Publication Items

Do Home Buyers Have a Right to Flood Risk Disclosure? [1]

In the second of a two-parter for our 2024 Journalists’ Guide to Environment + Energy [2], the latest TipSheet considers how local environmental journalists can make news out of the state-by-state patchwork of flood risk disclosure laws amid rising climate extremes. A dozen-and-a-half story ideas and reporting resources on the topic. Plus, see part one [3] on climate and insurance.

SEJ Publication Types:
TipSheet [4]
Topics on the Beat:
Climate Change [5]
Consumer [6]
Disasters [7]
Government [8]
Infrastructure [9]
Journalism & Media [10]
Laws & Regulations [11]
Planning & Growth [12]
Policy [13]
Water & Oceans [14]
Region:
National (U.S.) [15]
Visibility:
Public [16]
- Read more about Do Home Buyers Have a Right to Flood Risk Disclosure? [1]
Electric Vehicles Will Be Burning Rubber in 2024 [17]

As global sales of electric vehicles surge, the positive impact on climate change emissions could be a critical benefit. But as our Backgrounder points out, it’s not as simple as that. There are challenges with politics, tax laws, mineral access, related pollution regulations and union jobs. Get an overview of the issue, in this latest entry in our expanding 2024 Journalists’ Guide to Environment + Energy.

SEJ Publication Types:
Backgrounders [18]
Topics on the Beat:
Climate Change [5]
Consumer [6]
Energy & Fuel [19]
Environmental Politics [20]
Government [8]
Journalism & Media [10]
Laws & Regulations [11]
Natural Resources [21]
Policy [13]
Pollution [22]
Science [23]
Technology [24]
Transportation [25]
Region:
National (U.S.) [15]
International [26]
Asia [27]
Europe [28]
Visibility:
Public [16]
- Read more about Electric Vehicles Will Be Burning Rubber in 2024 [17]
Prying Open the Statehouse Doors [29]

Reporting on environmental stories often leads to the state legislature, where key material can be frustratingly hard to access. Whether that’s because the state is deliberately hiding information, has poor systems for sharing it or isn’t even tracking it, there are ways to get what you need. Four seasoned environment reporters offer tips, tricks and commiseration.

SEJ Publication Types:
Features [30]
Topics on the Beat:
Air [31]
Economy & Business [32]
Energy & Fuel [19]
Government [8]
Infrastructure [9]
Journalism & Media [10]
Laws & Regulations [11]
Natural Resources [21]
Policy [13]
Water & Oceans [14]
Region:
National (U.S.) [15]
California [33]
Great Plains (IA KS ND NE MO SD) [34]
Northeast (CT MA ME NH NJ NY RI VT) [35]
Southwest (AZ NM OK TX) [36]
Visibility:
Public [16]
- Read more about Prying Open the Statehouse Doors [29]
Here’s Your Handy Doomsday Dataviz Dashboard [37]

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 [38]
Topics on the Beat:
Air [31]
Climate Change [5]
Disasters [7]
Environmental Health [39]
Health [40]
Journalism & Media [10]
Water & Oceans [14]
Region:
National (U.S.) [15]
International [26]
Visibility:
Public [16]
- Read more about Here’s Your Handy Doomsday Dataviz Dashboard [37]
Home Insurance Likely To Be a 2024 Climate Story Near You [3]

In the first of a two-parter for our 2024 Journalists’ Guide to Environment & Energy, TipSheet looks at what climate-driven disasters mean for the home insurance market. Storms, floods and fire rip through communities, yet a federal insurance program falls short, lawmakers shy away from real reform and insurers grow hesitant to cover the risks, while homeowners often attempt to rebuild in the same problematic locales. Plus, see part two [1] on extreme weather and insurance.

SEJ Publication Types:
TipSheet [4]
Topics on the Beat:
Climate Change [5]
Consumer [6]
Disasters [7]
Economy & Business [32]
Environmental Politics [20]
Government [8]
Journalism & Media [10]
Laws & Regulations [11]
People & Population [41]
Planning & Growth [12]
Policy [13]
Region:
National (U.S.) [15]
California [33]
Northeast (CT MA ME NH NJ NY RI VT) [35]
SE (AL AR FL GA KY LA MS NC PR SC TN) [42]
Visibility:
Public [16]
- Read more about Home Insurance Likely To Be a 2024 Climate Story Near You [3]
Wildfire DisInformation Becomes a State Weapon, Aided by AI [43]

How did the Lahaina wildfire spark an AI-driven influence campaign out of China? Perhaps a technological leap. Or perhaps, the new WatchDog Opinion column suggests, a natural evolution of a decades-old disinformation playbook with roots in a war against science and culminating in climate denial. A look at the disturbing prospects and a plea for journalists not to sidestep the phenomenon but to cover it.

SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog [44]
Topics on the Beat:
Chemicals [45]
Climate Change [5]
Economy & Business [32]
Energy & Fuel [19]
Environmental Politics [20]
Journalism & Media [10]
Policy [13]
Science [23]
Region:
National (U.S.) [15]
International [26]
Visibility:
Public [16]
- Read more about Wildfire DisInformation Becomes a State Weapon, Aided by AI [43]
Unique Podcast Team Gives Voice to Troubled Communities Near Declining Salton Sea [46]

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 [47]
Topics on the Beat:
Activism [48]
Agriculture [49]
Climate Change [5]
Disasters [7]
Environmental Health [39]
Environmental Justice [50]
Environmental Politics [20]
Health [40]
Journalism & Media [10]
Natural Resources [21]
People & Population [41]
Water & Oceans [14]
Region:
National (U.S.) [15]
California [33]
Visibility:
Public [16]
- Read more about Unique Podcast Team Gives Voice to Troubled Communities Near Declining Salton Sea [46]
CDC Data Offer Multiplicity of Starting Points for Environmental Health Stories [51]

For reporters seeking stories that connect environmental and health issues, there may be no better — or more wide-ranging — place to start than with high-quality data from the Centers for Disease Control’s wide range of datasets. The latest Reporter’s Toolbox looks into where the CDC’s data originates from and how that affects its usefulness, and offers up a helpful overview of CDC data surveys.

SEJ Publication Types:
Reporters Toolbox [38]
Topics on the Beat:
Environmental Studies [52]
Government [8]
Health [40]
Journalism & Media [10]
Science [23]
Region:
National (U.S.) [15]
Visibility:
Public [16]
- Read more about CDC Data Offer Multiplicity of Starting Points for Environmental Health Stories [51]
Between the Lines — Great Lakes Author Looks Back on a Writing Career, Forward to Journalism’s Future [53]

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 [54]
Topics on the Beat:
Activism [48]
Environmental Health [39]
Journalism & Media [10]
Natural Resources [21]
Policy [13]
Water & Oceans [14]
Region:
National (U.S.) [15]
Great Lakes (IL IN MI MN OH WI) [55]
Visibility:
Public [16]
- Read more about Between the Lines — Great Lakes Author Looks Back on a Writing Career, Forward to Journalism’s Future [53]
Funding To Replace Lead Pipes Is Just the Start of the Story [56]

Billions of dollars in federal funding to get rid of lead pipes is only the beginning — now the pipes have to be located, removed and replaced. And the latest TipSheet says that’s a story that’s found in many U.S. communities, so is ripe for local reporting. Here’s the backstory and why it matters, along with more than a dozen story ideas and reporting resources.

SEJ Publication Types:
TipSheet [4]
Topics on the Beat:
Consumer [6]
Disasters [7]
Environmental Justice [50]
Environmental Studies [52]
Government [8]
Health [40]
Infrastructure [9]
Journalism & Media [10]
Laws & Regulations [11]
Pollution [22]
Water & Oceans [14]
Region:
National (U.S.) [15]
Great Lakes (IL IN MI MN OH WI) [55]
Visibility:
Public [16]
- Read more about Funding To Replace Lead Pipes Is Just the Start of the Story [56]

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