Publication Items

Trump’s Public Health Agency Picks, Looking Peaked? [1]

Public health is an environmental story (think links between infectious disease and climate change, for example). So Trump administration nominees to head leading U.S. public health agencies — including vaccine skeptics, COVID-19 contrarians and physicians with little public health experience — are a story for environmental journalists to watch closely. The latest EJ TransitionWatch helps with a rundown of five top picks. Plus, the latest health headlines [2] from EJ Today.

SEJ Publication Types:
EJ TransitionWatch [3]
Topics on the Beat:
Climate Change [4]
Environmental Politics [5]
Government [6]
Health [2]
People & Population [7]
Policy [8]
Science [9]
Region:
National (U.S.) [10]
Visibility:
Public [11]
- Read more about Trump’s Public Health Agency Picks, Looking Peaked? [1]
Reporting on Illegal Wildlife Trade – Story Ideas, Safety Tips and More [12]

Illicit trade in wild animals and plants is a billion-dollar global business that threatens biodiversity and human health. Endless reporting opportunities range from exposing corruption and criminal networks to debunking claims about products derived from endangered species. Journalist Rene Ebersole shares insights from her 20 years on the trail of wildlife smugglers, poachers and other environmental lawbreakers — and introduces a new nonprofit dedicated to this beat.

SEJ Publication Types:
Features [13]
Topics on the Beat:
Biodiversity [14]
Consumer [15]
Economy & Business [16]
Fish & Fisheries [17]
Government [6]
Journalism & Media [18]
Laws & Regulations [19]
Wildlife [20]
Region:
National (U.S.) [10]
California [21]
SE (AL AR FL GA KY LA MS NC PR SC TN) [22]
International [23]
Mexico [24]
Africa [25]
Central America & the Caribbean [26]
Visibility:
Public [11]
- Read more about Reporting on Illegal Wildlife Trade – Story Ideas, Safety Tips and More [12]
EPA Science Integrity Threatened by House Republicans [27]

The closest thing the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has to a press policy is actually its scientific integrity policy. But as WatchDog Opinion writer Joseph Davis writes in the latest EJ TransitionWatch, the EPA’s scientific integrity policy is under direct attack by a powerful congressman. What’s behind the attack? And could the EPA’s science be under assault next?

SEJ Publication Types:
EJ TransitionWatch [3]
Topics on the Beat:
Chemicals [28]
Economy & Business [16]
Environmental Politics [5]
Environmental Studies [29]
Government [6]
Health [2]
Journalism & Media [18]
Policy [8]
Science [9]
Region:
National (U.S.) [10]
Visibility:
Public [11]
- Read more about EPA Science Integrity Threatened by House Republicans [27]
The Resilient Sea Turtle, Beset by Threats [30]

Sea turtles are in decline across the globe, victims of coastal development, algal blooms and, perhaps cruelest of all, plastic pollution. Marine biologist Christine Figgener, in a new book part memoir and part field guide, recounts the less than glamorous but rewarding work to spare them extinction, from arduous field work to viral video epiphanies. BookShelf editor Tom Henry reviews “My Life With Sea Turtles.”

SEJ Publication Types:
BookShelf [31]
Topics on the Beat:
Biodiversity [14]
Climate Change [4]
Environmental Health [32]
Environmental Studies [29]
Fish & Fisheries [17]
Pollution [33]
Science [9]
Water & Oceans [34]
Wildlife [20]
Region:
International [23]
Central America & the Caribbean [26]
Visibility:
Public [11]
- Read more about The Resilient Sea Turtle, Beset by Threats [30]
Will Trump ‘Disappear’ Environment, Climate Data? [35]

Might the incoming Trump administration attempt to blot out any data that undermines his environmental policies, especially around global warming? Many recall, for instance, the 2017 disappearing of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s informative climate change web pages. The new EJ TransitionWatch column explores the concern and offers a heartening assessment of the prospects of preserving these archives of essential information.

SEJ Publication Types:
EJ TransitionWatch [3]
Topics on the Beat:
Climate Change [4]
Environmental Politics [5]
Environmental Studies [29]
Government [6]
Policy [8]
Science [9]
Region:
National (U.S.) [10]
Visibility:
Public [11]
- Read more about Will Trump ‘Disappear’ Environment, Climate Data? [35]
Attention Press Officers — Read This Reporter’s Bill of Rights [36]

Under the last Trump White House — and in quite a few presidential administrations — shoddy treatment of journalists by federal agency press offices has been the norm. And WatchDog Opinion worries it will be even worse in the new Trump administration. So it’s time to remind public information officers what we journalists fairly expect. From the latest WatchDog, an updated reporter’s bill of rights.

SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog [37]
Topics on the Beat:
Environmental Politics [5]
Government [6]
Journalism & Media [18]
Policy [8]
Region:
National (U.S.) [10]
Visibility:
Public [11]
- Read more about Attention Press Officers — Read This Reporter’s Bill of Rights [36]
Is Fluoride Facing Phaseout in Your Community’s Drinking Water? [38]

Fluoridated drinking water has helped limit tooth decay in the United States for decades. But that could come to an end in the Trump administration, if fluoride nonfan Robert F. Kennedy Jr., slated to head Health and Human Services, has his way. In the first installment of SEJournal’s new weekly EJ TransitionWatch column, we examine the challenge to this public health success story. Plus, questions to ask and resources for your reporting.

SEJ Publication Types:
EJ TransitionWatch [3]
Topics on the Beat:
Activism [39]
Chemicals [28]
Consumer [15]
Environmental Politics [5]
Government [6]
Health [2]
Infrastructure [40]
Journalism & Media [18]
Laws & Regulations [19]
People & Population [7]
Policy [8]
Science [9]
Water & Oceans [34]
Region:
National (U.S.) [10]
Visibility:
Public [11]
- Read more about Is Fluoride Facing Phaseout in Your Community’s Drinking Water? [38]
Threats of Media Censorship Cloud COP29 [41]

Again this year, a petrostate hosts the COP climate gathering. Azerbaijan as host not only raises questions of how an oil-rich nation can help foster the fossil fuel cuts needed to stem climate change. But WatchDog Opinion also worries what Azerbaijan’s poor press freedom record will mean for journalists covering the gathering and for the civil society that normally enlivens the meeting.

SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog [37]
Topics on the Beat:
Activism [39]
Climate Change [4]
Economy & Business [16]
Energy & Fuel [42]
Environmental Justice [43]
Environmental Politics [5]
Government [6]
Journalism & Media [18]
Policy [8]
Region:
International [23]
Asia [44]
Europe [45]
Middle East [46]
Visibility:
Public [11]
- Read more about Threats of Media Censorship Cloud COP29 [41]
Trump Redux — What Will It Mean? [47]

Following Donald Trump’s election to a second term, SEJournal revisits our prospective coverage of his upcoming administration. Read what a Trump 2.0 would mean for the environment, take a closer look at how the Justice40 program hangs in balance and whether weather data would be withheld from the public. That, and more WatchDog Opinion columns on prospects under Trump. Plus, Trump-environment headlines.

SEJ Publication Types:
SEJ News [48]
Topics on the Beat:
Government [6]
Journalism & Media [18]
Region:
National (U.S.) [10]
Visibility:
Public [11]
- Read more about Trump Redux — What Will It Mean? [47]
As COP29 Begins, Where Can You Get Good Climate Emissions Data? [49]

The United Nation’s annual climate change meeting is underway this week and if you’re seeking databases on greenhouse gas emissions, the latest Reporter’s Toolbox suggests they might not be from the U.N. Instead, look for the best data from the European Commission’s EDGAR project. What makes EDGAR’s data particularly strong and how to make the best use of it in your reporting.

SEJ Publication Types:
Reporters Toolbox [50]
Topics on the Beat:
Climate Change [4]
Government [6]
Science [9]
Region:
International [23]
Asia [44]
Europe [45]
Visibility:
Public [11]
- Read more about As COP29 Begins, Where Can You Get Good Climate Emissions Data? [49]

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