Publication Items

Wildfire Preparedness Is a Story Worth Telling — Before ‘Fire Season’ [1]

Wildfires in the Texas Panhandle are a good reminder that wildfire season now stretches across much of the year, so environmental journalists would do well to look for ways to localize their reporting on wildfire preparedness. The latest TipSheet offers 10 story ideas and half a dozen reporting resources to tell the story of your community’s wildfire risk.

SEJ Publication Types:
TipSheet [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Disasters [3]
Journalism & Media [4]
Planning & Growth [5]
Region:
National (U.S.) [6]
Southwest (AZ NM OK TX) [7]
Visibility:
Public [8]
- Read more about Wildfire Preparedness Is a Story Worth Telling — Before ‘Fire Season’ [1]
'Gaslit' Project Spotlights Challenges of Teaching Investigative Journalism [9]

Research, collaboration, human-centered storytelling and the ineluctable element of time — all these were among the facets of a complex, award-winning investigative report run by a team of students at Arizona State University on excessive and harmful natural gas flaring. How the project came together, and the lessons learned, in the new EJ Academy from column co-editor and longtime educator Bob Wyss.

SEJ Publication Types:
EJ Academy [10]
Topics on the Beat:
Energy & Fuel [11]
Environmental Studies [12]
Journalism & Media [4]
Natural Resources [13]
Pollution [14]
Region:
National (U.S.) [6]
Great Plains (IA KS ND NE MO SD) [15]
Southwest (AZ NM OK TX) [7]
Visibility:
Public [8]
- Read more about 'Gaslit' Project Spotlights Challenges of Teaching Investigative Journalism [9]
Chemical Plants, Terrorism and Regulations May Be Back on the Agenda [16]

For years, high-risk U.S. industrial facilities fell under a federal anti-terrorism program to ensure their potentially lethal chemicals would not become terrorist targets. But when the program expired last year, something unexpected happened. Veteran chemical industry reporter Jeff Johnson has a behind-the-scenes look at the maneuvering over how best to secure the country’s dangerous chemical stores.

SEJ Publication Types:
Features [17]
Topics on the Beat:
Chemicals [18]
Disasters [3]
Environmental Politics [19]
Government [20]
Laws & Regulations [21]
Region:
National (U.S.) [6]
Southwest (AZ NM OK TX) [7]
Visibility:
Public [8]
- Read more about Chemical Plants, Terrorism and Regulations May Be Back on the Agenda [16]
Clearing the Smoke — Collaboration Exposes Impacts of Wildfire Pollution-Reporting Rules [22]

Climate change is fueling the frequency and severity of wildfires, but a little-known Clean Air Act rule lets environmental agencies downplay the impacts of wildfire smoke. A collaborative investigation into this loophole connected dots that even the experts didn’t know about. Journalists Dillon Bergin and Molly Peterson explain their reporting process and offer advice for following your own local leads.

SEJ Publication Types:
Features [17]
Topics on the Beat:
Air [23]
Climate Change [24]
Disasters [3]
Environmental Health [25]
Government [20]
Health [26]
Journalism & Media [4]
Laws & Regulations [21]
Pollution [14]
Region:
National (U.S.) [6]
Alaska and Hawaii [27]
California [28]
Great Lakes (IL IN MI MN OH WI) [29]
Great Plains (IA KS ND NE MO SD) [15]
Mid-Atlantic (DC DE MD PA VA WV) [30]
Mountain West (CO ID MT NV UT WY) [31]
Northeast (CT MA ME NH NJ NY RI VT) [32]
Northwest (OR WA) [33]
SE (AL AR FL GA KY LA MS NC PR SC TN) [34]
Southwest (AZ NM OK TX) [7]
Visibility:
Public [8]
- Read more about Clearing the Smoke — Collaboration Exposes Impacts of Wildfire Pollution-Reporting Rules [22]
Recycled Sewage Water — Overcoming the ‘Yuck Factor’ [35]

Toilet-to-tap water jokes aside, the technology and economics of turning sewage into potable drinking water is increasingly seen as a remedy for water-stressed communities. The new BookShelf review of “Purified: How Recycled Sewage is Transforming Our Water,” explains how water shortages, climate change, unsustainable growth and other factors have led some communities, most recently Los Angeles, to consider going “all in” on purified wastewater.

SEJ Publication Types:
BookShelf [36]
Topics on the Beat:
Infrastructure [37]
Policy [38]
Science [39]
Technology [40]
Waste [41]
Water & Oceans [42]
Region:
National (U.S.) [6]
California [28]
Great Lakes (IL IN MI MN OH WI) [29]
SE (AL AR FL GA KY LA MS NC PR SC TN) [34]
Southwest (AZ NM OK TX) [7]
Visibility:
Public [8]
- Read more about Recycled Sewage Water — Overcoming the ‘Yuck Factor’ [35]
Student Journalists Show the Way on Data With Methane Flaring Project [43]

The global warming gas methane was much in the news at the start of the just-ended COP28 climate meeting, with a final Biden administration rule to trim releases by the fossil fuel industry. But when it comes to good journalism on the problem, the latest Reporter’s Toolbox spotlights the work of a team of journalism students who used sophisticated satellite data to tell the story of underreported methane flaring at drilling sites.

SEJ Publication Types:
Reporters Toolbox [44]
Topics on the Beat:
Air [23]
Climate Change [24]
Energy & Fuel [11]
Journalism & Media [4]
Pollution [14]
Region:
National (U.S.) [6]
Mid-Atlantic (DC DE MD PA VA WV) [30]
Mountain West (CO ID MT NV UT WY) [31]
SE (AL AR FL GA KY LA MS NC PR SC TN) [34]
Southwest (AZ NM OK TX) [7]
International [45]
Visibility:
Public [8]
- Read more about Student Journalists Show the Way on Data With Methane Flaring Project [43]
Capturing the Invisible — Photographing Extreme Heat Waves [46]

If extreme heat seems an unusual subject for December, the new EJ InSight column reminds us that among the natural disasters sweeping 2023 were waves of devastating global highs. Yet telling that story visually is an enormous challenge, acknowledges former LA Times photo editor Silvia Rázgová, who shares insights into how to portray the seriousness of extreme heat, getting beyond the cliches and connecting (safely) with its dangerous reality.

SEJ Publication Types:
EJ InSight [47]
Topics on the Beat:
Climate Change [24]
Disasters [3]
Environmental Justice [48]
Health [26]
Journalism & Media [4]
Region:
National (U.S.) [6]
California [28]
SE (AL AR FL GA KY LA MS NC PR SC TN) [34]
Southwest (AZ NM OK TX) [7]
Visibility:
Public [8]
- Read more about Capturing the Invisible — Photographing Extreme Heat Waves [46]
Gathering Offers Sobering Look Ahead at 2024, But With Glimmers of Hope [49]

Top environmental journalists and others at the Society of Environmental Journalists annual “Journalists’ Guide to Environment and Energy” program foresee some challenging realities to cover in 2024, most notably with the ongoing impacts of climate change. Bright signs emerged as well. Read our take, watch the event video [50] and visit our full “2024 Journalists’ Guide to Environment + Energy [51]” special report.

SEJ Publication Types:
SEJ News [52]
Topics on the Beat:
Air [23]
Biodiversity [53]
Chemicals [18]
Climate Change [24]
Disasters [3]
Environmental Health [25]
Environmental Justice [48]
Environmental Politics [19]
Fish & Fisheries [54]
Forests [55]
Health [26]
Journalism & Media [4]
Natural Resources [13]
People & Population [56]
Policy [38]
Pollution [14]
Water & Oceans [42]
Region:
National (U.S.) [6]
Alaska and Hawaii [27]
SE (AL AR FL GA KY LA MS NC PR SC TN) [34]
Southwest (AZ NM OK TX) [7]
International [45]
South America [57]
Visibility:
Public [8]
- Read more about Gathering Offers Sobering Look Ahead at 2024, But With Glimmers of Hope [49]
Prying Open the Statehouse Doors [58]

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 [17]
Topics on the Beat:
Air [23]
Economy & Business [59]
Energy & Fuel [11]
Government [20]
Infrastructure [37]
Journalism & Media [4]
Laws & Regulations [21]
Natural Resources [13]
Policy [38]
Water & Oceans [42]
Region:
National (U.S.) [6]
California [28]
Great Plains (IA KS ND NE MO SD) [15]
Northeast (CT MA ME NH NJ NY RI VT) [32]
Southwest (AZ NM OK TX) [7]
Visibility:
Public [8]
- Read more about Prying Open the Statehouse Doors [58]
Disabilities and Disasters — What Questions Should You Be Asking Planners? [60]

As hurricane season ramps up, how are the disaster planners considering those with disabilities in your community? Texas-based journalist Greg Harman shares the story of one group that sued their city over claims it failed to properly prepare. And he extracts some rules of thumb to help determine if emergency planners are taking those with disabilities into consideration where you are.

SEJ Publication Types:
Features [17]
Topics on the Beat:
Activism [61]
Climate Change [24]
Disasters [3]
Diversity [62]
Environmental Health [25]
Environmental Justice [48]
Environmental Politics [19]
Government [20]
Health [26]
Infrastructure [37]
Journalism & Media [4]
Laws & Regulations [21]
People & Population [56]
Policy [38]
Region:
National (U.S.) [6]
Northeast (CT MA ME NH NJ NY RI VT) [32]
Southwest (AZ NM OK TX) [7]
Visibility:
Public [8]
- Read more about Disabilities and Disasters — What Questions Should You Be Asking Planners? [60]

Pages