Publication Items

As Threat of Coal-Ash Pollution Grows, Data May Diminish [1]

Coal ash can contaminate surface and ground water with toxic heavy metals. But as this week’s TipSheet reports, Trump deregulation aims to loosen EPA rules on its disposal. That may mean a big local pollution story. If journalists can find the data, that is. The latest on the new rules, plus resources for coverage.

SEJ Publication Types:
TipSheet [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Chemicals [3]
Energy & Fuel [4]
Environmental Health [5]
Environmental Politics [6]
Government [7]
Health [8]
Journalism & Media [9]
Laws & Regulations [10]
Pollution [11]
Water & Oceans [12]
Region:
National (U.S.) [13]
Visibility:
Public [14]
- Read more about As Threat of Coal-Ash Pollution Grows, Data May Diminish [1]
Sun Doesn’t Shine at Trump Environmental Agencies [15]

There’s little cause to celebrate upcoming Sunshine Week for those who cover Trump administration environmental agencies. The latest WatchDog catalogues how the EPA has adopted a secretive approach and displays frequent hostility to the news media, including with a troubling series of attacks on individual journalists.

SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet [16]
Topics on the Beat:
Activism [17]
Chemicals [3]
Climate Change [18]
Consumer [19]
Disasters [20]
Economy & Business [21]
Environmental Politics [6]
Government [7]
Health [8]
Journalism & Media [9]
Laws & Regulations [10]
Policy [22]
Pollution [11]
Science [23]
Region:
National (U.S.) [13]
Visibility:
Public [14]
- Read more about Sun Doesn’t Shine at Trump Environmental Agencies [15]
EPA Mapping App Helps Find, Deepen Environmental Justice Stories [24]

As new research reminds us that pollution often disproportionately affects poor and minority communities in the United States, a long-standing mapping tool from the EPA can help reporters explore and discover those environmental justice stories nearest them. The latest TipSheet explains the problem, and walks you through the mapping app.

SEJ Publication Types:
TipSheet [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Activism [17]
Air [25]
Environmental Health [5]
Environmental Politics [6]
Environmental Studies [26]
Government [7]
Health [8]
Journalism & Media [9]
People & Population [27]
Pollution [11]
Technology [28]
Region:
National (U.S.) [13]
California [29]
Great Lakes (IL IN MI MN OH WI) [30]
Mid-Atlantic (DC DE MD PA VA WV) [31]
Mountain West (CO ID MT NV UT WY) [32]
Southwest (AZ NM OK TX) [33]
Visibility:
Public [14]
- Read more about EPA Mapping App Helps Find, Deepen Environmental Justice Stories [24]
“Yellowstone Migrations” [34]

A photographer undertook an artistic and scientific odyssey that was inspired by an ancient migration now imperiled by human encroachment. His new volume tracks the mythical journeys taken by pronghorn, mule deer and elk through the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. BookShelf reviews Joe Riis’ “Yellowstone Migrations.”

SEJ Publication Types:
BookShelf [35]
Topics on the Beat:
Biodiversity [36]
Energy & Fuel [4]
Environmental Health [5]
Natural Resources [37]
Science [23]
Wildlife [38]
Region:
Mountain West (CO ID MT NV UT WY) [32]
Visibility:
Public [14]
- Read more about “Yellowstone Migrations” [34]
“Whitewash: The Story of a Weed Killer, Cancer, and the Corruption of Science” [39]

A hard-nosed account of Monsanto and its controversial and popular herbicide Roundup comes in a new book by a former wire service reporter, who pieced together documentation and fact-finding from over 20 years to make a case there was a dangerous cover-up. BookShelf reviews Carey Gillam’s “Whitewash.”

SEJ Publication Types:
BookShelf [35]
Topics on the Beat:
Activism [17]
Agriculture [40]
Air [25]
Chemicals [3]
Consumer [19]
Economy & Business [21]
Environmental Health [5]
Food [41]
Government [7]
Health [8]
Journalism & Media [9]
Laws & Regulations [10]
Natural Resources [37]
Region:
National (U.S.) [13]
Visibility:
Public [14]
- Read more about “Whitewash: The Story of a Weed Killer, Cancer, and the Corruption of Science” [39]
“The Gulf: The Making of an American Sea” [42]

A new book on the Gulf of Mexico earns kudos for the balance and passion of its tone, as well as for its historical storytelling about this important ecosystem and the overfishing, oil spills, hurricanes, explosive growth and poor land-use decisions it faces. BookShelf reviews Jack Davis’ “The Gulf.”

SEJ Publication Types:
BookShelf [35]
Topics on the Beat:
Biodiversity [36]
Disasters [20]
Economy & Business [21]
Energy & Fuel [4]
Environmental Health [5]
Environmental Politics [6]
Fish & Fisheries [43]
Natural Resources [37]
People & Population [27]
Planning & Growth [44]
Policy [22]
Pollution [11]
Water & Oceans [12]
Region:
SE (AL AR FL GA KY LA MS NC PR SC TN) [45]
Southwest (AZ NM OK TX) [33]
Mexico [46]
Central America & the Caribbean [47]
Visibility:
Public [14]
- Read more about “The Gulf: The Making of an American Sea” [42]
Abandoned Mines — Stories Beneath Your Feet [48]

They count in the tens, perhaps hundreds of thousands, and each one is a potential story. This week’s TipSheet looks at abandoned mines spread across the United States, many of them polluted, and with few cleanups underway. Find out what’s at stake, and get reporting resources.

SEJ Publication Types:
TipSheet [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Disasters [20]
Energy & Fuel [4]
Government [7]
Journalism & Media [9]
Laws & Regulations [10]
Natural Resources [37]
Pollution [11]
Waste [49]
Region:
National (U.S.) [13]
Mountain West (CO ID MT NV UT WY) [32]
Visibility:
Public [14]
- Read more about Abandoned Mines — Stories Beneath Your Feet [48]
Trump, Congress Face Test on Infrastructure Politics, Funding [50]

Infrastructure is much in the news these days, with battles over politics and funding yielding stories for environment reporters. In play are a Trump plan, who gets to pick projects, who pays and much more. But in an election year, how likely are infrastructure plans to move forward? The backstory, with angles for environment and energy, plus what to watch for in 2018, in our Backgrounder on infrastructure.

SEJ Publication Types:
Backgrounders [51]
Topics on the Beat:
Climate Change [18]
Economy & Business [21]
Energy & Fuel [4]
Environmental Politics [6]
Government [7]
Laws & Regulations [10]
Planning & Growth [44]
Policy [22]
Technology [28]
Transportation [52]
Waste [49]
Water & Oceans [12]
Region:
National (U.S.) [13]
Visibility:
Public [14]
- Read more about Trump, Congress Face Test on Infrastructure Politics, Funding [50]
Tools and Contacts for Covering Infrastructure [53]

Covering local infrastructure projects often means covering energy and the environment. This week’s TipSheet offers a companion to our special backgrounder on the national infrastructure story emerging out of Washington. We’ve got dozens of resources and links for finding infrastructure news and information from Congress, executive agencies, infrastructure organizations and environmental groups.

SEJ Publication Types:
TipSheet [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Activism [17]
Economy & Business [21]
Energy & Fuel [4]
Environmental Politics [6]
Government [7]
Health [8]
Journalism & Media [9]
Laws & Regulations [10]
Natural Resources [37]
Planning & Growth [44]
Policy [22]
Pollution [11]
Technology [28]
Transportation [52]
Waste [49]
Region:
National (U.S.) [13]
Visibility:
Public [14]
- Read more about Tools and Contacts for Covering Infrastructure [53]
Environmental Impact Statements a Key Tool for Reporters, But for How Long? [54]

For decades, federal law has required environmental impact statements for big federal actions, like the building of dams, highways and more. Those impact statements, a valued reporting tool, may now be under threat. This week’s TipSheet explains how journalists can find them and use them, and why they could be at risk.

SEJ Publication Types:
TipSheet [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Environmental Politics [6]
Environmental Studies [26]
Government [7]
Journalism & Media [9]
Laws & Regulations [10]
Planning & Growth [44]
Policy [22]
Region:
National (U.S.) [13]
Visibility:
Public [14]
- Read more about Environmental Impact Statements a Key Tool for Reporters, But for How Long? [54]

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