Publication Items

Trauma Specialist Offers Ospreys As ‘Gateway Drug’ to Nature [1]

Therapist and artist Pamela Lowell spent several months observing and banding ospreys, but rather than offer the experience up as a scientific account, she turns it into a lighthearted memoir that aims to explore and explain a range of wildlife and environmental issues through art, insight and empathy. BookShelf editor Tom Henry has a review.

SEJ Publication Types:
BookShelf [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Activism [3]
Biodiversity [4]
Climate Change [5]
Environmental Health [6]
Environmental Studies [7]
Wildlife [8]
Region:
National (U.S.) [9]
Northeast (CT MA ME NH NJ NY RI VT) [10]
Visibility:
Public [11]
- Read more about Trauma Specialist Offers Ospreys As ‘Gateway Drug’ to Nature [1]
The Resilient Sea Turtle, Beset by Threats [12]

Sea turtles are in decline across the globe, victims of coastal development, algal blooms and, perhaps cruelest of all, plastic pollution. Marine biologist Christine Figgener, in a new book part memoir and part field guide, recounts the less than glamorous but rewarding work to spare them extinction, from arduous field work to viral video epiphanies. BookShelf editor Tom Henry reviews “My Life With Sea Turtles.”

SEJ Publication Types:
BookShelf [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Biodiversity [4]
Climate Change [5]
Environmental Health [6]
Environmental Studies [7]
Fish & Fisheries [13]
Pollution [14]
Science [15]
Water & Oceans [16]
Wildlife [8]
Region:
International [17]
Central America & the Caribbean [18]
Visibility:
Public [11]
- Read more about The Resilient Sea Turtle, Beset by Threats [12]
Small Fry — How to Tell Compelling Stories About Obscure Species [19]

Getting people excited about large, charismatic wildlife is easy, but tiny, little-known or less-than-lovable species can be a tough sell. Journalists Bethany Brookshire and Douglas Main on why it’s important to include oddball organisms in your reporting and how to get audiences engaged. Pro tip: Building curiosity and caring for minor-league creatures often means being a bit self-centered.

SEJ Publication Types:
Features [20]
Topics on the Beat:
Biodiversity [4]
Climate Change [5]
Environmental Health [6]
Forests [21]
Journalism & Media [22]
Science [15]
Wildlife [8]
Region:
National (U.S.) [9]
SE (AL AR FL GA KY LA MS NC PR SC TN) [23]
International [17]
Visibility:
Public [11]
- Read more about Small Fry — How to Tell Compelling Stories About Obscure Species [19]
Scientist Recounts Great Barrier Reef’s ‘Final Battle’ [24]

The Great Barrier Reef is one of nature’s marvels, home to a startling array of life. It’s also the victim of forces rapidly bringing about its demise, from runoff to climate change. With “In Hot Water,” scientist Paul Hardisty recounts the struggle to save this remarkable ecosystem, amid forces of capital, politics and conflicting science. The latest BookShelf review from contributor Melody Kemp.

SEJ Publication Types:
BookShelf [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Agriculture [25]
Biodiversity [4]
Chemicals [26]
Environmental Health [6]
Environmental Politics [27]
Fish & Fisheries [13]
Natural Resources [28]
Pollution [14]
Science [15]
Water & Oceans [16]
Region:
International [17]
Australia & Oceania [29]
Visibility:
Public [11]
- Read more about Scientist Recounts Great Barrier Reef’s ‘Final Battle’ [24]
Coequal Catastrophes — Quammen on Climate Change, Extinction and Epidemics [30]

Biodiversity loss can seem like a remote and abstract problem that pales in comparison to climate worries. But award-winning author David Quammen sees them as coequal threats, along with emerging diseases, and encourages journalists to illuminate the relationships between them. His advice includes getting out of big cities to see the extinction crisis firsthand and weaving humor and hope into your writing.

SEJ Publication Types:
Features [20]
Topics on the Beat:
Biodiversity [4]
Chemicals [26]
Climate Change [5]
Environmental Health [6]
Environmental Studies [7]
Health [31]
Journalism & Media [22]
Pollution [14]
Science [15]
Wildlife [8]
Region:
National (U.S.) [9]
International [17]
Visibility:
Public [11]
- Read more about Coequal Catastrophes — Quammen on Climate Change, Extinction and Epidemics [30]
Worldview Data Expands Environment Reporter’s Strike Zone [32]

A sweeping array of satellites observes our planet and sends vast amounts of data back — data that the powerful NASA Worldview website can translate into graphic form to help journalists tell some of the environment beat’s most central stories. The latest Reporter’s Toolbox explores the strengths and weaknesses of Worldview in covering everything from wildfires and floods to climate.

SEJ Publication Types:
Reporters Toolbox [33]
Topics on the Beat:
Climate Change [5]
Environmental Health [6]
Government [34]
Journalism & Media [22]
Science [15]
Technology [35]
Region:
National (U.S.) [9]
International [17]
Visibility:
Public [11]
- Read more about Worldview Data Expands Environment Reporter’s Strike Zone [32]
Grant Brings Documentary Team to Chesapeake Bay’s Vastness [36]

New York-based documentarians Sebastian Tuinder and Duy Linh Tu took their multimedia skills on the road to explore the environmental problems plaguing the Chesapeake Bay. The resulting project, “Trouble in the Chesapeake,” was nominated for a local Emmy award and was credited with helping efforts to curb over-the-limit discharges from Maryland’s wastewater plants. Lessons learned from the grant-funded effort, in the latest FEJ StoryLog.

SEJ Publication Types:
FEJ StoryLog [37]
Topics on the Beat:
Agriculture [25]
Climate Change [5]
Environmental Health [6]
Fish & Fisheries [13]
Journalism & Media [22]
Natural Resources [28]
Pollution [14]
Waste [38]
Water & Oceans [16]
Region:
National (U.S.) [9]
Mid-Atlantic (DC DE MD PA VA WV) [39]
Visibility:
Public [11]
- Read more about Grant Brings Documentary Team to Chesapeake Bay’s Vastness [36]
Eco-Alternatives to the Perfect, Weedless Lawn [40]

A good and very localizable environmental story is right outside your front door … or at least outside your neighbor’s. Lawns and the myriad ways they are managed can provide a window into wildness, or resource use, or chemical pollution. The latest TipSheet offers more than a dozen story ideas and reporting resources, from xeriscaping and butterfly gardens to nurseries and planning boards.

SEJ Publication Types:
TipSheet [41]
Topics on the Beat:
Agriculture [25]
Chemicals [26]
Consumer [42]
Environmental Health [6]
Government [34]
Journalism & Media [22]
Laws & Regulations [43]
Planning & Growth [44]
Pollution [14]
Waste [38]
Water & Oceans [16]
Wildlife [8]
Region:
National (U.S.) [9]
International [17]
Visibility:
Public [11]
- Read more about Eco-Alternatives to the Perfect, Weedless Lawn [40]
Making Sense of Jewish Perspectives on the Climate Story [45]

American Jews are heavily involved in climate action in both the political and civic realms. But current events in Israel and Gaza can make it hard for U.S. journalists to cover environmental stories important to Jews at home or abroad. Jewish freelancer Ethan Brown on differences and synergies between Israeli and American Jewish environmentalism and how to approach stories within each community.

SEJ Publication Types:
Features [20]
Topics on the Beat:
Activism [3]
Chemicals [26]
Climate Change [5]
Disasters [46]
Environmental Health [6]
Environmental Justice [47]
Environmental Politics [27]
Forests [21]
Government [34]
Journalism & Media [22]
Military [48]
People & Population [49]
Religion, Faith and Spirituality [50]
Region:
National (U.S.) [9]
International [17]
Middle East [51]
Visibility:
Public [11]
- Read more about Making Sense of Jewish Perspectives on the Climate Story [45]
Sea Surface Temperature Data Tells Many Environmental Stories [52]

With hurricane season expected to kick into high gear, a key data source for reporters is sea surface temperatures. But this widely available information can also tell reporters something about many other water-related environment stories, whether algal blooms, bacterial risks to public health or the prospects for entire estuarine systems. The latest Reporter’s Toolbox helps you dip your toe into this important data pool.

SEJ Publication Types:
Reporters Toolbox [33]
Topics on the Beat:
Climate Change [5]
Environmental Health [6]
Fish & Fisheries [13]
Health [31]
Journalism & Media [22]
Science [15]
Water & Oceans [16]
Region:
National (U.S.) [9]
Mid-Atlantic (DC DE MD PA VA WV) [39]
SE (AL AR FL GA KY LA MS NC PR SC TN) [23]
Southwest (AZ NM OK TX) [53]
International [17]
Visibility:
Public [11]
- Read more about Sea Surface Temperature Data Tells Many Environmental Stories [52]

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