Publication Items

Database of Flood Events Helps Cover Catastrophes, Past or Present [1]

A massive trove of mappable water data from the U.S. Geological Survey offers reporters resources to cover present-day flooding threats, compare them to past flood events or help prepare reporting for tomorrow’s disasters. According to the latest Reporter’s Toolbox, its various tools let you pinpoint immediate flooding, map future flood hazards and even configure phone alerts for breaking events.

SEJ Publication Types:
Reporters Toolbox [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Disasters [3]
Environmental Studies [4]
Government [5]
Journalism & Media [6]
Water & Oceans [7]
Wildlife [8]
Region:
National (U.S.) [9]
Visibility:
Public [10]
- Read more about Database of Flood Events Helps Cover Catastrophes, Past or Present [1]
Queer Ecology — A Powerful Lens for Reporting on Environmental Injustice [11]

Queer ecology is an evolving field that challenges traditional assumptions in science and explores LGBTQ+ experiences in an ecological context. It’s easy to catch your audience’s attention with stories about transitioning clownfish or same-sex albatross parenting. But as contributor Isaias Hernandez explains, queer ecology also offers journalists an important perspective for covering a range of environmental issues, from climate risk to pollution exposure, and reimagining environmental narratives.

SEJ Publication Types:
Features [12]
Topics on the Beat:
Activism [13]
Agriculture [14]
Air [15]
Biodiversity [16]
Climate Change [17]
Disasters [3]
Diversity [18]
Environmental Health [19]
Environmental Justice [20]
Environmental Politics [21]
Environmental Studies [4]
Health [22]
Journalism & Media [6]
People & Population [23]
Planning & Growth [24]
Science [25]
Wildlife [8]
Region:
National (U.S.) [9]
International [26]
Visibility:
Public [10]
- Read more about Queer Ecology — A Powerful Lens for Reporting on Environmental Injustice [11]
Tapping Into COP30 To Cover Indigenous Issues [27]

COP30 negotiators from around the world gather next week in Belém, Brazil, at the mouth of the Amazon River. Our Voices of Environmental Justice columnist Yessenia Funes says it’s a vital opportunity to engage with the Indigenous peoples who help protect the vast rainforest region — even for environmental reporters not there in person. Here’s how to tell their stories.

SEJ Publication Types:
Voices of Environmental Justice [28]
Topics on the Beat:
Agriculture [14]
Biodiversity [16]
Climate Change [17]
Economy & Business [29]
Energy & Fuel [30]
Environmental Health [19]
Environmental Justice [20]
Environmental Politics [21]
Forests [31]
Government [5]
Journalism & Media [6]
Natural Resources [32]
People & Population [23]
Planning & Growth [24]
Policy [33]
Pollution [34]
Water & Oceans [7]
Region:
International [26]
South America [35]
Visibility:
Public [10]
- Read more about Tapping Into COP30 To Cover Indigenous Issues [27]
Find Environmental Justice Stories With Grants Data [36]

Efforts under Trump 2.0 to cut funding for environmental justice programs may be the new reality, but the uncertain status of hundreds of Biden-era grants offers important local stories. And as Reporter’s Toolbox finds, a database that rescued federal grant information helps make that reporting possible, with coding by congressional district to put the conflict into political context.

SEJ Publication Types:
Reporters Toolbox [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Environmental Justice [20]
Environmental Politics [21]
Government [5]
Journalism & Media [6]
Policy [33]
Region:
National (U.S.) [9]
Visibility:
Public [10]
- Read more about Find Environmental Justice Stories With Grants Data [36]
Will Your Town Pass the Electric School Bus Acid Test? [37]

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 [38]
Topics on the Beat:
Air [15]
Climate Change [17]
Energy & Fuel [30]
Environmental Politics [21]
Government [5]
Health [22]
Infrastructure [39]
Journalism & Media [6]
Policy [33]
Pollution [34]
Technology [40]
Transportation [41]
Region:
National (U.S.) [9]
Visibility:
Public [10]
- Read more about Will Your Town Pass the Electric School Bus Acid Test? [37]
Why Media Consolidation Threatens Press Freedom, Democracy [42]

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 [43]
Topics on the Beat:
Economy & Business [29]
Government [5]
Journalism & Media [6]
Policy [33]
Region:
National (U.S.) [9]
Visibility:
Public [10]
- Read more about Why Media Consolidation Threatens Press Freedom, Democracy [42]
Drinking Water Database Opens Spigot on Local Stories [44]

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 [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Chemicals [45]
Consumer [46]
Health [22]
Infrastructure [39]
Journalism & Media [6]
Laws & Regulations [47]
Natural Resources [32]
Pollution [34]
Water & Oceans [7]
Region:
National (U.S.) [9]
Visibility:
Public [10]
- Read more about Drinking Water Database Opens Spigot on Local Stories [44]
Targets on Their Backs … and Ours? Reporting on Immigrant Farmworkers [48]

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 [12]
Topics on the Beat:
Activism [13]
Agriculture [14]
Environmental Justice [20]
Environmental Politics [21]
Food [49]
Government [5]
Health [22]
Journalism & Media [6]
Laws & Regulations [47]
People & Population [23]
Water & Oceans [7]
Region:
National (U.S.) [9]
California [50]
Visibility:
Public [10]
- Read more about Targets on Their Backs … and Ours? Reporting on Immigrant Farmworkers [48]
Toxic Fashion — A ‘Between the Lines’ Author Q&A [51]

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 [52]
Topics on the Beat:
Chemicals [45]
Consumer [46]
Economy & Business [29]
Environmental Justice [20]
Health [22]
Journalism & Media [6]
Region:
National (U.S.) [9]
International [26]
Asia [53]
Visibility:
Public [10]
- Read more about Toxic Fashion — A ‘Between the Lines’ Author Q&A [51]
DOE Climate ‘Endangerment’ Report Sparks Stormy Retort [54]

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 [55]
Topics on the Beat:
Climate Change [17]
Environmental Politics [21]
Environmental Studies [4]
Government [5]
Laws & Regulations [47]
Policy [33]
Science [25]
Region:
National (U.S.) [9]
International [26]
Visibility:
Public [10]
- Read more about DOE Climate ‘Endangerment’ Report Sparks Stormy Retort [54]

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