environmental Politics [21]
Food [8]
Forests [22]
Government [23]
Health [24]
Journalism & Media [9]
Natural Resources [25]
People & Population [10]
Pollution [12]
Water & Oceans [26]
Region:
International [14]
South America [27]
Visibility:
Public [15]
- Read more about High-Risk Reporting Yields Results on Palm Oil Investigation [16]
Author Brings Far-Reaching Insight to ‘The Three Ages of Water’ [28]

Leading water expert Peter Gleick’s new book on water’s past, present and future is an ambitious volume that offers a panoramic look at this essential resource — and hope for living in harmony with it in the future. BookShelf Editor Tom Henry calls “The Three Ages of Water” a rare book of breadth and depth, part history and part sustainable remedy. Read his review.

SEJ Publication Types:
BookShelf [29]
Topics on the Beat:
Climate Change [4]
Environmental Health [19]
Environmental Justice [20]
Food [8]
Health [24]
Natural Resources [25]
People & Population [10]
Planning & Growth [30]
Policy [11]
Science [31]
Water & Oceans [26]
Region:
National (U.S.) [13]
Great Lakes (IL IN MI MN OH WI) [32]
International [14]
Africa [33]
Asia [34]
Visibility:
Public [15]
- Read more about Author Brings Far-Reaching Insight to ‘The Three Ages of Water’ [28]
Home Insurance Likely To Be a 2024 Climate Story Near You [35]

In the first of a two-parter for our 2024 Journalists’ Guide to Environment & Energy, TipSheet looks at what climate-driven disasters mean for the home insurance market. Storms, floods and fire rip through communities, yet a federal insurance program falls short, lawmakers shy away from real reform and insurers grow hesitant to cover the risks, while homeowners often attempt to rebuild in the same problematic locales. Plus, see part two [36] on extreme weather and insurance.

SEJ Publication Types:
TipSheet [37]
Topics on the Beat:
Climate Change [4]
Consumer [5]
Disasters [38]
Economy & Business [6]
Environmental Politics [21]
Government [23]
Journalism & Media [9]
Laws & Regulations [39]
People & Population [10]
Planning & Growth [30]
Policy [11]
Region:
National (U.S.) [13]
California [40]
Northeast (CT MA ME NH NJ NY RI VT) [41]
SE (AL AR FL GA KY LA MS NC PR SC TN) [42]
Visibility:
Public [15]
- Read more about Home Insurance Likely To Be a 2024 Climate Story Near You [35]
Unique Podcast Team Gives Voice to Troubled Communities Near Declining Salton Sea [43]

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 [17]
Topics on the Beat:
Activism [44]
Agriculture [3]
Climate Change [4]
Disasters [38]
Environmental Health [19]
Environmental Justice [20]
Environmental Politics [21]
Health [24]
Journalism & Media [9]
Natural Resources [25]
People & Population [10]
Water & Oceans [26]
Region:
National (U.S.) [13]
California [40]
Visibility:
Public [15]
- Read more about Unique Podcast Team Gives Voice to Troubled Communities Near Declining Salton Sea [43]
Disabilities and Disasters — What Questions Should You Be Asking Planners? [45]

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 [46]
Topics on the Beat:
Activism [44]
Climate Change [4]
Disasters [38]
Diversity [47]
Environmental Health [19]
Environmental Justice [20]
Environmental Politics [21]
Government [23]
Health [24]
Infrastructure [48]
Journalism & Media [9]
Laws & Regulations [39]
People & Population [10]
Policy [11]
Region:
National (U.S.) [13]
Northeast (CT MA ME NH NJ NY RI VT) [41]
Southwest (AZ NM OK TX) [49]
Visibility:
Public [15]
- Read more about Disabilities and Disasters — What Questions Should You Be Asking Planners? [45]
Uncovering the Environmental Impacts of a Controversial Water Project [50]

Months spent gathering thousands of documents and talking to local residents led reporter Dheeraj Mishra to uncover the negative environmental impacts of a major hydro project in a water-scarce region of India. And his resulting investigative reporting got him noticed in the 2022 Society of Environmental Journalists’ 2022 awards contest. Mishra shares his insights in the new Inside Story Q&A.

SEJ Publication Types:
Inside Story [17]
Topics on the Beat:
Environmental Health [19]
Environmental Justice [20]
Environmental Politics [21]
Government [23]
Infrastructure [48]
Journalism & Media [9]
Natural Resources [25]
People & Population [10]
Planning & Growth [30]
Policy [11]
Pollution [12]
Water & Oceans [26]
Region:
International [14]
Asia [34]
Visibility:
Public [15]
- Read more about Uncovering the Environmental Impacts of a Controversial Water Project [50]
The Community We’ve Long Ignored [51]

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 [52]
Topics on the Beat:
Activism [44]
Agriculture [3]
Climate Change [4]
Diversity [47]
Environmental Justice [20]
Environmental Politics [21]
Health [24]
Journalism & Media [9]
People & Population [10]
Region:
National (U.S.) [13]
California [40]
Visibility:
Public [15]
- Read more about The Community We’ve Long Ignored [51]
The Seven Stages of Beach Exploitation (and Restoration) [53]

When most people think of coastal tourist destinations, they imagine beaches lined by palm trees and exclusive resorts. But those are exactly the kind of realities that contribute to the environmental and economic decline of coastal communities and their local residents, argues a new book. Contributing Editor Jenny Weeks has our review in the new BookShelf.

SEJ Publication Types:
BookShelf [29]
Topics on the Beat:
Climate Change [4]
Environmental Health [19]
Natural Resources [25]
People & Population [10]
Planning & Growth [30]
Pollution [12]
Water & Oceans [26]
Region:
National (U.S.) [13]
Alaska and Hawaii [54]
California [40]
Northeast (CT MA ME NH NJ NY RI VT) [41]
SE (AL AR FL GA KY LA MS NC PR SC TN) [42]
International [14]
Mexico [55]
Africa [33]
Asia [34]
Australia & Oceania [56]
Central America & the Caribbean [57]
Europe [58]
Visibility:
Public [15]
- Read more about The Seven Stages of Beach Exploitation (and Restoration) [53]
Heat Warning — Expect Extreme Temps To Be Local Story This Summer [59]

Some areas of the United States are hot and getting hotter, thanks to climate change and now the coming El Niño. But some areas have little history with extreme temperatures — and those places are among the ones to watch this summer for local and regional reporting. Plus, who are the most vulnerable in your community when it comes to heat waves?

SEJ Publication Types:
TipSheet [37]
Topics on the Beat:
Climate Change [4]
Disasters [38]
Environmental Justice [20]
Health [24]
Journalism & Media [9]
People & Population [10]
Region:
National (U.S.) [13]
California [40]
Great Lakes (IL IN MI MN OH WI) [32]
Northwest (OR WA) [60]
International [14]
Visibility:
Public [15]
- Read more about Heat Warning — Expect Extreme Temps To Be Local Story This Summer [59]

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