Publication Items

A Renowned Birder Shatters the Audubon Myth [1]

In his fascinating volume about John James Audubon, world-renowned naturalist-writer-illustrator Kenn Kaufman pays homage to the artist but meticulously dissects the man, writes BookShelf Editor Tom Henry. A review of “The Birds That Audubon Missed: Discovery and Desire in the American Wilderness” depicts how Audubon, driven by the rivalries of his time, marred his own legacy with factual errors and outright fraud.

SEJ Publication Types:
BookShelf [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Biodiversity [3]
Environmental Politics [4]
Environmental Studies [5]
Science [6]
Wildlife [7]
Region:
National (U.S.) [8]
International [9]
Visibility:
Public [10]
- Read more about A Renowned Birder Shatters the Audubon Myth [1]
Could Beef Be the Route to a Bird Flu Pandemic? [11]

What goes on the backyard grill may be an important environmental story for any number of reasons. But as the latest TipSheet points out, one especially worrying one at the moment is the possibility that avian flu could jump species and create a public health crisis. Here’s what we know right now, along with story ideas and reporting resources.

SEJ Publication Types:
TipSheet [12]
Topics on the Beat:
Agriculture [13]
Consumer [14]
Food [15]
Health [16]
Journalism & Media [17]
Region:
National (U.S.) [8]
International [9]
Visibility:
Public [10]
- Read more about Could Beef Be the Route to a Bird Flu Pandemic? [11]
Should Weather Data Really Be Withheld From the Public? [18]

Project 2025, which many consider a blueprint for a second Trump term, calls for breaking up the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and pivoting its National Weather Service to commercial operations, shutting down its free flow of data to news outlets and others. WatchDog Opinion column argues a not-so-hidden motive is at the heart of these sweeping changes: the desire to obscure evidence of climate change.

SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog [19]
Topics on the Beat:
Climate Change [20]
Consumer [14]
Economy & Business [21]
Environmental Politics [4]
Government [22]
Journalism & Media [17]
Policy [23]
Science [6]
Region:
National (U.S.) [8]
Visibility:
Public [10]
- Read more about Should Weather Data Really Be Withheld From the Public? [18]
Investigation Explores Dueling Narratives for Addressing Climate Change [24]

Is carbon capture a climate solution or a dangerous distraction? That was the question that Inside Climate News reporter Nicholas Kusnetz asked in his award-winning explanatory series, “Pipe Dreams.” For Inside Story, Kusnetz talks of the challenges of writing about a technology that largely doesn’t yet exist, and the variety of story forms he used to explore the reality of industry promises.

SEJ Publication Types:
Inside Story [25]
Topics on the Beat:
Climate Change [20]
Economy & Business [21]
Energy & Fuel [26]
Environmental Justice [27]
Environmental Politics [4]
Government [22]
Infrastructure [28]
Journalism & Media [17]
Laws & Regulations [29]
Natural Resources [30]
People & Population [31]
Policy [23]
Pollution [32]
Technology [33]
Region:
National (U.S.) [8]
Southwest (AZ NM OK TX) [34]
International [9]
Visibility:
Public [10]
- Read more about Investigation Explores Dueling Narratives for Addressing Climate Change [24]
Worldview Data Expands Environment Reporter’s Strike Zone [35]

A sweeping array of satellites observes our planet and sends vast amounts of data back — data that the powerful NASA Worldview website can translate into graphic form to help journalists tell some of the environment beat’s most central stories. The latest Reporter’s Toolbox explores the strengths and weaknesses of Worldview in covering everything from wildfires and floods to climate.

SEJ Publication Types:
Reporters Toolbox [36]
Topics on the Beat:
Climate Change [20]
Environmental Health [37]
Government [22]
Journalism & Media [17]
Science [6]
Technology [33]
Region:
National (U.S.) [8]
International [9]
Visibility:
Public [10]
- Read more about Worldview Data Expands Environment Reporter’s Strike Zone [35]
Grant Brings Documentary Team to Chesapeake Bay’s Vastness [38]

New York-based documentarians Sebastian Tuinder and Duy Linh Tu took their multimedia skills on the road to explore the environmental problems plaguing the Chesapeake Bay. The resulting project, “Trouble in the Chesapeake,” was nominated for a local Emmy award and was credited with helping efforts to curb over-the-limit discharges from Maryland’s wastewater plants. Lessons learned from the grant-funded effort, in the latest FEJ StoryLog.

SEJ Publication Types:
FEJ StoryLog [39]
Topics on the Beat:
Agriculture [13]
Climate Change [20]
Environmental Health [37]
Fish & Fisheries [40]
Journalism & Media [17]
Natural Resources [30]
Pollution [32]
Waste [41]
Water & Oceans [42]
Region:
National (U.S.) [8]
Mid-Atlantic (DC DE MD PA VA WV) [43]
Visibility:
Public [10]
- Read more about Grant Brings Documentary Team to Chesapeake Bay’s Vastness [38]
Eco-Alternatives to the Perfect, Weedless Lawn [44]

A good and very localizable environmental story is right outside your front door … or at least outside your neighbor’s. Lawns and the myriad ways they are managed can provide a window into wildness, or resource use, or chemical pollution. The latest TipSheet offers more than a dozen story ideas and reporting resources, from xeriscaping and butterfly gardens to nurseries and planning boards.

SEJ Publication Types:
TipSheet [12]
Topics on the Beat:
Agriculture [13]
Chemicals [45]
Consumer [14]
Environmental Health [37]
Government [22]
Journalism & Media [17]
Laws & Regulations [29]
Planning & Growth [46]
Pollution [32]
Waste [41]
Water & Oceans [42]
Wildlife [7]
Region:
National (U.S.) [8]
International [9]
Visibility:
Public [10]
- Read more about Eco-Alternatives to the Perfect, Weedless Lawn [44]
Making Sense of Jewish Perspectives on the Climate Story [47]

American Jews are heavily involved in climate action in both the political and civic realms. But current events in Israel and Gaza can make it hard for U.S. journalists to cover environmental stories important to Jews at home or abroad. Jewish freelancer Ethan Brown on differences and synergies between Israeli and American Jewish environmentalism and how to approach stories within each community.

SEJ Publication Types:
Features [48]
Topics on the Beat:
Activism [49]
Chemicals [45]
Climate Change [20]
Disasters [50]
Environmental Health [37]
Environmental Justice [27]
Environmental Politics [4]
Forests [51]
Government [22]
Journalism & Media [17]
Military [52]
People & Population [31]
Religion, Faith and Spirituality [53]
Region:
National (U.S.) [8]
International [9]
Middle East [54]
Visibility:
Public [10]
- Read more about Making Sense of Jewish Perspectives on the Climate Story [47]
Sea Surface Temperature Data Tells Many Environmental Stories [55]

With hurricane season expected to kick into high gear, a key data source for reporters is sea surface temperatures. But this widely available information can also tell reporters something about many other water-related environment stories, whether algal blooms, bacterial risks to public health or the prospects for entire estuarine systems. The latest Reporter’s Toolbox helps you dip your toe into this important data pool.

SEJ Publication Types:
Reporters Toolbox [36]
Topics on the Beat:
Climate Change [20]
Environmental Health [37]
Fish & Fisheries [40]
Health [16]
Journalism & Media [17]
Science [6]
Water & Oceans [42]
Region:
National (U.S.) [8]
Mid-Atlantic (DC DE MD PA VA WV) [43]
SE (AL AR FL GA KY LA MS NC PR SC TN) [56]
Southwest (AZ NM OK TX) [34]
International [9]
Visibility:
Public [10]
- Read more about Sea Surface Temperature Data Tells Many Environmental Stories [55]
What Would Trump 2.0 Mean for the Environment? [57]

If former President Donald Trump recaptures the White House this fall, it would likely bring back a radical deregulatory, climate change-oblivious, fossil fuel-intensive environmental policy. But could the fallout be even greater? The new Issue Backgrounder examines how the Project 2025 agenda of Trump’s allies takes aim, in particular, at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

SEJ Publication Types:
Backgrounders [58]
Topics on the Beat:
Chemicals [45]
Climate Change [20]
Energy & Fuel [26]
Environmental Justice [27]
Environmental Politics [4]
Government [22]
Laws & Regulations [29]
Natural Resources [30]
Policy [23]
Water & Oceans [42]
Region:
International [9]
Visibility:
Public [10]
- Read more about What Would Trump 2.0 Mean for the Environment? [57]

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