Publication Items

Before You Cover That Pipeline Protest, Check the Law [1]

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 [4]
Environmental Justice [5]
Environmental Politics [6]
Government [7]
Infrastructure [8]
Journalism & Media [9]
Laws & Regulations [10]
Policy [11]
Region:
National (U.S.) [12]
Great Lakes (IL IN MI MN OH WI) [13]
Great Plains (IA KS ND NE MO SD) [14]
Mid-Atlantic (DC DE MD PA VA WV) [15]
Mountain West (CO ID MT NV UT WY) [16]
SE (AL AR FL GA KY LA MS NC PR SC TN) [17]
Southwest (AZ NM OK TX) [18]
Visibility:
Public [19]
- Read more about Before You Cover That Pipeline Protest, Check the Law [1]
Ready for Climate Change-Induced Grid Blackouts Along With Heat Waves? [20]

Climate change can mean doubling down on disasters, such as a combination of widespread power outages with the kind of extreme heat that kills. The latest TipSheet explores why such simultaneous disasters are so dangerous, where they’ve happened already, why they are increasingly likely to happen again and how to prepare to cover them in your area.

SEJ Publication Types:
TipSheet [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Climate Change [21]
Consumer [22]
Disasters [23]
Energy & Fuel [4]
Environmental Politics [6]
Health [24]
Infrastructure [8]
Journalism & Media [9]
Planning & Growth [25]
Region:
National (U.S.) [12]
California [26]
Great Lakes (IL IN MI MN OH WI) [13]
Mid-Atlantic (DC DE MD PA VA WV) [15]
Northwest (OR WA) [27]
International [28]
Europe [29]
Visibility:
Public [19]
- Read more about Ready for Climate Change-Induced Grid Blackouts Along With Heat Waves? [20]
Flexibility in the Face of the Unexpected [30]

When a Chicago-based freelancer was just about to hit the road to report a three-part story and TV segment on the potential impacts of two proposed copper mines in the Great Lakes basin, there was a little hitch: The COVID-19 pandemic hit. The new FEJ StoryLog has the story of how Lorraine Boissoneault found the flexibility to complete her grant-supported project.

SEJ Publication Types:
FEJ StoryLog [31]
Topics on the Beat:
Energy & Fuel [4]
Environmental Health [32]
Environmental Politics [6]
Journalism & Media [9]
Natural Resources [33]
People & Population [34]
Water & Oceans [35]
Region:
National (U.S.) [12]
Great Lakes (IL IN MI MN OH WI) [13]
Visibility:
Public [19]
- Read more about Flexibility in the Face of the Unexpected [30]
Replacing the Nation’s Lead Lines Begins With Locating Them [36]

One especially ambitious element of the Biden infrastructure plan would swap out millions of lead pipes. It’s a massive, costly endeavor, but could remove from the country’s water supply a neurotoxin that harms human health, especially of kids and the poor. TipSheet looks at the new plan and offers ideas for reporting the story in your area.

SEJ Publication Types:
TipSheet [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Environmental Health [32]
Environmental Politics [6]
Government [7]
Health [24]
Journalism & Media [9]
Laws & Regulations [10]
People & Population [34]
Water & Oceans [35]
Region:
National (U.S.) [12]
Great Lakes (IL IN MI MN OH WI) [13]
Mid-Atlantic (DC DE MD PA VA WV) [15]
Visibility:
Public [19]
- Read more about Replacing the Nation’s Lead Lines Begins With Locating Them [36]
Quagga Mussels — Worse Than Zebra Mussels and Maybe Headed Your Way [37]

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 [32]
Fish & Fisheries [38]
Water & Oceans [35]
Wildlife [39]
Region:
National (U.S.) [12]
Great Lakes (IL IN MI MN OH WI) [13]
Mountain West (CO ID MT NV UT WY) [16]
Southwest (AZ NM OK TX) [18]
International [28]
Canada [40]
Europe [29]
Visibility:
Public [19]
- Read more about Quagga Mussels — Worse Than Zebra Mussels and Maybe Headed Your Way [37]
Could Hackers Poison Your Local Drinking Water? [41]

A computer hacker nearly succeeded recently in rendering a local Florida facility a source of poisonous drinking water. And the risk of other such hacks is real, even as the vulnerabilities are hidden behind stringent U.S. secrecy laws. The latest TipSheet explores dangers to our drinking water supply — which go well beyond future hacking.

SEJ Publication Types:
TipSheet [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Consumer [22]
Disasters [23]
Government [7]
Health [24]
Infrastructure [8]
Journalism & Media [9]
Laws & Regulations [10]
People & Population [34]
Pollution [42]
Technology [43]
Water & Oceans [35]
Region:
National (U.S.) [12]
Great Lakes (IL IN MI MN OH WI) [13]
SE (AL AR FL GA KY LA MS NC PR SC TN) [17]
Visibility:
Public [19]
- Read more about Could Hackers Poison Your Local Drinking Water? [41]
Biden Nominees Foretell Aggressive Action on Climate, Environmental Justice [44]

Key picks for President Biden’s environment and energy team suggest top priorities, among them an aggressive, whole-government climate change agenda. The latest Backgrounder assesses choices to pursue Biden’s international and domestic climate policies, as well as historic selections for EPA and Interior, and more. Plus, dive into SEJournal’s expanding “2021 Journalists’ Guide to Energy & Environment [45]” special report.

SEJ Publication Types:
Backgrounders [46]
Topics on the Beat:
Activism [3]
Climate Change [21]
Energy & Fuel [4]
Environmental Politics [6]
Government [7]
Laws & Regulations [10]
Policy [11]
Region:
National (U.S.) [12]
California [26]
Great Lakes (IL IN MI MN OH WI) [13]
Great Plains (IA KS ND NE MO SD) [14]
Northeast (CT MA ME NH NJ NY RI VT) [47]
Southwest (AZ NM OK TX) [18]
International [28]
Visibility:
Public [19]
- Read more about Biden Nominees Foretell Aggressive Action on Climate, Environmental Justice [44]
Environmental Justice Stories Will Keep Proliferating in 2021 [48]

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 [45], 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 [49]
Chemicals [50]
Environmental Health [32]
Environmental Politics [6]
Government [7]
Health [24]
Journalism & Media [9]
People & Population [34]
Policy [11]
Pollution [42]
Waste [51]
Water & Oceans [35]
Region:
National (U.S.) [12]
Great Lakes (IL IN MI MN OH WI) [13]
Great Plains (IA KS ND NE MO SD) [14]
Mid-Atlantic (DC DE MD PA VA WV) [15]
Mountain West (CO ID MT NV UT WY) [16]
SE (AL AR FL GA KY LA MS NC PR SC TN) [17]
Southwest (AZ NM OK TX) [18]
International [28]
Mexico [52]
Visibility:
Public [19]
- Read more about Environmental Justice Stories Will Keep Proliferating in 2021 [48]
For Waste Industry, PFAS Disposal Leads to Controversy, Regulation, Mounting Costs [53]

The toxic compounds known as PFAS are causing a crisis in the waste and recycling industry, which faces mounting regulation and litigation over handling its presence in the waste stream. One reporter on the PFAS front lines explains the industry’s dilemma, as well as the challenges of covering the story and how a financial prism led to important insights into industry’s response.

SEJ Publication Types:
Features [54]
Topics on the Beat:
Chemicals [50]
Economy & Business [55]
Environmental Health [32]
Health [24]
Journalism & Media [9]
Laws & Regulations [10]
Military [56]
Pollution [42]
Waste [51]
Water & Oceans [35]
Region:
National (U.S.) [12]
California [26]
Great Lakes (IL IN MI MN OH WI) [13]
Northeast (CT MA ME NH NJ NY RI VT) [47]
Northwest (OR WA) [27]
SE (AL AR FL GA KY LA MS NC PR SC TN) [17]
Visibility:
Public [19]
- Read more about For Waste Industry, PFAS Disposal Leads to Controversy, Regulation, Mounting Costs [53]
How Much Longer Will Insurers Cover Wildfire Loss Near You? [57]

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 [21]
Consumer [22]
Disasters [23]
Planning & Growth [25]
Region:
National (U.S.) [12]
California [26]
Great Lakes (IL IN MI MN OH WI) [13]
Great Plains (IA KS ND NE MO SD) [14]
Mountain West (CO ID MT NV UT WY) [16]
Northwest (OR WA) [27]
Visibility:
Public [19]
- Read more about How Much Longer Will Insurers Cover Wildfire Loss Near You? [57]

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