Publication Items

Global Satellite Data IDs Tensions Between Food Production, Biodiversity [1]

A recent study of global cropland expansion highlights several trends that are ripe with environmental news stories. One finding: New farm fields have taken over an area the size of Texas and California combined since the start of the century, an expansion primarily affecting biodiversity-rich natural ecosystems, with Africa leading the cropland boom. Freelancer Gabriel Popkin explores the latest data and the reporting possibilities.

SEJ Publication Types:
Features [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Agriculture [3]
Biodiversity [4]
Climate Change [5]
Consumer [6]
Economy & Business [7]
Environmental Health [8]
Environmental Justice [9]
Environmental Politics [10]
Environmental Studies [11]
Food [12]
Forests [13]
Journalism & Media [14]
Natural Resources [15]
People & Population [16]
Planning & Growth [17]
Science [18]
Technology [19]
Region:
National (U.S.) [20]
International [21]
Africa [22]
Asia [23]
Europe [24]
South America [25]
Visibility:
Public [26]
- Read more about Global Satellite Data IDs Tensions Between Food Production, Biodiversity [1]
As Summer Worsens Air Pollution, Data Sources Help Coverage [27]

As the weather grows warmer, air pollution from smog typically worsens, as does smoke from spreading wildfires. The latest Reporter’s Toolbox spotlights the data that can help improve your coverage, whether via an easy-to-use report on the state of the air from a prominent nonprofit, or straight from various quality EPA data resources. Find help getting started on your air pollution coverage projects now.

SEJ Publication Types:
Reporters Toolbox [28]
Topics on the Beat:
Air [29]
Climate Change [5]
Environmental Health [8]
Environmental Justice [9]
Health [30]
Journalism & Media [14]
Pollution [31]
Region:
National (U.S.) [20]
Visibility:
Public [26]
- Read more about As Summer Worsens Air Pollution, Data Sources Help Coverage [27]
There Are a Lot More Than 10 Endangered Rivers. Is One Near You? [32]

An annual list of endangered rivers is out, but with it the journalism just begins, since there are numerous troubled river systems, most likely including one near you. The latest TipSheet details how the endangered river list can serve as a template for local reporting and provides story ideas, questions to ask and resources to tap for your coverage.

SEJ Publication Types:
TipSheet [33]
Topics on the Beat:
Activism [34]
Climate Change [5]
Consumer [6]
Disasters [35]
Energy & Fuel [36]
Environmental Health [8]
Environmental Politics [10]
Fish & Fisheries [37]
Food [12]
Journalism & Media [14]
Laws & Regulations [38]
Natural Resources [15]
Pollution [31]
Transportation [39]
Water & Oceans [40]
Region:
National (U.S.) [20]
Visibility:
Public [26]
- Read more about There Are a Lot More Than 10 Endangered Rivers. Is One Near You? [32]
‘The Green Years’ — When the Environment Eclipsed Politics [41]

There was a moment within living memory when Democrats and Republicans came together — in a time of extraordinary political turmoil — to pass landmark legislation to clean U.S. waters, limit toxic substances and pesticides, and empower the government to protect the environment. BookShelf’s Nano Riley reviews a new book that explores that time, and which speculates on why things have changed.

SEJ Publication Types:
BookShelf [42]
Topics on the Beat:
Activism [34]
Chemicals [43]
Environmental Politics [10]
Government [44]
Laws & Regulations [38]
Natural Resources [15]
Policy [45]
Pollution [31]
Water & Oceans [40]
Region:
National (U.S.) [20]
Visibility:
Public [26]
- Read more about ‘The Green Years’ — When the Environment Eclipsed Politics [41]
EPA Moves To Eliminate Asbestos Risk to Human Health, But Its Legacy Remains [46]

A new ban is to be imposed on the last kind of asbestos still imported into the United States for use in commerce. But as the Issue Backgrounder explains, the regulatory back-and-forth over the substance by recent administrations won’t alleviate the biggest U.S. problem, which is the long history of its use in a wide range of building materials and other uses raising ongoing occupational risks.

SEJ Publication Types:
Backgrounders [47]
Topics on the Beat:
Air [29]
Consumer [6]
Environmental Politics [10]
Government [44]
Health [30]
Infrastructure [48]
Journalism & Media [14]
Laws & Regulations [38]
Policy [45]
Region:
National (U.S.) [20]
Visibility:
Public [26]
- Read more about EPA Moves To Eliminate Asbestos Risk to Human Health, But Its Legacy Remains [46]
Grantee Wades Into Surprising Blue-Green Algae Problem [49]

A chance encounter with a social media post from a retired government official led environmental journalist Sharon Oosthoek on a virtual, pandemic-era journey deep into the waters of Lake Superior to chase down an algal bloom. In her contribution to FEJ StoryLog, Oosthoek shares how she leveraged the tip into a grant that allowed her and her TV channel partner to produce a multi-part text, video, engagement and teaching project.

SEJ Publication Types:
FEJ StoryLog [50]
Topics on the Beat:
Climate Change [5]
Environmental Health [8]
Fish & Fisheries [37]
Journalism & Media [14]
Natural Resources [15]
Pollution [31]
Water & Oceans [40]
Region:
National (U.S.) [20]
Great Lakes (IL IN MI MN OH WI) [51]
International [21]
Canada [52]
Visibility:
Public [26]
- Read more about Grantee Wades Into Surprising Blue-Green Algae Problem [49]
Newly Released Greenhouse Gas Inventory Offers Local Reporting Opportunities [53]

Updated data on U.S. emissions offers environmental journalists an opportunity to chase down local climate change news, whether from a range of sectors and industries, or from 8,000 major facilities, with tools that allow a county-by-county view. The latest Reporter’s Toolbox takes a look at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s annual release of the Inventory of U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Sinks.

SEJ Publication Types:
Reporters Toolbox [28]
Topics on the Beat:
Climate Change [5]
Government [44]
Journalism & Media [14]
Region:
National (U.S.) [20]
Visibility:
Public [26]
- Read more about Newly Released Greenhouse Gas Inventory Offers Local Reporting Opportunities [53]
Houston and Other Disasters at #SEJ2022 [54]

If it often feels like the world of environmental journalism is all dour worry over our collective futures, resident humorist David Helvarg is here to remind you that our present is just as scary — if for different, and funnier, reasons. In his latest lampoon of the Society of Environmental Journalists’ annual conference [55], Helvarg shares his trademark jests from Houston. Plus, (straighter) reportage from the gathering at the conference coverage page [56].

SEJ Publication Types:
Features [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Climate Change [5]
Environmental Health [8]
Environmental Politics [10]
Journalism & Media [14]
People & Population [16]
Pollution [31]
Water & Oceans [40]
Region:
National (U.S.) [20]
Southwest (AZ NM OK TX) [57]
Visibility:
Public [26]
- Read more about Houston and Other Disasters at #SEJ2022 [54]
Don’t Overlook Lead Paint Toxicity Stories in Your Area [58]

Lead poisoning of U.S. drinking water has been a big headline-grabber in recent years, but there’s an even bigger environmental justice crisis — toxic lead exposure from paint. The latest TipSheet reports that this overlooked school and housing issue is getting new attention, but solving it will be difficult and expensive. Get context, reporting resources and ideas to tackle the story in your community.

SEJ Publication Types:
TipSheet [33]
Topics on the Beat:
Chemicals [43]
Consumer [6]
Environmental Justice [9]
Government [44]
Health [30]
Infrastructure [48]
Journalism & Media [14]
Laws & Regulations [38]
People & Population [16]
Region:
National (U.S.) [20]
Great Lakes (IL IN MI MN OH WI) [51]
Visibility:
Public [26]
- Read more about Don’t Overlook Lead Paint Toxicity Stories in Your Area [58]
How Ireland’s Tree Farms, Licensed With Little Environmental Assessment, Harm Biodiversity, Rural Communities [59]

A crowdsourced, crowdfunded investigation on the damage caused by the spread of commercial spruce plantations, both to the biodiversity-rich areas of Ireland and the isolated farming communities where they are planted, was the subject of an award-winning report from journalist Niall Sargent. Find out how he ID’d the problem, overcame investigative challenges and ultimately told a human-centered, data-rich story. Our latest Inside Story Q&A.

SEJ Publication Types:
Inside Story [60]
Topics on the Beat:
Agriculture [3]
Biodiversity [4]
Economy & Business [7]
Environmental Health [8]
Environmental Justice [9]
Environmental Politics [10]
Forests [13]
Government [44]
Journalism & Media [14]
Natural Resources [15]
People & Population [16]
Region:
International [21]
Europe [24]
Visibility:
Public [26]
- Read more about How Ireland’s Tree Farms, Licensed With Little Environmental Assessment, Harm Biodiversity, Rural Communities [59]

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