Publication Items

Will Animal-To-Human Disease Transmission Bring the Next Big Pandemic? [1]

The COVID-19 outbreak has left little unchanged — including how environment reporters do their jobs, given that many experts believe the disruption of the human-wild interface could be the source of the next deadly virus. The new Backgrounder makes the case in this analysis, looking at how societies — and journalists — handled this pandemic and must prepare for possible future outbreaks.

SEJ Publication Types:
Backgrounders [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Agriculture [3]
Biodiversity [4]
Disasters [5]
Environmental Health [6]
Forests [7]
Government [8]
Health [9]
Journalism & Media [10]
People & Population [11]
Science [12]
Wildlife [13]
Region:
National (U.S.) [14]
International [15]
Asia [16]
Visibility:
Public [17]
- Read more about Will Animal-To-Human Disease Transmission Bring the Next Big Pandemic? [1]
Climate Change at Core of Beat Reporters’ Award-Winning Coverage [18]

Beat reporters Hal Bernton and Mark Kaufman both found the dramatic changes wrought by climate change to be at the center of their coverage — as their work was elevated to prize-winning heights. Bernton, covering climate impacts in northwestern Alaska at a large newspaper, and Kaufman, covering CO2 globally for a digital platform, talk about the lessons of their recent beat coverage with SEJournal’s Inside Story.

SEJ Publication Types:
Inside Story [19]
Topics on the Beat:
Climate Change [20]
Energy & Fuel [21]
Environmental Health [6]
Fish & Fisheries [22]
Journalism & Media [10]
Natural Resources [23]
Policy [24]
Water & Oceans [25]
Region:
National (U.S.) [14]
Alaska and Hawaii [26]
International [15]
Visibility:
Public [17]
- Read more about Climate Change at Core of Beat Reporters’ Award-Winning Coverage [18]
Will 2022 See the Start of Formal Negotiations Toward a Global Plastics Treaty? [27]

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 [28]
Topics on the Beat:
Activism [29]
Air [30]
Chemicals [31]
Climate Change [20]
Consumer [32]
Economy & Business [33]
Environmental Health [6]
Environmental Politics [34]
Fish & Fisheries [22]
Food [35]
Government [8]
Health [9]
Journalism & Media [10]
Policy [24]
Pollution [36]
Waste [37]
Water & Oceans [25]
Wildlife [13]
Region:
National (U.S.) [14]
International [15]
Visibility:
Public [17]
- Read more about Will 2022 See the Start of Formal Negotiations Toward a Global Plastics Treaty? [27]
New Landsat 9 Offers Variety of Resource Stories [38]

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 [39]
Topics on the Beat:
Agriculture [3]
Climate Change [20]
Environmental Health [6]
Environmental Studies [40]
Forests [7]
Government [8]
Journalism & Media [10]
Natural Resources [23]
Science [12]
Technology [41]
Water & Oceans [25]
Wildlife [13]
Region:
National (U.S.) [14]
International [15]
Visibility:
Public [17]
- Read more about New Landsat 9 Offers Variety of Resource Stories [38]
Climate Resiliency — When a Disaster Becomes a Cascade [42]

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 [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Climate Change [20]
Disasters [5]
Energy & Fuel [21]
Environmental Justice [43]
Environmental Politics [34]
Government [8]
Health [9]
Infrastructure [44]
Journalism & Media [10]
Nuclear Power & Radiation [45]
People & Population [11]
Planning & Growth [46]
Technology [41]
Water & Oceans [25]
Region:
National (U.S.) [14]
SE (AL AR FL GA KY LA MS NC PR SC TN) [47]
Southwest (AZ NM OK TX) [48]
International [15]
Asia [16]
Europe [49]
Visibility:
Public [17]
- Read more about Climate Resiliency — When a Disaster Becomes a Cascade [42]
How Climate Attribution Science Went Mainstream, and What It Means [50]

A growing body of research shows the links between global warming and extreme weather. And that knowledge can help communities prepare, and assign responsibility for damages. Veteran climate journalist Bob Berwyn lays out the science of climate attribution — for heat waves, flooding, wildfires and, ironically, crop-killing freezes — and discusses its implications for future climate change policy.

SEJ Publication Types:
Features [51]
Topics on the Beat:
Activism [29]
Agriculture [3]
Climate Change [20]
Disasters [5]
Economy & Business [33]
Environmental Justice [43]
Environmental Politics [34]
Environmental Studies [40]
Food [35]
Government [8]
Infrastructure [44]
Laws & Regulations [52]
Planning & Growth [46]
Policy [24]
Science [12]
Water & Oceans [25]
Region:
National (U.S.) [14]
International [15]
Europe [49]
South America [53]
Visibility:
Public [17]
- Read more about How Climate Attribution Science Went Mainstream, and What It Means [50]
Getting Glasgow — Covering the Climate Conference From Afar [54]

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 [28]
Topics on the Beat:
Climate Change [20]
Environmental Politics [34]
Government [8]
Journalism & Media [10]
Policy [24]
Region:
National (U.S.) [14]
International [15]
Asia [16]
Australia & Oceania [55]
Europe [49]
Middle East [56]
Visibility:
Public [17]
- Read more about Getting Glasgow — Covering the Climate Conference From Afar [54]
The 9/11 Legacy — Fear Drew Curtain Over Environmental Information [57]

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 [58]
Topics on the Beat:
Activism [29]
Agriculture [3]
Air [30]
Chemicals [31]
Disasters [5]
Economy & Business [33]
Energy & Fuel [21]
Environmental Politics [34]
Food [35]
Government [8]
Health [9]
Infrastructure [44]
Journalism & Media [10]
Laws & Regulations [52]
Nuclear Power & Radiation [45]
People & Population [11]
Policy [24]
Transportation [59]
Waste [37]
Water & Oceans [25]
Region:
National (U.S.) [14]
California [60]
Southwest (AZ NM OK TX) [48]
International [15]
Africa [61]
Asia [16]
Visibility:
Public [17]
- Read more about The 9/11 Legacy — Fear Drew Curtain Over Environmental Information [57]
Interactivity Advances Environmental Storytelling, Part III — Exemplary Examples [62]

View our shortlist of outstanding interactive environmental journalism projects, in this three-part EJ Insight. Plus, in Part I, a walking tour of the world of interactive storytelling [63], and Part II, a Q&A with Hannah Fairfield [64], climate editor for The New York Times, and one of the leading practitioners of new interactive storytelling techniques.

SEJ Publication Types:
EJ InSight [65]
Topics on the Beat:
Climate Change [20]
Journalism & Media [10]
Region:
National (U.S.) [14]
International [15]
Visibility:
Public [17]
- Read more about Interactivity Advances Environmental Storytelling, Part III — Exemplary Examples [62]
Interactivity Advances Environmental Storytelling, Part II — Hannah Fairfield Q&A [64]

Hannah Fairfield, climate editor for The New York Times, is one of the leading practitioners of new techniques of interactive storytelling on the environment. SEJournal interviews her for a three-part EJ Insight. Also see Part I, a walking tour of the world of interactive storytelling [63] and Part III, a shortlist of outstanding projects [62].

SEJ Publication Types:
EJ InSight [65]
Topics on the Beat:
Climate Change [20]
Journalism & Media [10]
Region:
National (U.S.) [14]
International [15]
Visibility:
Public [17]
- Read more about Interactivity Advances Environmental Storytelling, Part II — Hannah Fairfield Q&A [64]

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