Publication Items

Wildfire Smoke Is Showing Up Everywhere. It Can Be Fatal [1]

Wildfire’s immensely destructive power is not just about what it burns. The smoke from more frequent fires, too, has real potential to harm human health, the new Backgrounder explains, releasing particulate matter, carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides, sulfur oxides and worse. Learn more about the hazards and historical perspective, along with what journalists should tell their communities can be done.

SEJ Publication Types:
Backgrounders [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Planning & Growth [3]
Policy [4]
Pollution [5]
Region:
National (U.S.) [6]
California [7]
Great Lakes (IL IN MI MN OH WI) [8]
Mid-Atlantic (DC DE MD PA VA WV) [9]
Mountain West (CO ID MT NV UT WY) [10]
International [11]
Canada [12]
Visibility:
Public [13]
- Read more about Wildfire Smoke Is Showing Up Everywhere. It Can Be Fatal [1]
Rethinking Forest Management in the Pyrocene [14]

Recent urban-interface infernos, fueled by climate change, leave no doubt that we have entered the age of runaway fire. Writer and ecologist Lauren Oakes writes that large-scale combustion is permanently reshaping ecosystems and societies as we learn to live with wildfire, not just fight it. Instead of perpetuating problematic approaches to forest management, experts call for confronting the root causes of this crisis and adopting science-informed responses.

SEJ Publication Types:
Features [15]
Topics on the Beat:
Climate Change [16]
Disasters [17]
Environmental Politics [18]
Environmental Studies [19]
Forests [20]
Government [21]
Health [22]
Infrastructure [23]
Journalism & Media [24]
Laws & Regulations [25]
Natural Resources [26]
Policy [4]
Region:
National (U.S.) [6]
California [7]
Northwest (OR WA) [27]
International [11]
Canada [12]
Australia & Oceania [28]
Europe [29]
Visibility:
Public [13]
- Read more about Rethinking Forest Management in the Pyrocene [14]
Will DOGE Evaporate Crucial Water Data? [30]

Streamflow data gathered by thousands of U.S. Geological Survey gauges helps track the country’s floods and droughts. But it may be lost if the Trump administration follows up on a decision not to renew leases of USGS water science centers that read the gauges and disseminate the measurements. Reporter’s Toolbox on the value of this database and the risk of its loss.

SEJ Publication Types:
Reporters Toolbox [31]
Topics on the Beat:
Agriculture [32]
Climate Change [16]
Disasters [17]
Environmental Politics [18]
Environmental Studies [19]
Government [21]
Natural Resources [26]
Policy [4]
Science [33]
Water & Oceans [34]
Region:
National (U.S.) [6]
California [7]
SE (AL AR FL GA KY LA MS NC PR SC TN) [35]
Southwest (AZ NM OK TX) [36]
Visibility:
Public [13]
- Read more about Will DOGE Evaporate Crucial Water Data? [30]
Can a City on Fire Be Photographed? Yes, Says One Photojournalist [37]

Will images of a burning Los Angeles last in our consciousness? EJ InSight editor Andrew Cullen makes a powerful argument that they will, illustrating the point with potent photographs of that disaster, as well as from recent hurricanes. An exploration of how photojournalists, working amid the destruction, strive to document not just the devastation but its deeper significance and its human toll.

SEJ Publication Types:
EJ InSight [38]
Topics on the Beat:
Climate Change [16]
Disasters [17]
Journalism & Media [24]
People & Population [39]
Region:
National (U.S.) [6]
California [7]
SE (AL AR FL GA KY LA MS NC PR SC TN) [35]
Visibility:
Public [13]
- Read more about Can a City on Fire Be Photographed? Yes, Says One Photojournalist [37]
Covering Wildfire — Expert Advice on Emerging Issues, Recurring Risks [40]

With wildfires becoming more extreme in every way, reporters covering them face new challenges along with familiar hazards. A pair of experienced wildfire journalists and others on the front lines offer advice on dealing with access restrictions, on-the-ground dangers, toxic exposure risks and traumatized survivors — as climate change speeds up the news cycle and misinformation muddies the reporting landscape.

SEJ Publication Types:
Features [15]
Topics on the Beat:
Climate Change [16]
Disasters [17]
Forests [20]
Government [21]
Health [22]
Infrastructure [23]
Journalism & Media [24]
Laws & Regulations [25]
People & Population [39]
Region:
National (U.S.) [6]
Alaska and Hawaii [41]
California [7]
Mountain West (CO ID MT NV UT WY) [10]
Northwest (OR WA) [27]
Southwest (AZ NM OK TX) [36]
Visibility:
Public [13]
- Read more about Covering Wildfire — Expert Advice on Emerging Issues, Recurring Risks [40]
Dam Safety Firings Leave Downstream Residents at Risk [42]

Among the widespread federal firings that look like they’re putting the public increasingly at risk are those that strip away government oversight of dam safety. The latest TipSheet looks at what’s at stake and offers up a dozen story ideas, questions to ask and reporting resources to help environmental journalists spot the dam dangers nearest them.

SEJ Publication Types:
TipSheet [43]
Topics on the Beat:
Disasters [17]
Environmental Politics [18]
Government [21]
Infrastructure [23]
Journalism & Media [24]
Policy [4]
Water & Oceans [34]
Region:
National (U.S.) [6]
California [7]
Visibility:
Public [13]
- Read more about Dam Safety Firings Leave Downstream Residents at Risk [42]
Telling the Stories of the Silent Sentinels [44]

To many, plants are a merely green backdrop, indistinguishable and inconsequential. But, freelancer Karen Mockler says that such “plant blindness” belies an urgent need for our notice. More than a third of the world’s trees and thousands of other plant species face extinction. Their plight — and their many blessings — offer perceptive journalists a wealth of reporting and storytelling opportunities. Mockler on why to write about plants.

SEJ Publication Types:
Features [15]
Topics on the Beat:
Agriculture [32]
Air [45]
Biodiversity [46]
Climate Change [16]
Environmental Health [47]
Environmental Justice [48]
Environmental Politics [18]
Environmental Studies [19]
Food [49]
Forests [20]
Government [21]
Health [22]
Journalism & Media [24]
Laws & Regulations [25]
Natural Resources [26]
Pollution [5]
Religion, Faith and Spirituality [50]
Science [33]
Water & Oceans [34]
Wildlife [51]
Region:
National (U.S.) [6]
California [7]
Northwest (OR WA) [27]
Southwest (AZ NM OK TX) [36]
International [11]
Canada [12]
Visibility:
Public [13]
- Read more about Telling the Stories of the Silent Sentinels [44]
Beat Reporter Spotlights Costs of California's Environmental Reckoning [52]

The fossil fuel industry’s outsized climate policy role in the U.S.’s most populous state is the core of award-winning coverage from investigative journalist Aaron Cantú for nonprofit newsroom Capital & Main. In the new Inside Story Q&A, Cantú shares some of what challenged him in his reporting, what surprised him most and a lesson learned.

SEJ Publication Types:
Inside Story [53]
Topics on the Beat:
Climate Change [16]
Economy & Business [54]
Energy & Fuel [55]
Environmental Justice [48]
Environmental Politics [18]
Government [21]
Journalism & Media [24]
Laws & Regulations [25]
Natural Resources [26]
Policy [4]
Region:
National (U.S.) [6]
California [7]
Visibility:
Public [13]
- Read more about Beat Reporter Spotlights Costs of California's Environmental Reckoning [52]
Reporting on Illegal Wildlife Trade – Story Ideas, Safety Tips and More [56]

Illicit trade in wild animals and plants is a billion-dollar global business that threatens biodiversity and human health. Endless reporting opportunities range from exposing corruption and criminal networks to debunking claims about products derived from endangered species. Journalist Rene Ebersole shares insights from her 20 years on the trail of wildlife smugglers, poachers and other environmental lawbreakers — and introduces a new nonprofit dedicated to this beat.

SEJ Publication Types:
Features [15]
Topics on the Beat:
Biodiversity [46]
Consumer [57]
Economy & Business [54]
Fish & Fisheries [58]
Government [21]
Journalism & Media [24]
Laws & Regulations [25]
Wildlife [51]
Region:
National (U.S.) [6]
California [7]
SE (AL AR FL GA KY LA MS NC PR SC TN) [35]
International [11]
Mexico [59]
Africa [60]
Central America & the Caribbean [61]
Visibility:
Public [13]
- Read more about Reporting on Illegal Wildlife Trade – Story Ideas, Safety Tips and More [56]
How Climate Change Complicates the Refugee Crisis [62]

The displacement of populations by climate impacts, while not a new phenomenon in human history, is worsening in the face of global warming’s extreme weather patterns. Yet the extensive international regime to aid refugees doesn’t cover those migrating due to flooding, drought, natural disasters or climate change. Backgrounder considers the implications and how nations will respond to the new realities.

SEJ Publication Types:
Backgrounders [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Climate Change [16]
Disasters [17]
Environmental Politics [18]
People & Population [39]
Policy [4]
Region:
National (U.S.) [6]
California [7]
Great Plains (IA KS ND NE MO SD) [63]
Mid-Atlantic (DC DE MD PA VA WV) [9]
SE (AL AR FL GA KY LA MS NC PR SC TN) [35]
Southwest (AZ NM OK TX) [36]
International [11]
Mexico [59]
Africa [60]
Antarctica & Arctic [64]
Asia [65]
Central America & the Caribbean [61]
Europe [29]
Middle East [66]
South America [67]
Visibility:
Public [13]
- Read more about How Climate Change Complicates the Refugee Crisis [62]

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