Publication Items

High-Risk Reporting Yields Results on Palm Oil Investigation [1]

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 [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Agriculture [3]
Chemicals [4]
Economy & Business [5]
Environmental Health [6]
Environmental Justice [7]
Environmental Politics [8]
Food [9]
Forests [10]
Government [11]
Health [12]
Journalism & Media [13]
Natural Resources [14]
People & Population [15]
Pollution [16]
Water & Oceans [17]
Region:
International [18]
South America [19]
Visibility:
Public [20]
- Read more about High-Risk Reporting Yields Results on Palm Oil Investigation [1]
Author Brings Far-Reaching Insight to ‘The Three Ages of Water’ [21]

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 [22]
Topics on the Beat:
Climate Change [23]
Environmental Health [6]
Environmental Justice [7]
Food [9]
Health [12]
Natural Resources [14]
People & Population [15]
Planning & Growth [24]
Policy [25]
Science [26]
Water & Oceans [17]
Region:
National (U.S.) [27]
Great Lakes (IL IN MI MN OH WI) [28]
International [18]
Africa [29]
Asia [30]
Visibility:
Public [20]
- Read more about Author Brings Far-Reaching Insight to ‘The Three Ages of Water’ [21]
Here’s Your Handy Doomsday Dataviz Dashboard [31]

If you’re harboring serious doubts about the climate future but want to be prepared to cover it, the latest Reporter’s Toolbox offers up a seasonably ghoulish list of a dozen and a half great visualization sources to help tell the story. And lest it leave you spooked, remember, as the saying goes, everything will be OK in the end. And if it's not OK, it's not the end.

SEJ Publication Types:
Reporters Toolbox [32]
Topics on the Beat:
Air [33]
Climate Change [23]
Disasters [34]
Environmental Health [6]
Health [12]
Journalism & Media [13]
Water & Oceans [17]
Region:
National (U.S.) [27]
International [18]
Visibility:
Public [20]
- Read more about Here’s Your Handy Doomsday Dataviz Dashboard [31]
Unique Podcast Team Gives Voice to Troubled Communities Near Declining Salton Sea [35]

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 [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Activism [36]
Agriculture [3]
Climate Change [23]
Disasters [34]
Environmental Health [6]
Environmental Justice [7]
Environmental Politics [8]
Health [12]
Journalism & Media [13]
Natural Resources [14]
People & Population [15]
Water & Oceans [17]
Region:
National (U.S.) [27]
California [37]
Visibility:
Public [20]
- Read more about Unique Podcast Team Gives Voice to Troubled Communities Near Declining Salton Sea [35]
Between the Lines — Great Lakes Author Looks Back on a Writing Career, Forward to Journalism’s Future [38]

With a dozen books under his belt, environmental writer and Great Lakes policy expert Dave Dempsey is ready to put away his pen. But not before sharing important lessons from his career, how he found hope amid the destruction and how he sees journalism succeeding. BookShelf contributor Gary Wilson talks with the author for our occasional “Between the Lines” interview series.

SEJ Publication Types:
BookShelf [22]
Topics on the Beat:
Activism [36]
Environmental Health [6]
Journalism & Media [13]
Natural Resources [14]
Policy [25]
Water & Oceans [17]
Region:
National (U.S.) [27]
Great Lakes (IL IN MI MN OH WI) [28]
Visibility:
Public [20]
- Read more about Between the Lines — Great Lakes Author Looks Back on a Writing Career, Forward to Journalism’s Future [38]
Disabilities and Disasters — What Questions Should You Be Asking Planners? [39]

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 [40]
Topics on the Beat:
Activism [36]
Climate Change [23]
Disasters [34]
Diversity [41]
Environmental Health [6]
Environmental Justice [7]
Environmental Politics [8]
Government [11]
Health [12]
Infrastructure [42]
Journalism & Media [13]
Laws & Regulations [43]
People & Population [15]
Policy [25]
Region:
National (U.S.) [27]
Northeast (CT MA ME NH NJ NY RI VT) [44]
Southwest (AZ NM OK TX) [45]
Visibility:
Public [20]
- Read more about Disabilities and Disasters — What Questions Should You Be Asking Planners? [39]
COP28 Will Be Earth-Shaping News in 2024 and Beyond [46]

When nations converge this fall for the latest round of annual talks on harnessing climate change, they meet at a crucial juncture. Will the increasingly dramatic impacts of global warming, and the prospects of worse, focus their attention enough to bring about progress? In this sweeping analysis, Backgrounder assesses the varied pressures at play at the coming COP28, along with tips for covering it, from up close or afar.

SEJ Publication Types:
Backgrounders [47]
Topics on the Beat:
Climate Change [23]
Energy & Fuel [48]
Environmental Health [6]
Environmental Politics [8]
Environmental Studies [49]
Government [11]
Journalism & Media [13]
Laws & Regulations [43]
Policy [25]
Science [26]
Region:
National (U.S.) [27]
International [18]
Canada [50]
Africa [29]
Asia [30]
Europe [51]
Middle East [52]
Visibility:
Public [20]
- Read more about COP28 Will Be Earth-Shaping News in 2024 and Beyond [46]
Top Data Sources Can Help Cover the Larger Wildfire Story [53]

In the aftermath of breaking wildfire news, when environmental journalists are looking to tell the bigger picture story, there are myriad resources that provide data and insight. To help you sort through it all, the latest Reporter’s Toolbox scans eight powerful data portals that provide everything from real-time tracking and satellite data to risk analysis and health impacts.

SEJ Publication Types:
Reporters Toolbox [32]
Topics on the Beat:
Air [33]
Climate Change [23]
Disasters [34]
Environmental Health [6]
Forests [10]
Government [11]
Health [12]
Journalism & Media [13]
Region:
National (U.S.) [27]
Visibility:
Public [20]
- Read more about Top Data Sources Can Help Cover the Larger Wildfire Story [53]
Waste Incineration May Put Toxics Into Local Air [54]

Sometimes on the environment beat, what seems like an old story is perpetually new again. That’s the case with waste incineration, finds the latest TipSheet. Rather than being reduced, incinerators are just being transformed, with the ongoing burning of plastics especially troubling for the environment and public health. Get the backstory on where the regulatory regime may have holes, plus key reporting angles and story ideas.

SEJ Publication Types:
TipSheet [55]
Topics on the Beat:
Activism [36]
Air [33]
Chemicals [4]
Energy & Fuel [48]
Environmental Health [6]
Environmental Justice [7]
Environmental Politics [8]
Health [12]
Journalism & Media [13]
Laws & Regulations [43]
Pollution [16]
Waste [56]
Region:
National (U.S.) [27]
Visibility:
Public [20]
- Read more about Waste Incineration May Put Toxics Into Local Air [54]
Data on Pesticide Incidents Openly Available for First Time [57]

A decade’s worth of government pesticide data — only available before through FOIA — has been made newly available. And, explains the latest Reporter’s Toolbox, it can lead to revealing environmental, public health and environmental justice stories. More on how the data came to be compiled and advice on using it smartly, along with some caveats.

SEJ Publication Types:
Reporters Toolbox [32]
Topics on the Beat:
Agriculture [3]
Chemicals [4]
Environmental Health [6]
Environmental Justice [7]
Food [9]
Health [12]
Journalism & Media [13]
Laws & Regulations [43]
Pollution [16]
Region:
National (U.S.) [27]
Visibility:
Public [20]
- Read more about Data on Pesticide Incidents Openly Available for First Time [57]

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