Publication Items

Expert Advice Helps Journalists Navigate Unfamiliar Scientific Seas [1]

Journalists who lack a strong science background can find themselves in deep water when reporting environmental stories. How do you avoid over- or understating research findings? What’s the difference between observational and experimental studies? And what about those pesky percentages? Former Washington Post science reporter Rick Weiss and his SciLine colleagues have some answers.

SEJ Publication Types:
Features [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Agriculture [3]
Air [4]
Climate Change [5]
Environmental Health [6]
Environmental Studies [7]
Journalism & Media [8]
Pollution [9]
Science [10]
Wildlife [11]
Region:
National (U.S.) [12]
International [13]
Visibility:
Public [14]
- Read more about Expert Advice Helps Journalists Navigate Unfamiliar Scientific Seas [1]
Whether Wetlands or Blacktop, Land Cover Database Provides Foundation for Environmental Reporting [15]

For journalists looking to understand the condition of U.S. rangeland, forests or urban pavement, a high-quality government dataset collected via Landsat can help. And for data geeks who want to go a step further and illuminate human impacts on the environment, mapping overlays on the Landsat data can do the trick. Find out more in the new Reporter’s Toolbox.

SEJ Publication Types:
Reporters Toolbox [16]
Topics on the Beat:
Agriculture [3]
Environmental Health [6]
Environmental Studies [7]
Forests [17]
Journalism & Media [8]
Natural Resources [18]
Science [10]
Water & Oceans [19]
Region:
National (U.S.) [12]
Visibility:
Public [14]
- Read more about Whether Wetlands or Blacktop, Land Cover Database Provides Foundation for Environmental Reporting [15]
Temperature Shift Tool May Help Journalists Clarify Climate Impacts [20]

A climate modeling service designed for journalists may help them not only survive a hot summer but to cover it better too. The latest Reporter’s Toolbox takes a look at the Climate Shift Index, developed by Climate Central, designed to isolate what part of the heat is due to climate change, pinpointing days and places, and providing useful maps.

SEJ Publication Types:
Reporters Toolbox [16]
Topics on the Beat:
Climate Change [5]
Journalism & Media [8]
Science [10]
Region:
National (U.S.) [12]
International [13]
Visibility:
Public [14]
- Read more about Temperature Shift Tool May Help Journalists Clarify Climate Impacts [20]
What Will It Take for Geothermal To Heat Up the Renewable Energy Sector? [21]

Geothermal has long been hyped as the next big thing in renewable energy, but its breakthrough moment hasn’t happened yet. Barriers to expansion include the elusiveness of sites offering the magic trio of heat, water and permeability and concern for unique ecosystems. Contributor Jessica McKenzie on geothermal energy’s possibilities and challenges and the government funding that may finally fire it up.

SEJ Publication Types:
Features [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Biodiversity [22]
Climate Change [5]
Economy & Business [23]
Energy & Fuel [24]
Government [25]
Natural Resources [18]
Science [10]
Technology [26]
Wildlife [11]
Region:
National (U.S.) [12]
California [27]
Mountain West (CO ID MT NV UT WY) [28]
Northwest (OR WA) [29]
Southwest (AZ NM OK TX) [30]
International [13]
Australia & Oceania [31]
Europe [32]
Middle East [33]
Visibility:
Public [14]
- Read more about What Will It Take for Geothermal To Heat Up the Renewable Energy Sector? [21]
From Swine Waste, Student Journalist Extracts Prize-Winning Story [34]

Industrial hog farmers tout swine biogas as a clean, green energy source, but others point to its messy side. A young journalist who investigated the underreported stench of environmental racism associated with this technology learned valuable lessons along the way to producing a feature story that won her a Society of Environmental Journalists’ award for outstanding student reporting.

SEJ Publication Types:
EJ Academy [35]
Topics on the Beat:
Agriculture [3]
Air [4]
Chemicals [36]
Diversity [37]
Economy & Business [23]
Energy & Fuel [24]
Environmental Health [6]
Environmental Justice [38]
Environmental Politics [39]
Food [40]
Government [25]
Health [41]
Journalism & Media [8]
Laws & Regulations [42]
Pollution [9]
Science [10]
Technology [26]
Waste [43]
Water & Oceans [19]
Region:
National (U.S.) [12]
SE (AL AR FL GA KY LA MS NC PR SC TN) [44]
Visibility:
Public [14]
- Read more about From Swine Waste, Student Journalist Extracts Prize-Winning Story [34]
Diving Deeper on the Wetlands Beat Yields Groundbreaking Coverage [45]

Two journalists covering water policy used a wide range of reporting techniques, from FOIA appeals to on-the-ground reporting, to get at the heart of how problems with wetlands and waterways in the United States are tied to climate change concerns. Inside Story spoke with Hannah Northey and Kevin Bogardus of E&E News about their award-winning beat reporting.

SEJ Publication Types:
Inside Story [46]
Topics on the Beat:
Biodiversity [22]
Climate Change [5]
Disasters [47]
Diversity [37]
Economy & Business [23]
Environmental Health [6]
Environmental Justice [38]
Environmental Politics [39]
Government [25]
Health [41]
Infrastructure [48]
Journalism & Media [8]
Laws & Regulations [42]
Policy [49]
Pollution [9]
Science [10]
Technology [26]
Water & Oceans [19]
Region:
National (U.S.) [12]
Great Lakes (IL IN MI MN OH WI) [50]
SE (AL AR FL GA KY LA MS NC PR SC TN) [44]
Visibility:
Public [14]
- Read more about Diving Deeper on the Wetlands Beat Yields Groundbreaking Coverage [45]
Epic Struggles Ahead in 2023 on Energy Transition, Pollution [51]

In our annual analysis of what’s ahead on the environment beat in 2023, there are some things to count on: worsening climate disasters and continued politicking over energy transitions, but also regulatory action on greenhouse gas emissions (not to mention on “forever chemicals”). Other things are less clear: environmental rulings by a conservative U.S. Supreme Court, energy impacts of war in Europe and the effectiveness of COP28 and treaty talks on plastic pollution. Read the full overview and get more in our “2023 Journalists’ Guide to Energy & Environment [52]” special report.

SEJ Publication Types:
Special Reports [53]
Topics on the Beat:
Activism [54]
Agriculture [3]
Air [4]
Biodiversity [22]
Chemicals [36]
Climate Change [5]
Disasters [47]
Economy & Business [23]
Energy & Fuel [24]
Environmental Justice [38]
Environmental Politics [39]
Fish & Fisheries [55]
Government [25]
Health [41]
Infrastructure [48]
Journalism & Media [8]
Laws & Regulations [42]
Military [56]
Natural Resources [18]
Planning & Growth [57]
Policy [49]
Pollution [9]
Science [10]
Waste [43]
Water & Oceans [19]
Region:
National (U.S.) [12]
International [13]
Europe [32]
Middle East [33]
Visibility:
Public [14]
- Read more about Epic Struggles Ahead in 2023 on Energy Transition, Pollution [51]
Exploring the Impacts of Hydroelectric Megaprojects on Indigenous Lands [58]

Nearly two-thirds of the world’s rivers are impeded by dams and we keep building them in our quest for cleaner and greener sources of electricity. But as podcast producer Farha Akhtar learned while producing a recent episode, these monumental structures are having a profound impact on our planet and catastrophic consequences for many Indigenous people.

SEJ Publication Types:
Features [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Activism [54]
Biodiversity [22]
Chemicals [36]
Climate Change [5]
Consumer [59]
Diversity [37]
Economy & Business [23]
Energy & Fuel [24]
Environmental Health [6]
Environmental Justice [38]
Environmental Politics [39]
Fish & Fisheries [55]
Food [40]
Government [25]
Health [41]
Infrastructure [48]
Journalism & Media [8]
Natural Resources [18]
Pollution [9]
Religion, Faith and Spirituality [60]
Science [10]
Technology [26]
Water & Oceans [19]
Wildlife [11]
Region:
National (U.S.) [12]
International [13]
Canada [61]
Asia [62]
Visibility:
Public [14]
- Read more about Exploring the Impacts of Hydroelectric Megaprojects on Indigenous Lands [58]
Publication Indexes — Roadmaps to Environmental Science Journals … and News [63]

Findings from scientific research provide many a news lead on the environment beat, and even reporters not closely attuned to the world of scientific journals can use them to find stories. The latest Reporter’s Toolbox offers up one key: indexes. They can guide you to abstracts and free versions of otherwise costly publications. A list of indexes to try. Plus, a half-dozen other pro tips.

SEJ Publication Types:
Reporters Toolbox [16]
Topics on the Beat:
Environmental Studies [7]
Journalism & Media [8]
Science [10]
Region:
National (U.S.) [12]
International [13]
Visibility:
Public [14]
- Read more about Publication Indexes — Roadmaps to Environmental Science Journals … and News [63]
Winning Over Editors and Others with Award Winners’ Multimedia Nuggets [64]

If you’re looking to engage key constituencies for your journalism — whether editors, sources, students or people who have been marginalized — a new set of short videos from award-winning journalists (like KESQ's Angela Chen, at left) can serve as a helpful resource. Inside Story has a roadmap of how to make smart use of these video nuggets to, for instance, convince newsroom powerbrokers to give you more time and support for ambitious stories.

SEJ Publication Types:
Inside Story [46]
Topics on the Beat:
Agriculture [3]
Air [4]
Biodiversity [22]
Chemicals [36]
Climate Change [5]
Diversity [37]
Environmental Health [6]
Environmental Justice [38]
Environmental Politics [39]
Government [25]
Health [41]
Journalism & Media [8]
Natural Resources [18]
Policy [49]
Pollution [9]
Science [10]
Water & Oceans [19]
Wildlife [11]
Region:
National (U.S.) [12]
California [27]
Northwest (OR WA) [29]
SE (AL AR FL GA KY LA MS NC PR SC TN) [44]
International [13]
Visibility:
Public [14]
- Read more about Winning Over Editors and Others with Award Winners’ Multimedia Nuggets [64]

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