Publication Items

Will Your Town Pass the Electric School Bus Acid Test? [1]

A Biden-era plan to put billions into school buses, clean EV-style, could be in the rearview mirror under the Trump administration, reports the latest TipSheet. That’s despite the fume-free, greenhouse gas-scarce qualities that benefit the air and the climate, parents and kids. To get in the driver’s seat on this story, here are a half a dozen local story ideas, plus reporting resources.

SEJ Publication Types:
TipSheet [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Air [3]
Climate Change [4]
Energy & Fuel [5]
Environmental Politics [6]
Government [7]
Health [8]
Infrastructure [9]
Journalism & Media [10]
Policy [11]
Pollution [12]
Technology [13]
Transportation [14]
Region:
National (U.S.) [15]
Visibility:
Public [16]
- Read more about Will Your Town Pass the Electric School Bus Acid Test? [1]
Why Media Consolidation Threatens Press Freedom, Democracy [17]

Speeding media mergers — the latest examples being Paramount’s hookup with CBS and its recent pursuit of CNN parent Warner Bros. Discovery — could have serious societal repercussions, argues WatchDog Opinion. Among them: the risks of growing government control and political censorship. But a glimmer of hope comes from another, quieter, revolution that might just be the saving grace for independent accountability journalism.

SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog [18]
Topics on the Beat:
Economy & Business [19]
Government [7]
Journalism & Media [10]
Policy [11]
Region:
National (U.S.) [15]
Visibility:
Public [16]
- Read more about Why Media Consolidation Threatens Press Freedom, Democracy [17]
Drinking Water Database Opens Spigot on Local Stories [20]

Drinking water may be ubiquitous in the United States, but that doesn’t mean it’s always safe. To report the answer in your community, the latest Reporter’s Toolbox suggests exploring the Safe Drinking Water Information System, a federal government database mandated by the Safe Drinking Water Act. Here’s how to use it to identify whether your local systems meet its standards.

SEJ Publication Types:
Reporters Toolbox [21]
Topics on the Beat:
Chemicals [22]
Consumer [23]
Health [8]
Infrastructure [9]
Journalism & Media [10]
Laws & Regulations [24]
Natural Resources [25]
Pollution [12]
Water & Oceans [26]
Region:
National (U.S.) [15]
Visibility:
Public [16]
- Read more about Drinking Water Database Opens Spigot on Local Stories [20]
Targets on Their Backs … and Ours? Reporting on Immigrant Farmworkers [27]

For years, state-sponsored programs have helped California farmworkers get much-needed access to clean water. But many immigrants now shun these services, afraid of exposure to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents. As Circle of Blue intern Anahita Banerjee dug into this story, she discovered that their fear extended to speaking with journalists — and that ICE activities threatened her own safety.

SEJ Publication Types:
Features [28]
Topics on the Beat:
Activism [29]
Agriculture [30]
Environmental Justice [31]
Environmental Politics [6]
Food [32]
Government [7]
Health [8]
Journalism & Media [10]
Laws & Regulations [24]
People & Population [33]
Water & Oceans [26]
Region:
National (U.S.) [15]
California [34]
Visibility:
Public [16]
- Read more about Targets on Their Backs … and Ours? Reporting on Immigrant Farmworkers [27]
Toxic Fashion — A ‘Between the Lines’ Author Q&A [35]

A simple query about harmful chemicals in airline attendant uniforms started sustainable fashion writer Alden Wicker down a reporting path that uncovered a long history of toxic fashion, took her to India and ultimately inspired her award-winning book, “To Dye For.” In this BookShelf interview, Wicker talks about the challenges, the surprises and the choices made in telling this little-known story.

SEJ Publication Types:
BookShelf [36]
Topics on the Beat:
Chemicals [22]
Consumer [23]
Economy & Business [19]
Environmental Justice [31]
Health [8]
Journalism & Media [10]
Region:
National (U.S.) [15]
International [37]
Asia [38]
Visibility:
Public [16]
- Read more about Toxic Fashion — A ‘Between the Lines’ Author Q&A [35]
DOE Climate ‘Endangerment’ Report Sparks Stormy Retort [39]

When the Trump Energy Department issued a report this summer questioning a central precept of U.S. climate change policy, it kicked off an angry backlash from scientific experts who fear it undermines decades of peer-reviewed research — and the very basis for climate action. Backgrounder scrutinizes the DOE report and the climate skeptics behind it, as well as the furious response.

SEJ Publication Types:
Backgrounders [40]
Topics on the Beat:
Climate Change [4]
Environmental Politics [6]
Environmental Studies [41]
Government [7]
Laws & Regulations [24]
Policy [11]
Science [42]
Region:
National (U.S.) [15]
International [37]
Visibility:
Public [16]
- Read more about DOE Climate ‘Endangerment’ Report Sparks Stormy Retort [39]
Coal Ash Is an Issue That Just Won’t Stay Buried [43]

Even as the number of coal-fired power plants declines in the United States, the dangerous coal ash byproducts they generate are found in dumps in every state, threatening to leach toxins into drinking water supplies. The latest TipSheet examines why the problem won’t seem to go away, and offers 10 top story ideas and resources for reporting on coal ash in your locale.

SEJ Publication Types:
TipSheet [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Energy & Fuel [5]
Environmental Health [44]
Environmental Politics [6]
Journalism & Media [10]
Laws & Regulations [24]
Natural Resources [25]
Pollution [12]
Waste [45]
Water & Oceans [26]
Region:
National (U.S.) [15]
Visibility:
Public [16]
- Read more about Coal Ash Is an Issue That Just Won’t Stay Buried [43]
Crop Cover Database Seeds Local Environment Coverage [46]

Cropland can easily be found time and again at the heart of the key concerns on the environment beat, whether climate, water, chemicals or, of course, land. The latest Reporter’s Toolbox shares a high-quality, mappable database that can serve up stories on more than 100 categories of crops, with numbers drawn from satellite imagery. Plus, a pro tip on using the data smartly.

SEJ Publication Types:
Reporters Toolbox [21]
Topics on the Beat:
Agriculture [30]
Chemicals [22]
Climate Change [4]
Environmental Health [44]
Environmental Studies [41]
Food [32]
Journalism & Media [10]
Science [42]
Region:
National (U.S.) [15]
Visibility:
Public [16]
- Read more about Crop Cover Database Seeds Local Environment Coverage [46]
Climate Solutions, for Some, May Not Be [47]

A small Louisiana community, home to the descendants of formerly enslaved Black people, continues to fight for its freedom many decades later, this time from a potentially polluting technology. FEJ StoryLog contributor Yessenia Funes recounts her journey to this Cancer Alley community, where a grant from the Fund for Environmental Journalism helped her tell the story of residents challenging a multibillion-dollar carbon capture plant.

SEJ Publication Types:
FEJ StoryLog [48]
Topics on the Beat:
Activism [29]
Air [3]
Chemicals [22]
Climate Change [4]
Economy & Business [19]
Energy & Fuel [5]
Environmental Health [44]
Environmental Justice [31]
Environmental Politics [6]
Journalism & Media [10]
People & Population [33]
Planning & Growth [49]
Policy [11]
Pollution [12]
Science [42]
Technology [13]
Region:
National (U.S.) [15]
SE (AL AR FL GA KY LA MS NC PR SC TN) [50]
Visibility:
Public [16]
- Read more about Climate Solutions, for Some, May Not Be [47]
Covering the Health Impacts of Extreme Heat — An Arizona Reporter Weighs In [51]

Before giving summer its send-off, consider that heat kills more people in the U.S. annually than any other weather-related disaster. Phoenix journalist Katherine Davis-Young is well acquainted with this human toll. Drawing on her own reporting experience, she looks at how to cover extreme heat in your community. Pro tip: Don’t wait until next summer to familiarize yourself with vulnerable communities and investigate local mitigation policies.

SEJ Publication Types:
Features [28]
Topics on the Beat:
Climate Change [4]
Disasters [52]
Environmental Health [44]
Environmental Justice [31]
Government [7]
Health [8]
Journalism & Media [10]
Policy [11]
Region:
National (U.S.) [15]
Southwest (AZ NM OK TX) [53]
Visibility:
Public [16]
- Read more about Covering the Health Impacts of Extreme Heat — An Arizona Reporter Weighs In [51]

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