Publication Items

As Locales Move to Decarbonize Buildings, Will States Ban Gas Bans? [1]

While climate change is certainly a global phenomenon, conflicts over addressing it often turn on local concerns. Case in point: Community bans on the use of the fossil fuel methane (aka natural gas), which has in turn prompted some states to ban the bans themselves. The latest TipSheet explains the bans and how they play into the climate change debate, plus story ideas and resources.

SEJ Publication Types:
TipSheet [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Activism [3]
Climate Change [4]
Consumer [5]
Energy & Fuel [6]
Environmental Politics [7]
Government [8]
Infrastructure [9]
Journalism & Media [10]
Laws & Regulations [11]
Natural Resources [12]
Policy [13]
Region:
National (U.S.) [14]
California [15]
Great Plains (IA KS ND NE MO SD) [16]
Mountain West (CO ID MT NV UT WY) [17]
Northeast (CT MA ME NH NJ NY RI VT) [18]
Northwest (OR WA) [19]
SE (AL AR FL GA KY LA MS NC PR SC TN) [20]
Southwest (AZ NM OK TX) [21]
Visibility:
Public [22]
- Read more about As Locales Move to Decarbonize Buildings, Will States Ban Gas Bans? [1]
Before You Cover That Pipeline Protest, Check the Law [23]

At least 16 states currently have critical infrastructure anti-protest laws that could sweep up journalists on the scene, reports the latest TipSheet. The laws, which more states are considering, apply to pipelines, but sometimes other facilities that impact the environment too, like powerlines, dams, port facilities and refineries. How to keep track and avoid going to jail.

SEJ Publication Types:
TipSheet [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Activism [3]
Energy & Fuel [6]
Environmental Justice [24]
Environmental Politics [7]
Government [8]
Infrastructure [9]
Journalism & Media [10]
Laws & Regulations [11]
Policy [13]
Region:
National (U.S.) [14]
Great Lakes (IL IN MI MN OH WI) [25]
Great Plains (IA KS ND NE MO SD) [16]
Mid-Atlantic (DC DE MD PA VA WV) [26]
Mountain West (CO ID MT NV UT WY) [17]
SE (AL AR FL GA KY LA MS NC PR SC TN) [20]
Southwest (AZ NM OK TX) [21]
Visibility:
Public [22]
- Read more about Before You Cover That Pipeline Protest, Check the Law [23]
“Routledge Handbook of Environmental Journalism” [27]

While a “Handbook of Environmental Journalism” might initially sound like a scholarly work on environmental journalism, our BookShelf reviewer finds that the volume reads more like an engaging assembly of accessible accounts on the profession from colleagues across the planet. That makes it a rich resource for working journalists ... and anyone else with a passing interest in environmental issues and how they’re covered.

SEJ Publication Types:
BookShelf [28]
Topics on the Beat:
Disasters [29]
Energy & Fuel [6]
Environmental Health [30]
Environmental Politics [7]
Forests [31]
Health [32]
Journalism & Media [10]
Nuclear Power & Radiation [33]
Waste [34]
Wildlife [35]
Region:
National (U.S.) [14]
Mountain West (CO ID MT NV UT WY) [17]
Northeast (CT MA ME NH NJ NY RI VT) [18]
Southwest (AZ NM OK TX) [21]
International [36]
Africa [37]
South America [38]
Visibility:
Public [22]
- Read more about “Routledge Handbook of Environmental Journalism” [27]
Quagga Mussels — Worse Than Zebra Mussels and Maybe Headed Your Way [39]

An invasive species of mussel — no, not zebra mussels, but quagga mussels — are wreaking havoc not just in the Great Lakes, but have now spread through the Mississippi and Colorado basins, as far west as Lake Mead. The latest TipSheet runs down the extent of the problem, how quaggas may be even worse than zebra mussels, and ideas for reporting on your local waterways.

SEJ Publication Types:
TipSheet [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Environmental Health [30]
Fish & Fisheries [40]
Water & Oceans [41]
Wildlife [35]
Region:
National (U.S.) [14]
Great Lakes (IL IN MI MN OH WI) [25]
Mountain West (CO ID MT NV UT WY) [17]
Southwest (AZ NM OK TX) [21]
International [36]
Canada [42]
Europe [43]
Visibility:
Public [22]
- Read more about Quagga Mussels — Worse Than Zebra Mussels and Maybe Headed Your Way [39]
Radio Reporter Takes Listener on Journey in Covering Future of Western U.S. [44]

Perpetual water scarcity issues in the Colorado River basin provide a bounty of stories for public radio journalist Luke Runyon, who shares insights into his beat coverage practices, in the latest Inside Story Q&A. The greatest challenges, surprises and lessons in reporting these critical stories, lauded in SEJ’s awards program, through the medium of sound.

SEJ Publication Types:
Inside Story [45]
Topics on the Beat:
Journalism & Media [10]
Natural Resources [12]
Water & Oceans [41]
Region:
National (U.S.) [14]
Mountain West (CO ID MT NV UT WY) [17]
Visibility:
Public [22]
- Read more about Radio Reporter Takes Listener on Journey in Covering Future of Western U.S. [44]
Top Biden Climate Advisor, Others Preview 2021 Energy and Enviro News [46]

President Biden’s national climate advisor Gina McCarthy joined an outspoken U.S. senator and a roundtable of elite journalists last week to preview dramatic changes possibly ahead in U.S. and international climate policy, environmental justice, clean energy and more. Get the upshot from the Society of Environmental Journalists’ 2021 Guide to Energy & Environment event. Plus, watch video of the full program [47].

SEJ Publication Types:
SEJ News [48]
Topics on the Beat:
Climate Change [4]
Energy & Fuel [6]
Environmental Politics [7]
Government [8]
Health [32]
Journalism & Media [10]
Laws & Regulations [11]
People & Population [49]
Policy [13]
Science [50]
Water & Oceans [41]
Region:
National (U.S.) [14]
California [15]
Great Plains (IA KS ND NE MO SD) [16]
Mountain West (CO ID MT NV UT WY) [17]
Northwest (OR WA) [19]
Southwest (AZ NM OK TX) [21]
International [36]
Europe [43]
Visibility:
Public [22]
- Read more about Top Biden Climate Advisor, Others Preview 2021 Energy and Enviro News [46]
Environmental Justice Stories Will Keep Proliferating in 2021 [51]

The surging racial justice movement has reenergized aspirations to correct the environmental injustices that blemish countless underprivileged U.S. communities. The new TipSheet, another part of our 2021 Guide [52], scans the landscape of trouble spots, from urban to rural, industrial zones to Superfund sites. Plus, story ideas and reporting resources.

SEJ Publication Types:
TipSheet [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Activism [3]
Air [53]
Chemicals [54]
Environmental Health [30]
Environmental Politics [7]
Government [8]
Health [32]
Journalism & Media [10]
People & Population [49]
Policy [13]
Pollution [55]
Waste [34]
Water & Oceans [41]
Region:
National (U.S.) [14]
Great Lakes (IL IN MI MN OH WI) [25]
Great Plains (IA KS ND NE MO SD) [16]
Mid-Atlantic (DC DE MD PA VA WV) [26]
Mountain West (CO ID MT NV UT WY) [17]
SE (AL AR FL GA KY LA MS NC PR SC TN) [20]
Southwest (AZ NM OK TX) [21]
International [36]
Mexico [56]
Visibility:
Public [22]
- Read more about Environmental Justice Stories Will Keep Proliferating in 2021 [51]
New Mapping Software Offers Unique View of Western Wildlife Migration [57]

Large migratory species have been traveling across the North American continent for thousands of years. But the land has been dramatically affected, altering how these big game move about. A new data mapping site for scientists can now help environmental journalists track Western wildlife herds and their health as well. The latest from Reporter’s Toolbox.

SEJ Publication Types:
Reporters Toolbox [58]
Topics on the Beat:
Biodiversity [59]
Environmental Health [30]
Environmental Studies [60]
Science [50]
Wildlife [35]
Region:
National (U.S.) [14]
Mountain West (CO ID MT NV UT WY) [17]
Southwest (AZ NM OK TX) [21]
Visibility:
Public [22]
- Read more about New Mapping Software Offers Unique View of Western Wildlife Migration [57]
How Much Longer Will Insurers Cover Wildfire Loss Near You? [61]

With wildfire exploding across the West this season, it may not be long before insurance companies worried about houses built along the wildland-urban interface try to raise premiums or drop policies altogether. It’s already happening in California, which is pushing back. Will it happen in your region as well? TipSheet has the backstory, plus a range of reporting resources.

SEJ Publication Types:
TipSheet [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Climate Change [4]
Consumer [5]
Disasters [29]
Planning & Growth [62]
Region:
National (U.S.) [14]
California [15]
Great Lakes (IL IN MI MN OH WI) [25]
Great Plains (IA KS ND NE MO SD) [16]
Mountain West (CO ID MT NV UT WY) [17]
Northwest (OR WA) [19]
Visibility:
Public [22]
- Read more about How Much Longer Will Insurers Cover Wildfire Loss Near You? [61]
Tracking Respiratory Health Risks From Wildfire Smoke [63]

Respiratory risks are high on the public health agenda these days amid the COVID-19 pandemic. So when Reporter’s Toolbox noticed some exemplary reporting on how West Coast wildfires were polluting the air, it took a look under the hood to see how other environmental journalists might use the same data sets for localized stories.

SEJ Publication Types:
Reporters Toolbox [58]
Topics on the Beat:
Air [53]
Climate Change [4]
Disasters [29]
Health [32]
Journalism & Media [10]
Pollution [55]
Region:
National (U.S.) [14]
California [15]
Mountain West (CO ID MT NV UT WY) [17]
Northwest (OR WA) [19]
Visibility:
Public [22]
- Read more about Tracking Respiratory Health Risks From Wildfire Smoke [63]

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