Publication Items

Will Your Local Dam Turn Deadly in the Next Big Storm? [1]

The devastating death toll and damage from Hurricane Helene are a dire warning of the risks of extreme weather and flooding. But one notable hazard is that such flooding may overwhelm any one of the thousands of small, neglected U.S. dams. TipSheet examines the issue and offers more than a dozen story angles and reporting resources.

SEJ Publication Types:
TipSheet [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Climate Change [3]
Disasters [4]
Infrastructure [5]
Journalism & Media [6]
Laws & Regulations [7]
Water & Oceans [8]
Region:
National (U.S.) [9]
California [10]
Mid-Atlantic (DC DE MD PA VA WV) [11]
SE (AL AR FL GA KY LA MS NC PR SC TN) [12]
Visibility:
Public [13]
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Public Records Bring Independent Reporting to the Next Level [14]

Freelancers may worry they don’t have time to chase down government documents. But if you’re looking for tools to help get your hands on public records, help is on the way. In the new Freelance Files, MuckRock’s Dillon Bergin offers a step-by-step guide to filing document requests, organizing and analyzing your documents and joining the FOIA community. Get started [14].

SEJ Publication Types:
Freelance Files [15]
Topics on the Beat:
Air [16]
Government [17]
Journalism & Media [6]
Nuclear Power & Radiation [18]
Pollution [19]
Water & Oceans [8]
Wildlife [20]
Region:
National (U.S.) [9]
Great Lakes (IL IN MI MN OH WI) [21]
Visibility:
Public [13]
- Read more about Public Records Bring Independent Reporting to the Next Level [14]
Does Kamala Harris Have a Green Streak? [22]

While Kamala Harris has provided little detail about what her environment and energy policies would be as president, her record has been enough to win her the quick support of most major environmental groups, finds the latest Issue Backgrounder. A look at her record on the Green New Deal and fracking, her presidential environmental platform and her contrasts with GOP rival Donald Trump.

SEJ Publication Types:
Backgrounders [23]
Topics on the Beat:
Activism [24]
Climate Change [3]
Energy & Fuel [25]
Environmental Politics [26]
Government [17]
Infrastructure [5]
Laws & Regulations [7]
Policy [27]
Region:
National (U.S.) [9]
California [10]
International [28]
Visibility:
Public [13]
- Read more about Does Kamala Harris Have a Green Streak? [22]
Looking for Environmental Justice Through the Smog [29]

A serious air pollutant prevalent in underserved communities, Superfund hazardous waste sites nearby, public drinking water systems out of compliance. All are new or enhanced insights found in an improved version of the federal government’s EJScreen data tool. The latest Reporter’s Toolbox reviews the changes and how they can be used to tell stories of real people’s daily lives.

SEJ Publication Types:
Reporters Toolbox [30]
Topics on the Beat:
Air [16]
Chemicals [31]
Environmental Justice [32]
Government [17]
Health [33]
Journalism & Media [6]
Laws & Regulations [7]
People & Population [34]
Pollution [19]
Transportation [35]
Region:
National (U.S.) [9]
Visibility:
Public [13]
- Read more about Looking for Environmental Justice Through the Smog [29]
Coequal Catastrophes — Quammen on Climate Change, Extinction and Epidemics [36]

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 [37]
Topics on the Beat:
Biodiversity [38]
Chemicals [31]
Climate Change [3]
Environmental Health [39]
Environmental Studies [40]
Health [33]
Journalism & Media [6]
Pollution [19]
Science [41]
Wildlife [20]
Region:
National (U.S.) [9]
International [28]
Visibility:
Public [13]
- Read more about Coequal Catastrophes — Quammen on Climate Change, Extinction and Epidemics [36]
A Renowned Birder Shatters the Audubon Myth [42]

In his fascinating volume about John James Audubon, world-renowned naturalist-writer-illustrator Kenn Kaufman pays homage to the artist but meticulously dissects the man, writes BookShelf Editor Tom Henry. A review of “The Birds That Audubon Missed: Discovery and Desire in the American Wilderness” depicts how Audubon, driven by the rivalries of his time, marred his own legacy with factual errors and outright fraud.

SEJ Publication Types:
BookShelf [43]
Topics on the Beat:
Biodiversity [38]
Environmental Politics [26]
Environmental Studies [40]
Science [41]
Wildlife [20]
Region:
National (U.S.) [9]
International [28]
Visibility:
Public [13]
- Read more about A Renowned Birder Shatters the Audubon Myth [42]
Could Beef Be the Route to a Bird Flu Pandemic? [44]

What goes on the backyard grill may be an important environmental story for any number of reasons. But as the latest TipSheet points out, one especially worrying one at the moment is the possibility that avian flu could jump species and create a public health crisis. Here’s what we know right now, along with story ideas and reporting resources.

SEJ Publication Types:
TipSheet [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Agriculture [45]
Consumer [46]
Food [47]
Health [33]
Journalism & Media [6]
Region:
National (U.S.) [9]
International [28]
Visibility:
Public [13]
- Read more about Could Beef Be the Route to a Bird Flu Pandemic? [44]
Should Weather Data Really Be Withheld From the Public? [48]

Project 2025, which many consider a blueprint for a second Trump term, calls for breaking up the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and pivoting its National Weather Service to commercial operations, shutting down its free flow of data to news outlets and others. WatchDog Opinion column argues a not-so-hidden motive is at the heart of these sweeping changes: the desire to obscure evidence of climate change.

SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog [49]
Topics on the Beat:
Climate Change [3]
Consumer [46]
Economy & Business [50]
Environmental Politics [26]
Government [17]
Journalism & Media [6]
Policy [27]
Science [41]
Region:
National (U.S.) [9]
Visibility:
Public [13]
- Read more about Should Weather Data Really Be Withheld From the Public? [48]
Investigation Explores Dueling Narratives for Addressing Climate Change [51]

Is carbon capture a climate solution or a dangerous distraction? That was the question that Inside Climate News reporter Nicholas Kusnetz asked in his award-winning explanatory series, “Pipe Dreams.” For Inside Story, Kusnetz talks of the challenges of writing about a technology that largely doesn’t yet exist, and the variety of story forms he used to explore the reality of industry promises.

SEJ Publication Types:
Inside Story [52]
Topics on the Beat:
Climate Change [3]
Economy & Business [50]
Energy & Fuel [25]
Environmental Justice [32]
Environmental Politics [26]
Government [17]
Infrastructure [5]
Journalism & Media [6]
Laws & Regulations [7]
Natural Resources [53]
People & Population [34]
Policy [27]
Pollution [19]
Technology [54]
Region:
National (U.S.) [9]
Southwest (AZ NM OK TX) [55]
International [28]
Visibility:
Public [13]
- Read more about Investigation Explores Dueling Narratives for Addressing Climate Change [51]
Worldview Data Expands Environment Reporter’s Strike Zone [56]

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 [30]
Topics on the Beat:
Climate Change [3]
Environmental Health [39]
Government [17]
Journalism & Media [6]
Science [41]
Technology [54]
Region:
National (U.S.) [9]
International [28]
Visibility:
Public [13]
- Read more about Worldview Data Expands Environment Reporter’s Strike Zone [56]

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