Publication Items

How the Potomac Imparts the Capital’s Story [1]

The Potomac is one of the most prominent rivers in the United States, a defining ecological feature of Washington, D.C., at the same time it reveals the city’s history of racial inequality and disenfranchisement. Writer, historian, educator and herbalist Charlotte Taylor Fryar recounts that tale in her ambitious “Potomac Fever,” reviewed in the latest BookShelf by contributing editor Jennifer Weeks, herself a Washington native.

SEJ Publication Types:
BookShelf [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Environmental Health [3]
Environmental Justice [4]
Environmental Politics [5]
Natural Resources [6]
People & Population [7]
Pollution [8]
Water & Oceans [9]
Region:
National (U.S.) [10]
Mid-Atlantic (DC DE MD PA VA WV) [11]
Visibility:
Public [12]
- Read more about How the Potomac Imparts the Capital’s Story [1]
Dam Safety Firings Leave Downstream Residents at Risk [13]

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 [14]
Topics on the Beat:
Disasters [15]
Environmental Politics [5]
Government [16]
Infrastructure [17]
Journalism & Media [18]
Policy [19]
Water & Oceans [9]
Region:
National (U.S.) [10]
California [20]
Visibility:
Public [12]
- Read more about Dam Safety Firings Leave Downstream Residents at Risk [13]
An Editor’s Eye View to Successful Pitching [21]

The not-so-simple act of pitching story ideas is among the biggest challenges facing freelance environmental reporters. Is the pitch smartly targeted, thoroughly researched, well-crafted? Our new Freelance Files co-editor Marianne Messina spoke to four top-level editors at well-known outlets to get their perspectives on making a successful pitch. Learn why outlets need you, what they look for and how to avoid basic mistakes.

SEJ Publication Types:
Freelance Files [22]
Topics on the Beat:
Journalism & Media [18]
Region:
National (U.S.) [10]
International [23]
Visibility:
Public [12]
- Read more about An Editor’s Eye View to Successful Pitching [21]
U.S. Fuel Exports To Profit Industry, Slam Consumers [24]

‘Energy dominance’ is a Trump catchphrase whose meaning may be vague — since the U.S. is already the world’s top producer of oil and natural gas. But one thing that does seem clear, per the new Backgrounder, is that a flood of new U.S. permits to export gas will likely mean higher energy prices for U.S. customers.

SEJ Publication Types:
Backgrounders [25]
Topics on the Beat:
Climate Change [26]
Consumer [27]
Energy & Fuel [28]
Environmental Politics [5]
Policy [19]
Region:
National (U.S.) [10]
International [23]
Canada [29]
Mexico [30]
Europe [31]
Visibility:
Public [12]
- Read more about U.S. Fuel Exports To Profit Industry, Slam Consumers [24]
Follow the Money … for Lobbying State Legislatures [32]

With many states dominated by a few powerful industries — whether oil, mining or agriculture — the influence of campaign dollars can have an outsize effect on legislation, even to the point of corruption, notes the latest Reporter’s Toolbox. So while the U.S. Congress may be languishing, environmental journalists can dig up stories on lobbying at the state level using a powerful data source.

SEJ Publication Types:
Reporters Toolbox [33]
Topics on the Beat:
Activism [34]
Agriculture [35]
Economy & Business [36]
Energy & Fuel [28]
Environmental Politics [5]
Government [16]
Journalism & Media [18]
Laws & Regulations [37]
Policy [19]
Region:
National (U.S.) [10]
Great Plains (IA KS ND NE MO SD) [38]
Mid-Atlantic (DC DE MD PA VA WV) [11]
Southwest (AZ NM OK TX) [39]
Visibility:
Public [12]
- Read more about Follow the Money … for Lobbying State Legislatures [32]
Hazardous Risk Reporting Resource at Risk of Trump Blackout [40]

Hazardous sites around the United States are supposed to have disaster plans, which make for a localizable story environmental journalists can tell to help protect their communities. The problem, reports TipSheet, is that a key federal database of these plans may be shut down by the Trump administration. More on the Risk Management Program, efforts to protect the data and how reporters can use it.

SEJ Publication Types:
TipSheet [14]
Topics on the Beat:
Chemicals [41]
Disasters [15]
Environmental Health [3]
Environmental Politics [5]
Government [16]
Health [42]
Journalism & Media [18]
Laws & Regulations [37]
Pollution [8]
Waste [43]
Region:
National (U.S.) [10]
Visibility:
Public [12]
- Read more about Hazardous Risk Reporting Resource at Risk of Trump Blackout [40]
‘A Myriad of Voices’ Tells of Restoring a Swamp in Crisis [44]

When a pair of journalists reported on a degraded Colombian mangrove swamp, they turned to two local fishermen to help tell the story, tapping into their experience as they worked to repair the ecosystem that fed their community. In the latest Inside Story Q&A, reporter Jacobo Patiño Giraldo explains their successful use of primary source solutions journalism.

SEJ Publication Types:
Inside Story [45]
Topics on the Beat:
Activism [34]
Biodiversity [46]
Environmental Health [3]
Environmental Justice [4]
Fish & Fisheries [47]
Forests [48]
Journalism & Media [18]
Natural Resources [6]
People & Population [7]
Water & Oceans [9]
Region:
International [23]
South America [49]
Visibility:
Public [12]
- Read more about ‘A Myriad of Voices’ Tells of Restoring a Swamp in Crisis [44]
Trump Pick To Head Secretive Agency Adept at Stifling Info, Regs [50]

A little-known federal office where some say environmental and other regulations go to die may soon be led by a Trump loyalist best known as an indicted co-conspirator in the plot to overthrow the 2020 election. What is OIRA? And who is Trump’s pick to lead the powerful subagency? WatchDog Opinion has answers and some worrying questions, along with resources for reporters to dig further.

SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog [51]
Topics on the Beat:
Economy & Business [36]
Environmental Politics [5]
Government [16]
Journalism & Media [18]
Laws & Regulations [37]
Policy [19]
Region:
National (U.S.) [10]
Visibility:
Public [12]
- Read more about Trump Pick To Head Secretive Agency Adept at Stifling Info, Regs [50]
Desperately Seeking Data? OECD Has Loads [52]

If the possibility of a politically driven dearth of data for your climate and environment reporting has you on edge, the new Reporter’s Toolbox just may have something to soothe your nerves: A data source from beyond the grasp of the Trump administration and outside the boundaries of the United States. Take a quick tour of environmental data from the OECD.

SEJ Publication Types:
Reporters Toolbox [33]
Topics on the Beat:
Agriculture [35]
Air [53]
Biodiversity [46]
Chemicals [41]
Climate Change [26]
Energy & Fuel [28]
Environmental Studies [54]
Fish & Fisheries [47]
Health [42]
Journalism & Media [18]
Natural Resources [6]
Pollution [8]
Transportation [55]
Waste [43]
Water & Oceans [9]
Region:
National (U.S.) [10]
International [23]
Europe [31]
Visibility:
Public [12]
- Read more about Desperately Seeking Data? OECD Has Loads [52]
New Angle for Reporting on Oil and Gas Industry — Radioactive Waste [56]

Industry experts and government regulators have long known that radionuclides reside in oil and natural gas. Yet radioactive emissions and waste continue to threaten the lives of workers and community members across the country. Investigative journalist Justin Nobel on the opportunities and urgent need for reporters to drill into a story steeped in questions of accountability, health and justice.

SEJ Publication Types:
Features [57]
Topics on the Beat:
Activism [34]
Air [53]
Chemicals [41]
Climate Change [26]
Consumer [27]
Economy & Business [36]
Energy & Fuel [28]
Environmental Health [3]
Environmental Politics [5]
Environmental Studies [54]
Government [16]
Health [42]
Journalism & Media [18]
Laws & Regulations [37]
Natural Resources [6]
Nuclear Power & Radiation [58]
People & Population [7]
Policy [19]
Pollution [8]
Science [59]
Technology [60]
Waste [43]
Water & Oceans [9]
Region:
National (U.S.) [10]
Great Lakes (IL IN MI MN OH WI) [61]
Great Plains (IA KS ND NE MO SD) [38]
Mid-Atlantic (DC DE MD PA VA WV) [11]
Mountain West (CO ID MT NV UT WY) [62]
Northeast (CT MA ME NH NJ NY RI VT) [63]
SE (AL AR FL GA KY LA MS NC PR SC TN) [64]
Southwest (AZ NM OK TX) [39]
International [23]
Canada [29]
South America [49]
Visibility:
Public [12]
- Read more about New Angle for Reporting on Oil and Gas Industry — Radioactive Waste [56]

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