Publication Items

Harnessing the Power of Global Forest Watch for Data-Driven Reporting on Land Cover Change [1]

Whether trees fall to chain saws or go up in smoke, deforestation is a major climate change driver. But on-the-ground reporting on forest loss is often challenging. Global Forest Watch provides worldwide land cover change data and tools that can help journalists contextualize deforestation events. Mongabay editor Morgan Erickson-Davis explains the power of this free online platform and shares her favorite features.

SEJ Publication Types:
Features [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Agriculture [3]
Biodiversity [4]
Climate Change [5]
Environmental Health [6]
Environmental Studies [7]
Forests [8]
Journalism & Media [9]
Natural Resources [10]
Science [11]
Technology [12]
Wildlife [13]
Region:
National (U.S.) [14]
International [15]
Visibility:
Public [16]
- Read more about Harnessing the Power of Global Forest Watch for Data-Driven Reporting on Land Cover Change [1]
Will New EPA Policy Make It Easier To Interview Its Experts? [17]

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 [18]
Topics on the Beat:
Environmental Politics [19]
Government [20]
Journalism & Media [9]
Policy [21]
Science [11]
Region:
National (U.S.) [14]
Visibility:
Public [16]
- Read more about Will New EPA Policy Make It Easier To Interview Its Experts? [17]
Recycled Sewage Water — Overcoming the ‘Yuck Factor’ [22]

Toilet-to-tap water jokes aside, the technology and economics of turning sewage into potable drinking water is increasingly seen as a remedy for water-stressed communities. The new BookShelf review of “Purified: How Recycled Sewage is Transforming Our Water,” explains how water shortages, climate change, unsustainable growth and other factors have led some communities, most recently Los Angeles, to consider going “all in” on purified wastewater.

SEJ Publication Types:
BookShelf [23]
Topics on the Beat:
Infrastructure [24]
Policy [21]
Science [11]
Technology [12]
Waste [25]
Water & Oceans [26]
Region:
National (U.S.) [14]
California [27]
Great Lakes (IL IN MI MN OH WI) [28]
SE (AL AR FL GA KY LA MS NC PR SC TN) [29]
Southwest (AZ NM OK TX) [30]
Visibility:
Public [16]
- Read more about Recycled Sewage Water — Overcoming the ‘Yuck Factor’ [22]
Reporter Unravels Complex Dynamic Between Climate Change and Nature [31]

Nature-based climate solutions have become a much-talked-of topic, one that journalist Gabriel Popkin turned into a loose beat through which to explore the complicated realities beyond some easy narratives. The resulting stories were published widely to high praise, and in the latest Inside Story Q&A, Popkin spoke about his efforts and offered up five critical factors for producing original, impactful journalism.

SEJ Publication Types:
Inside Story [32]
Topics on the Beat:
Agriculture [3]
Climate Change [5]
Economy & Business [33]
Energy & Fuel [34]
Environmental Health [6]
Environmental Justice [35]
Environmental Studies [7]
Forests [8]
Journalism & Media [9]
Natural Resources [10]
Planning & Growth [36]
Policy [21]
Science [11]
Technology [12]
Region:
National (U.S.) [14]
Great Plains (IA KS ND NE MO SD) [37]
International [15]
Europe [38]
Visibility:
Public [16]
- Read more about Reporter Unravels Complex Dynamic Between Climate Change and Nature [31]
What Francis' Latest Climate Text Means for Upcoming UN Summit [39]

Pope Francis’ planned history-making trip to the latest global climate conference has been thwarted by illness. But his passionate advocacy for the environment still will be felt through his hot-off-the-press apostolic exhortation about the climate crisis. National Catholic Reporter’s environment correspondent Brian Roewe unpacks the pope’s new eco-document and explains how it relates to international climate diplomacy at and beyond Dubai.

SEJ Publication Types:
Features [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Activism [40]
Climate Change [5]
Environmental Justice [35]
Environmental Politics [19]
Government [20]
Natural Resources [10]
Policy [21]
Religion, Faith and Spirituality [41]
Science [11]
Technology [12]
Region:
International [15]
Europe [38]
Middle East [42]
Visibility:
Public [16]
- Read more about What Francis' Latest Climate Text Means for Upcoming UN Summit [39]
Between the Lines — Author Explores Experience of Living Through Climate Change [43]

To make climate change less abstract and more direct, writer Madeline Ostrander traveled the country to speak to those living with its impacts in the places they call home. In a BookShelf “Between the Lines” Q&A, Ostrander discusses her resulting book, “At Home on an Unruly Planet: Finding Refuge on a Changed Earth,” and addresses the lenses she used, the characters she portrayed and the surprises she encountered.

SEJ Publication Types:
BookShelf [23]
Topics on the Beat:
Activism [40]
Climate Change [5]
Disasters [44]
Economy & Business [33]
Environmental Justice [35]
Environmental Politics [19]
Forests [8]
Health [45]
Journalism & Media [9]
People & Population [46]
Policy [21]
Religion, Faith and Spirituality [41]
Science [11]
Wildlife [13]
Region:
National (U.S.) [14]
Alaska and Hawaii [47]
California [27]
SE (AL AR FL GA KY LA MS NC PR SC TN) [29]
International [15]
Canada [48]
Visibility:
Public [16]
- Read more about Between the Lines — Author Explores Experience of Living Through Climate Change [43]
Author Brings Far-Reaching Insight to ‘The Three Ages of Water’ [49]

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 [23]
Topics on the Beat:
Climate Change [5]
Environmental Health [6]
Environmental Justice [35]
Food [50]
Health [45]
Natural Resources [10]
People & Population [46]
Planning & Growth [36]
Policy [21]
Science [11]
Water & Oceans [26]
Region:
National (U.S.) [14]
Great Lakes (IL IN MI MN OH WI) [28]
International [15]
Africa [51]
Asia [52]
Visibility:
Public [16]
- Read more about Author Brings Far-Reaching Insight to ‘The Three Ages of Water’ [49]
Electric Vehicles Will Be Burning Rubber in 2024 [53]

As global sales of electric vehicles surge, the positive impact on climate change emissions could be a critical benefit. But as our Backgrounder points out, it’s not as simple as that. There are challenges with politics, tax laws, mineral access, related pollution regulations and union jobs. Get an overview of the issue, in this latest entry in our expanding 2024 Journalists’ Guide to Environment + Energy.

SEJ Publication Types:
Backgrounders [54]
Topics on the Beat:
Climate Change [5]
Consumer [55]
Energy & Fuel [34]
Environmental Politics [19]
Government [20]
Journalism & Media [9]
Laws & Regulations [56]
Natural Resources [10]
Policy [21]
Pollution [57]
Science [11]
Technology [12]
Transportation [58]
Region:
National (U.S.) [14]
International [15]
Asia [52]
Europe [38]
Visibility:
Public [16]
- Read more about Electric Vehicles Will Be Burning Rubber in 2024 [53]
Wildfire DisInformation Becomes a State Weapon, Aided by AI [59]

How did the Lahaina wildfire spark an AI-driven influence campaign out of China? Perhaps a technological leap. Or perhaps, the new WatchDog Opinion column suggests, a natural evolution of a decades-old disinformation playbook with roots in a war against science and culminating in climate denial. A look at the disturbing prospects and a plea for journalists not to sidestep the phenomenon but to cover it.

SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog [18]
Topics on the Beat:
Chemicals [60]
Climate Change [5]
Economy & Business [33]
Energy & Fuel [34]
Environmental Politics [19]
Journalism & Media [9]
Policy [21]
Science [11]
Region:
National (U.S.) [14]
International [15]
Visibility:
Public [16]
- Read more about Wildfire DisInformation Becomes a State Weapon, Aided by AI [59]
CDC Data Offer Multiplicity of Starting Points for Environmental Health Stories [61]

For reporters seeking stories that connect environmental and health issues, there may be no better — or more wide-ranging — place to start than with high-quality data from the Centers for Disease Control’s wide range of datasets. The latest Reporter’s Toolbox looks into where the CDC’s data originates from and how that affects its usefulness, and offers up a helpful overview of CDC data surveys.

SEJ Publication Types:
Reporters Toolbox [62]
Topics on the Beat:
Environmental Studies [7]
Government [20]
Health [45]
Journalism & Media [9]
Science [11]
Region:
National (U.S.) [14]
Visibility:
Public [16]
- Read more about CDC Data Offer Multiplicity of Starting Points for Environmental Health Stories [61]

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