Publication Items

Will 2022 See the Start of Formal Negotiations Toward a Global Plastics Treaty? [1]

Plastic waste, already the subject of preliminary international talks, could be increasingly targeted after UN meetings in early 2022. Meanwhile, this ubiquitous product is polluting land, ocean and air in its various forms, as well as through little-understood microplastic particles. The latest TipSheet has the backstory on efforts to forge an international plastics treaty, as well as ideas for how to cover plastic pollution locally.

SEJ Publication Types:
TipSheet [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Activism [3]
Air [4]
Chemicals [5]
Climate Change [6]
Consumer [7]
Economy & Business [8]
Environmental Health [9]
Environmental Politics [10]
Fish & Fisheries [11]
Food [12]
Government [13]
Health [14]
Journalism & Media [15]
Policy [16]
Pollution [17]
Waste [18]
Water & Oceans [19]
Wildlife [20]
Region:
National (U.S.) [21]
International [22]
Visibility:
Public [23]
- Read more about Will 2022 See the Start of Formal Negotiations Toward a Global Plastics Treaty? [1]
Climate Risk Disclosure Guides Journalists, Not Just Investors [24]

A profound tightening of companies’ environmental risk disclosure requirements may be ahead, thanks to efforts by the Biden administration’s Securities and Exchange Commission. And the new WatchDog Opinion column argues that as fossil fuel firms position themselves as part of an environmentally sound future, journalists must act too — demanding full disclosure of corporate financial risks related to climate.

SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog [25]
Topics on the Beat:
Activism [3]
Climate Change [6]
Consumer [7]
Economy & Business [8]
Energy & Fuel [26]
Environmental Politics [10]
Government [13]
Journalism & Media [15]
Laws & Regulations [27]
Policy [16]
Region:
National (U.S.) [21]
Visibility:
Public [23]
- Read more about Climate Risk Disclosure Guides Journalists, Not Just Investors [24]
Mapping Flood Risk — Research Outfit Offers Alternative Dataset [28]

Climate change makes flooding — and flood reporting — increasingly likely, and yet government data on flood risk often falls short. The latest Reporter’s Toolbox offers an alternative, an ambitious, peer-reviewed dataset from a unique nonprofit research outfit that offers free data aggregated to the zip code, county and congressional district levels. More on the dataset and how to use it.

SEJ Publication Types:
Reporters Toolbox [29]
Topics on the Beat:
Climate Change [6]
Disasters [30]
Environmental Studies [31]
Infrastructure [32]
Journalism & Media [15]
Water & Oceans [19]
Region:
National (U.S.) [21]
Visibility:
Public [23]
- Read more about Mapping Flood Risk — Research Outfit Offers Alternative Dataset [28]
As Locales Move to Decarbonize Buildings, Will States Ban Gas Bans? [33]

While climate change is certainly a global phenomenon, conflicts over addressing it often turn on local concerns. Case in point: Community bans on the use of the fossil fuel methane (aka natural gas), which has in turn prompted some states to ban the bans themselves. The latest TipSheet explains the bans and how they play into the climate change debate, plus story ideas and resources.

SEJ Publication Types:
TipSheet [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Activism [3]
Climate Change [6]
Consumer [7]
Energy & Fuel [26]
Environmental Politics [10]
Government [13]
Infrastructure [32]
Journalism & Media [15]
Laws & Regulations [27]
Natural Resources [34]
Policy [16]
Region:
National (U.S.) [21]
California [35]
Great Plains (IA KS ND NE MO SD) [36]
Mountain West (CO ID MT NV UT WY) [37]
Northeast (CT MA ME NH NJ NY RI VT) [38]
Northwest (OR WA) [39]
SE (AL AR FL GA KY LA MS NC PR SC TN) [40]
Southwest (AZ NM OK TX) [41]
Visibility:
Public [23]
- Read more about As Locales Move to Decarbonize Buildings, Will States Ban Gas Bans? [33]
New Landsat 9 Offers Variety of Resource Stories [42]

The launch of NASA’s new Landsat Earth-observing satellite is a reminder to reporters that millions of images from over five decades can help unearth many environmental trends, whether deforestation, coastal erosion, suburban sprawl or wildfire impacts. The new Reporter’s Toolbox explains how the service works and how to access the resource, along with examples of prize-winning stories.

SEJ Publication Types:
Reporters Toolbox [29]
Topics on the Beat:
Agriculture [43]
Climate Change [6]
Environmental Health [9]
Environmental Studies [31]
Forests [44]
Government [13]
Journalism & Media [15]
Natural Resources [34]
Science [45]
Technology [46]
Water & Oceans [19]
Wildlife [20]
Region:
National (U.S.) [21]
International [22]
Visibility:
Public [23]
- Read more about New Landsat 9 Offers Variety of Resource Stories [42]
Climate Resiliency — When a Disaster Becomes a Cascade [47]

It sometimes feels like journalists lurch from one catastrophe (or hurricane, flood, wildfire, heat wave) to the next. But that can mean missing the bigger story: Disasters, increasingly linked to climate extremes, are often interlocking events, in which one system failure causes the next and the next. The latest Backgrounder explores three case studies, and how news media can focus attention on steps toward resilience.

SEJ Publication Types:
Backgrounders [48]
Topics on the Beat:
Climate Change [6]
Disasters [30]
Energy & Fuel [26]
Environmental Justice [49]
Environmental Politics [10]
Government [13]
Health [14]
Infrastructure [32]
Journalism & Media [15]
Nuclear Power & Radiation [50]
People & Population [51]
Planning & Growth [52]
Technology [46]
Water & Oceans [19]
Region:
National (U.S.) [21]
SE (AL AR FL GA KY LA MS NC PR SC TN) [40]
Southwest (AZ NM OK TX) [41]
International [22]
Asia [53]
Europe [54]
Visibility:
Public [23]
- Read more about Climate Resiliency — When a Disaster Becomes a Cascade [47]
Two Communities, Two Hazards and the Two Award-Winners Reporting Them [55]

Two outstanding features — one on air pollution from a local coke plant in Pennsylvania, another on deaths from a shellfish toxin in Alaska, and both focused on public health, neglected communities and environmental justice — are the subject of the new Inside Story Q&A. Society of Environmental Journalists’ award-winners Nancy Averett and Zoya Teirstein share their reporting insights and advice.

SEJ Publication Types:
Inside Story [56]
Topics on the Beat:
Air [4]
Climate Change [6]
Diversity [57]
Energy & Fuel [26]
Environmental Health [9]
Environmental Justice [49]
Environmental Studies [31]
Fish & Fisheries [11]
Food [12]
Health [14]
Journalism & Media [15]
People & Population [51]
Pollution [17]
Science [45]
Water & Oceans [19]
Region:
National (U.S.) [21]
Alaska and Hawaii [58]
Mid-Atlantic (DC DE MD PA VA WV) [59]
Visibility:
Public [23]
- Read more about Two Communities, Two Hazards and the Two Award-Winners Reporting Them [55]
Getting Glasgow — Covering the Climate Conference From Afar [60]

A critically important global gathering to advance the Paris climate accords gets underway in Scotland next month. And the latest TipSheet offers an extensive walk-through on the UN meeting — basic terminology and negotiating aims, global politics, green climate funds and more — to help environmental journalists report on it with relevance, whether from there or home.

SEJ Publication Types:
TipSheet [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Climate Change [6]
Environmental Politics [10]
Government [13]
Journalism & Media [15]
Policy [16]
Region:
National (U.S.) [21]
International [22]
Asia [53]
Australia & Oceania [61]
Europe [54]
Middle East [62]
Visibility:
Public [23]
- Read more about Getting Glasgow — Covering the Climate Conference From Afar [60]
The 9/11 Legacy — Fear Drew Curtain Over Environmental Information [63]

Twenty years after the attacks on 9/11, the war on terror has left many risks in the built environment under a cloak of secrecy. For WatchDog Opinion, keeping vital information about such preventable hazards under wraps from the public and journalists is not just wrong, but bad policy. Here’s why. Plus, a rundown for environment reporters of where exactly this secrecy reigns.

SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog [25]
Topics on the Beat:
Activism [3]
Agriculture [43]
Air [4]
Chemicals [5]
Disasters [30]
Economy & Business [8]
Energy & Fuel [26]
Environmental Politics [10]
Food [12]
Government [13]
Health [14]
Infrastructure [32]
Journalism & Media [15]
Laws & Regulations [27]
Nuclear Power & Radiation [50]
People & Population [51]
Policy [16]
Transportation [64]
Waste [18]
Water & Oceans [19]
Region:
National (U.S.) [21]
California [35]
Southwest (AZ NM OK TX) [41]
International [22]
Africa [65]
Asia [53]
Visibility:
Public [23]
- Read more about The 9/11 Legacy — Fear Drew Curtain Over Environmental Information [63]
Early Toxics Release Inventory Data Can Yield Scoops [66]

In a few weeks, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency will officially release the latest year’s Toxics Release Inventory. But as Reporter’s Toolbox explains, you can get ahead of the data — and possibly generate some scoops. That’s because EPA quietly releases incomplete preliminary data months earlier. Top tips on making sense of the early data, along with nine smart story leads.

SEJ Publication Types:
Reporters Toolbox [29]
Topics on the Beat:
Chemicals [5]
Environmental Justice [49]
Environmental Politics [10]
Environmental Studies [31]
Government [13]
Health [14]
Journalism & Media [15]
Laws & Regulations [27]
People & Population [51]
Pollution [17]
Waste [18]
Region:
National (U.S.) [21]
Visibility:
Public [23]
- Read more about Early Toxics Release Inventory Data Can Yield Scoops [66]

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