Publication Items

Coastal Flooding Challenges Cities Around the U.S. [1]

The United States has nearly 100,000 miles of coastline and much of it is at risk of flooding. But what that inundation looks like varies widely from place to place. From storm surges to land subsidence, the latest Backgrounder details the different types of flooding and the threats they pose to coastal communities, especially sea level cities.

SEJ Publication Types:
Backgrounders [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Climate Change [3]
Disasters [4]
Infrastructure [5]
Journalism & Media [6]
Water & Oceans [7]
Region:
National (U.S.) [8]
Alaska and Hawaii [9]
California [10]
Great Lakes (IL IN MI MN OH WI) [11]
Mid-Atlantic (DC DE MD PA VA WV) [12]
Northeast (CT MA ME NH NJ NY RI VT) [13]
Northwest (OR WA) [14]
SE (AL AR FL GA KY LA MS NC PR SC TN) [15]
Southwest (AZ NM OK TX) [16]
Visibility:
Public [17]
- Read more about Coastal Flooding Challenges Cities Around the U.S. [1]
Lapses in Enforcement by Trump's EPA May Yield Local Environment Stories [18]

Enforcement has usually been serious business at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Now it seems many pollution laws are going unpoliced. TipSheet explains how the EPA’s own resources can help investigative reporters find violations, track regulatory actions and uncover nationwide patterns of corporate mismanagement.

SEJ Publication Types:
TipSheet [19]
Topics on the Beat:
Air [20]
Chemicals [21]
Economy & Business [22]
Energy & Fuel [23]
Environmental Health [24]
Environmental Justice [25]
Environmental Politics [26]
Government [27]
Health [28]
Journalism & Media [6]
Laws & Regulations [29]
Pollution [30]
Waste [31]
Water & Oceans [7]
Region:
National (U.S.) [8]
Visibility:
Public [17]
- Read more about Lapses in Enforcement by Trump's EPA May Yield Local Environment Stories [18]
RFK Jr. Attacks Some Unwelcome Truth-Telling [32]

When Robert F. Kennedy Jr. threatened to forbid government scientists from publishing in leading medical journals, WatchDog was among those who paid heed to this worrisome move to censor science, and the harm it portends for environmental science, environmental journalism and, ultimately, public health. But as WatchDog warns, it could be just the tip of the iceberg.

SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog [33]
Topics on the Beat:
Environmental Health [24]
Environmental Justice [25]
Environmental Politics [26]
Environmental Studies [34]
Health [28]
Journalism & Media [6]
Policy [35]
Science [36]
Region:
National (U.S.) [8]
Visibility:
Public [17]
- Read more about RFK Jr. Attacks Some Unwelcome Truth-Telling [32]
NASA Portal Can Lead Reporters to Universe of Data [37]

For environmental journalists looking for data riches to help tell their stories — whether about urban heat islands, sea-surface temperatures or air pollution — NASA has the satellites whose sensors capture insights galore. The latest Reporter’s Toolbox offers an introduction to the U.S. space agency’s incredibly extensive data portal, and how to get started amid the wealth of information (caveat: before it’s gone).

SEJ Publication Types:
Reporters Toolbox [38]
Topics on the Beat:
Air [20]
Climate Change [3]
Environmental Health [24]
Environmental Studies [34]
Forests [39]
Government [27]
Journalism & Media [6]
Science [36]
Technology [40]
Water & Oceans [7]
Region:
National (U.S.) [8]
International [41]
Visibility:
Public [17]
- Read more about NASA Portal Can Lead Reporters to Universe of Data [37]
Inland Flooding — Reporting Resources From SEJ Publications [42]

With the death toll exceeding 100 from catastrophic flooding in Texas, the SEJ Publications team offers resources for flood reporting in your region. See TipSheets on inland flood risks [43], extreme rainfall [44], flood readiness [45], flood-resistant construction [46], building in flood plains [47] and flood-related hazardous waste threats [48]. Also, a Reporter’s Toolbox on mapping flood risk [49], a Feature on the inequities of flooding [50] and a special report, Covering Your Climate: The South [51]. Plus, get rain and flood headlines [52] from EJToday [53].

SEJ Publication Types:
SEJ News [54]
Visibility:
Public [17]
- Read more about Inland Flooding — Reporting Resources From SEJ Publications [42]
Solutions — and Death — in the Rainforest [55]

A project begun to explore ways to protect the Amazon seemed to end with the murder of the journalist who conceived it, along with his guide and research partner. But others picked up the mantle and completed a volume exploring ways to save this precious and rapidly disappearing ecosystem. BookShelf reviewer Elyse Hauser on how this unusual book tries to meet that promise.

SEJ Publication Types:
BookShelf [56]
Topics on the Beat:
Agriculture [57]
Biodiversity [58]
Environmental Health [24]
Environmental Politics [26]
Forests [39]
Journalism & Media [6]
Natural Resources [59]
Planning & Growth [60]
Region:
International [41]
South America [61]
Visibility:
Public [17]
- Read more about Solutions — and Death — in the Rainforest [55]
Wildfire Smoke Is Showing Up Everywhere. It Can Be Fatal [62]

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 [60]
Policy [35]
Pollution [30]
Region:
National (U.S.) [8]
California [10]
Great Lakes (IL IN MI MN OH WI) [11]
Mid-Atlantic (DC DE MD PA VA WV) [12]
Mountain West (CO ID MT NV UT WY) [63]
International [41]
Canada [64]
Visibility:
Public [17]
- Read more about Wildfire Smoke Is Showing Up Everywhere. It Can Be Fatal [62]
Recreation in Polluted Water Can Be Threat to Human Health [65]

A cool swim on a hot day is one of the quintessential pleasures of summer. That is, unless polluted water makes it — and any other aquatic contact — a high-risk activity. It’s an important environmental and public health story for journalists to tell. TipSheet helps review waterborne illnesses to watch for, regulations supposed to protect against them and local story ideas to pursue.

SEJ Publication Types:
TipSheet [19]
Topics on the Beat:
Agriculture [57]
Chemicals [21]
Environmental Health [24]
Environmental Politics [26]
Health [28]
Journalism & Media [6]
Laws & Regulations [29]
Pollution [30]
Water & Oceans [7]
Region:
National (U.S.) [8]
Visibility:
Public [17]
- Read more about Recreation in Polluted Water Can Be Threat to Human Health [65]
Rethinking Forest Management in the Pyrocene [66]

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 [67]
Topics on the Beat:
Climate Change [3]
Disasters [4]
Environmental Politics [26]
Environmental Studies [34]
Forests [39]
Government [27]
Health [28]
Infrastructure [5]
Journalism & Media [6]
Laws & Regulations [29]
Natural Resources [59]
Policy [35]
Region:
National (U.S.) [8]
California [10]
Northwest (OR WA) [14]
International [41]
Canada [64]
Australia & Oceania [68]
Europe [69]
Visibility:
Public [17]
- Read more about Rethinking Forest Management in the Pyrocene [66]
Lead Pipe Data Map Offers Sharp New Tool [70]

Lead-contaminated drinking water has long been a widespread worry, but one big challenge has been locating the many lead service lines around the United States. The latest Reporter’s Toolbox points you to a mappable database to help address that problem, with current, detailed data filtered through the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Learn more about this resource and how to best use it.

SEJ Publication Types:
Reporters Toolbox [38]
Topics on the Beat:
Consumer [71]
Environmental Politics [26]
Health [28]
Infrastructure [5]
Journalism & Media [6]
Laws & Regulations [29]
Policy [35]
Pollution [30]
Water & Oceans [7]
Region:
National (U.S.) [8]
Visibility:
Public [17]
- Read more about Lead Pipe Data Map Offers Sharp New Tool [70]

Pages