Publication Items

With Climate, an Undercurrent of Violence [1]

In his ambitious first book, “The Heat and the Fury: On the Frontlines of Climate Violence,” journalist Peter Schwartzstein explores how climate change explains conflict, even war. BookShelf editor Tom Henry calls it a deeply researched volume that makes a strong case for the connections between global warming, political instability and violence, not just in poorer regions but for the richer West as well.

SEJ Publication Types:
BookShelf [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Climate Change [3]
Disasters [4]
Environmental Health [5]
Environmental Justice [6]
Environmental Politics [7]
Government [8]
Military [9]
Natural Resources [10]
People & Population [11]
Policy [12]
Water & Oceans [13]
Region:
National (U.S.) [14]
International [15]
Africa [16]
Asia [17]
Europe [18]
Middle East [19]
Visibility:
Public [20]
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Will Science Be Stifled at the EPA? [21]

Anti-science policies are being instituted by the Trump administration at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and other federal offices, reports the latest Backgrounder. That makes it especially challenging to keep politics out of decision-making around everything from natural disasters to public health. An examination of scientific integrity under Trump 2.0 and what environmental journalists should watch for.

SEJ Publication Types:
Backgrounders [22]
Topics on the Beat:
Chemicals [23]
Climate Change [3]
Disasters [4]
Environmental Justice [6]
Environmental Politics [7]
Government [8]
Health [24]
Infrastructure [25]
Journalism & Media [26]
Laws & Regulations [27]
Policy [12]
Pollution [28]
Science [29]
Region:
National (U.S.) [14]
Visibility:
Public [20]
- Read more about Will Science Be Stifled at the EPA? [21]
The Polar Vortex Portends … the Planting of Seeds? [30]

While extreme cold has made much news this winter, environmental journalists have another way into climate-related stories as spring approaches — through gardening. That’s because this time of year, gardeners are already buying and nursing seeds in readiness for planting. Ideas for reporting the topic, including a government plant hardiness zone map that offers a window into the climate change story, from the latest TipSheet.

SEJ Publication Types:
TipSheet [31]
Topics on the Beat:
Agriculture [32]
Climate Change [3]
Consumer [33]
Food [34]
Journalism & Media [26]
Science [29]
Region:
National (U.S.) [14]
International [15]
Canada [35]
Visibility:
Public [20]
- Read more about The Polar Vortex Portends … the Planting of Seeds? [30]
Tracking the Trackers in the Trump 2.0 Onslaught [36]

Keeping up with the Trump administration is tricky, given the speed and volume with which the action is unfolding. But the new Reporter’s Toolbox has a handy list of more than a dozen Trump trackers, watching everything from campaign promises and executive orders to litigation launched against the administration. There’s even a tracker watching his time spent on the golf links.

SEJ Publication Types:
Reporters Toolbox [37]
Topics on the Beat:
Climate Change [3]
Environmental Politics [7]
Government [8]
Journalism & Media [26]
Laws & Regulations [27]
Policy [12]
Science [29]
Region:
National (U.S.) [14]
Visibility:
Public [20]
- Read more about Tracking the Trackers in the Trump 2.0 Onslaught [36]
Environmental Policies Upended, Climate Plans a Casualty As Trump Takes Power [38]

In the overview summary for our “2025 Journalists’ Guide to Environment + Energy” special report, we foresee the very real prospect that environmental protection and energy policies in place, in some cases, for decades could swiftly be swept aside by the Trump administration and a GOP-controlled Congress. Read our analysis [38], plus look back at more than three dozen stories gathered together in our ninth annual guide [39].

SEJ Publication Types:
Special Reports [40]
Topics on the Beat:
Climate Change [3]
Energy & Fuel [41]
Environmental Justice [6]
Environmental Politics [7]
Government [8]
Health [24]
Infrastructure [25]
Journalism & Media [26]
Laws & Regulations [27]
Policy [12]
Pollution [28]
Region:
National (U.S.) [14]
International [15]
Visibility:
Public [20]
- Read more about Environmental Policies Upended, Climate Plans a Casualty As Trump Takes Power [38]
Open Door to Industry for Trump Environmental Agency Appointees [42]

It’s not just the heads of Trump administration environmental agencies who come from the industries they now are entrusted to regulate. The latest TipSheet explains that it’s also the political appointees below them — officials responsible for overseeing air, water, toxic chemicals, Superfund, forests and drilling — who are now likely examples of regulatory capture. A short list. Plus, more from our new Trump 2.0 EJWatch special section [43].

SEJ Publication Types:
TipSheet [31]
Topics on the Beat:
Agriculture [32]
Air [44]
Chemicals [23]
Climate Change [3]
Economy & Business [45]
Energy & Fuel [41]
Environmental Politics [7]
Forests [46]
Government [8]
Journalism & Media [26]
Laws & Regulations [27]
Natural Resources [10]
Policy [12]
Pollution [28]
Waste [47]
Water & Oceans [13]
Region:
National (U.S.) [14]
Visibility:
Public [20]
- Read more about Open Door to Industry for Trump Environmental Agency Appointees [42]
From Oil Boom to Lithium Rush — Reporting the Realities [48]

A coming lithium rush in Arkansas drew the notice of journalist Katie Myers, who used a grant from the Fund for Environmental Journalism to explore whether extraction activities near once-booming energy communities could avoid the economic and environmental impacts of another boom-and-bust cycle for a largely Black region with histories of land dispossession, plantation slavery and Jim Crow segregation. Lessons learned in the latest FEJ StoryLog.

SEJ Publication Types:
FEJ StoryLog [49]
Topics on the Beat:
Economy & Business [45]
Environmental Justice [6]
Environmental Politics [7]
Journalism & Media [26]
Natural Resources [10]
People & Population [11]
Technology [50]
Region:
National (U.S.) [14]
SE (AL AR FL GA KY LA MS NC PR SC TN) [51]
Visibility:
Public [20]
- Read more about From Oil Boom to Lithium Rush — Reporting the Realities [48]
Climate Risk Data Helps Decisions, Stories About Looming Disaster [52]

Environmental journalists aiming to report local or regional stories on real estate climate risk should explore an impressive bit of data journalism on the subject; Reporter’s Toolbox lauds it not just for the exemplary work, but also because the project, from The Washington Post, allows them to look up a variety of risks in their own locales.

SEJ Publication Types:
Reporters Toolbox [37]
Topics on the Beat:
Climate Change [3]
Disasters [4]
Journalism & Media [26]
Planning & Growth [53]
Region:
National (U.S.) [14]
Visibility:
Public [20]
- Read more about Climate Risk Data Helps Decisions, Stories About Looming Disaster [52]
Onward Together — Supporting You, Your Work in a Changing World [54]

SEJ’s Interim President Bobby Magill shares his thoughts on the challenges that lie ahead for journalists.

SEJ Publication Types:
SEJ Presidents Report [55]
Topics on the Beat:
Journalism & Media [26]
Region:
National (U.S.) [14]
Visibility:
Public [20]
- Read more about Onward Together — Supporting You, Your Work in a Changing World [54]
AI’s Importance in Journalism and Teaching — Part 2 [56]

In Part 2 of a two-part EJ Academy, SEJournal’s Emilia Askari examines changes artificial intelligence is bringing to journalism — among them possibilities for the analysis of data, including on climate and the environment. Plus, ways to use AI tools more effectively and how to track news organizations’ response to and use of AI. Also: Part 1, AI in the classroom [57].

SEJ Publication Types:
EJ Academy [58]
Topics on the Beat:
Climate Change [3]
Environmental Studies [59]
Journalism & Media [26]
Science [29]
Technology [50]
Region:
National (U.S.) [14]
International [15]
Visibility:
Public [20]
- Read more about AI’s Importance in Journalism and Teaching — Part 2 [56]

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