Publication Items

Extreme Rainfall Offers Journalists a Deluge of Environment, Climate Stories [1]

The increased frequency and intensity of extreme precipitation presents environmental reporters with challenging coverage of flooding, property damage, insurance shortfalls and risk to human life, as well as about the climate change driving the downpours. The latest TipSheet offers context, story ideas and resources to cover such big storms in your area.

SEJ Publication Types:
TipSheet [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Climate Change [3]
Disasters [4]
Government [5]
Health [6]
Infrastructure [7]
Journalism & Media [8]
Laws & Regulations [9]
People & Population [10]
Planning & Growth [11]
Water & Oceans [12]
Region:
National (U.S.) [13]
SE (AL AR FL GA KY LA MS NC PR SC TN) [14]
Southwest (AZ NM OK TX) [15]
Visibility:
Public [16]
- Read more about Extreme Rainfall Offers Journalists a Deluge of Environment, Climate Stories [1]
Bird Migration Explorer Can Help Hatch Environmental Stories [17]

A new data mapper that allows users to track bird migrations is a cache of ideas for journalists looking to illustrate the connections between birds, habitats and human activity. The latest Reporter’s Toolbox takes a (non-geeky) look at the Bird Migration Explorer, how to best use it and the range of story possibilities it may yield.

SEJ Publication Types:
Reporters Toolbox [18]
Topics on the Beat:
Biodiversity [19]
Environmental Health [20]
Environmental Studies [21]
Journalism & Media [8]
Wildlife [22]
Region:
National (U.S.) [13]
International [23]
Visibility:
Public [16]
- Read more about Bird Migration Explorer Can Help Hatch Environmental Stories [17]
Reporting on Storm Chasing’s ‘Human Side’ Hints at Climate’s Future [24]

Writer Noah Gallagher Shannon followed scientists into the heart of the megastorms ravaging an agricultural region in Argentina, and in the process learned not just about their high-risk fieldwork and what these massive thunderstorms might tell us about the storms of the future in the United States, but also their impact on affected communities. Find out about his reporting experience in this Inside Story Q&A.

SEJ Publication Types:
Inside Story [25]
Topics on the Beat:
Agriculture [26]
Climate Change [3]
Disasters [4]
Environmental Justice [27]
Environmental Studies [21]
Journalism & Media [8]
People & Population [10]
Science [28]
Region:
International [23]
South America [29]
Visibility:
Public [16]
- Read more about Reporting on Storm Chasing’s ‘Human Side’ Hints at Climate’s Future [24]
EPA To Propose Plan Soon for First PFAS Drinking Water Rule [30]

Plans are nearing for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to regulate PFAS in drinking water — and the complexity around the effort will challenge environmental journalism. In the mix are questions of environmental persistence and health risks, plus thorny politics. Our Issue Backgrounder has guidance on these and more as PFAS regulation hits this critical juncture.

SEJ Publication Types:
Backgrounders [31]
Topics on the Beat:
Chemicals [32]
Consumer [33]
Economy & Business [34]
Environmental Health [20]
Environmental Politics [35]
Government [5]
Health [6]
Journalism & Media [8]
Laws & Regulations [9]
Policy [36]
Pollution [37]
Science [28]
Water & Oceans [12]
Region:
National (U.S.) [13]
Northeast (CT MA ME NH NJ NY RI VT) [38]
Visibility:
Public [16]
- Read more about EPA To Propose Plan Soon for First PFAS Drinking Water Rule [30]
Documentary Tells of Human, Environmental Toll of Unexploded Ordnance [39]

A film by reporting duo Jerry Redfern and Karen Coates — supported by a grant from the Society of Environmental Journalists — shows the ongoing human and environmental harm of the unexploded U.S. bombs and other ordnance dropped on Southeast Asian villages during the Vietnam War. “Eternal Harvest,” which builds on their earlier book on the topic, was made painstakingly over years, and in the latest FEJ StoryLog, the couple explains their process and storytelling approach.

SEJ Publication Types:
FEJ StoryLog [40]
Topics on the Beat:
Agriculture [26]
Environmental Justice [27]
Health [6]
Journalism & Media [8]
Military [41]
People & Population [10]
Region:
International [23]
Asia [42]
Visibility:
Public [16]
- Read more about Documentary Tells of Human, Environmental Toll of Unexploded Ordnance [39]
ESA Inaction Spells Trouble for an Iconic Grassland Bird [43]

The lesser prairie-chicken is in dire need of protection, but a decision on listing it under the Endangered Species Act is months overdue. Environmental reporter Mike Smith looks at the causes and potential consequences of the bureaucratic delay and muses on whether this unique bird will go the way of its even more imperiled relative, the Attwater’s prairie-chicken [44].

SEJ Publication Types:
Features [45]
Topics on the Beat:
Activism [46]
Agriculture [26]
Biodiversity [19]
Economy & Business [34]
Energy & Fuel [47]
Environmental Politics [35]
Government [5]
Laws & Regulations [9]
Natural Resources [48]
Policy [36]
Science [28]
Wildlife [22]
Region:
National (U.S.) [13]
Great Plains (IA KS ND NE MO SD) [49]
Mountain West (CO ID MT NV UT WY) [50]
SE (AL AR FL GA KY LA MS NC PR SC TN) [14]
Southwest (AZ NM OK TX) [15]
Visibility:
Public [16]
- Read more about ESA Inaction Spells Trouble for an Iconic Grassland Bird [43]
Could Biodiversity Be Bee’s Knees for Environmental Journalists This Fall? [51]

While a global gathering on biodiversity this winter will be news in itself, enterprising reporters can also find many biodiversity stories in their own backyards. The latest TipSheet offers insight into the domestic U.S. battle over endangered species, with a tale of a Tennessee dam, and a better understanding of the biodiversity-habitat connection. Plus, story ideas and reporting resources.

SEJ Publication Types:
TipSheet [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Activism [46]
Biodiversity [19]
Environmental Health [20]
Environmental Politics [35]
Fish & Fisheries [52]
Forests [53]
Government [5]
Journalism & Media [8]
Laws & Regulations [9]
Natural Resources [48]
Policy [36]
Water & Oceans [12]
Wildlife [22]
Region:
National (U.S.) [13]
SE (AL AR FL GA KY LA MS NC PR SC TN) [14]
International [23]
Visibility:
Public [16]
- Read more about Could Biodiversity Be Bee’s Knees for Environmental Journalists This Fall? [51]
How a Distant Chapter in Spice Trade Foretells Today’s Climate Chaos [54]

When Europeans colonized remote Indonesian islands centuries ago to dominate the trade in nutmeg and cloves, they were repeating a pattern of domination of peoples and nature that author Amitav Ghosh argues in his latest book has brought us to the present-day environmental crisis. BookShelf reviewer Melody Kemp offers praise for the book’s strong narrative qualities and incisive historical analysis.

SEJ Publication Types:
BookShelf [55]
Topics on the Beat:
Agriculture [26]
Climate Change [3]
Environmental Justice [27]
Environmental Politics [35]
Food [56]
Natural Resources [48]
People & Population [10]
Policy [36]
Region:
International [23]
Asia [42]
Visibility:
Public [16]
- Read more about How a Distant Chapter in Spice Trade Foretells Today’s Climate Chaos [54]
Climate Censorship, Part II, Courtesy Wall Street Journal’s Editorial Board [57]

A new quarrel over climate reporting, prompted by an editorial charging “censorship,” has the WatchDog troubled by the difficulty of finding a path for transparency. The latest WatchDog Opinion takes a look at the dispute, how online platforms like Twitter fit in and the limits of the laws on disinformation in the United States and Europe, all as part of an effort to chart a path forward for journalism.

SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog [58]
Topics on the Beat:
Activism [46]
Climate Change [3]
Environmental Politics [35]
Journalism & Media [8]
Laws & Regulations [9]
Region:
National (U.S.) [13]
International [23]
Europe [59]
Visibility:
Public [16]
- Read more about Climate Censorship, Part II, Courtesy Wall Street Journal’s Editorial Board [57]
Sleuths Tap Obscure Toxics Database To ID Loophole on PFAS [60]

Data specialists working with two databases, one familiar and one little-known, have uncovered how companies may be able to hide releases of the family of toxic PFAS chemicals. The latest Reporter’s Toolbox details the data revelation and explores how journalists may make use of the Chemical Data Reporting service’s datasets for their own stories.

SEJ Publication Types:
Reporters Toolbox [18]
Topics on the Beat:
Activism [46]
Chemicals [32]
Economy & Business [34]
Environmental Health [20]
Environmental Politics [35]
Government [5]
Health [6]
Journalism & Media [8]
Laws & Regulations [9]
Pollution [37]
Region:
National (U.S.) [13]
Visibility:
Public [16]
- Read more about Sleuths Tap Obscure Toxics Database To ID Loophole on PFAS [60]

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