Publication Items

Tree Equity Score Offers Aid in Covering Urban Tree Issues [1]

Urban tree cover is no luxury, but rather an important environmental and public health necessity. And for years the lack of urban trees has harmed socioeconomically disadvantaged neighborhoods. To help report on tree cover in U.S. urban areas — and to track it against environmental justice measures — the latest Reporter’s Toolbox spotlights an extensive tree equity scoring database.

SEJ Publication Types:
Reporters Toolbox [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Climate Change [3]
Environmental Health [4]
Environmental Justice [5]
Health [6]
Journalism & Media [7]
People & Population [8]
Region:
National (U.S.) [9]
Visibility:
Public [10]
- Read more about Tree Equity Score Offers Aid in Covering Urban Tree Issues [1]
Solar Panel Stories Can Shine for Local, Regional Reporters [11]

As the solar panel business resurges, the wide scope of possible regional and local story angles — climate, tech, consumer, business, jobs, air quality and grid reliability — make bright prospects for journalists. The latest TipSheet sets out recent political and market developments, along with more than a dozen story ideas and reporting resources.

SEJ Publication Types:
TipSheet [12]
Topics on the Beat:
Climate Change [3]
Consumer [13]
Economy & Business [14]
Energy & Fuel [15]
Environmental Politics [16]
Government [17]
Infrastructure [18]
Journalism & Media [7]
Natural Resources [19]
Policy [20]
Technology [21]
Region:
National (U.S.) [9]
International [22]
Asia [23]
Visibility:
Public [10]
- Read more about Solar Panel Stories Can Shine for Local, Regional Reporters [11]
Journalists Team Up To Continue Colleagues’ Work Exposing Mining Risks [24]

Environmental journalists around the world sometimes pay for their work with their freedom, safety or even their lives. The Forbidden Stories network continues the reporting of some of those journalists, and a team there recently produced an award-winning collaboration to investigate troubles at mining giants in Central America, South Asia and East Africa. “The Green Blood Project” in this month’s Inside Story.

SEJ Publication Types:
Inside Story [25]
Topics on the Beat:
Activism [26]
Disasters [27]
Economy & Business [14]
Environmental Health [4]
Environmental Justice [5]
Environmental Politics [16]
Health [6]
Journalism & Media [7]
Natural Resources [19]
People & Population [8]
Pollution [28]
Waste [29]
Water & Oceans [30]
Region:
International [22]
Africa [31]
Asia [23]
Central America & the Caribbean [32]
Visibility:
Public [10]
- Read more about Journalists Team Up To Continue Colleagues’ Work Exposing Mining Risks [24]
DOJ Double-Dribbles on Leak Subpoenas, As Probes Start [33]

Leaks are a vital source of information for the news media, but shifting White House policy on pursuing the source of leaks has created confusion and worry among news practitioners. WatchDog Opinion calls for clearer signals from the Biden administration and renews support for a federal shield law to help journalists protect their sources.

SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog [34]
Topics on the Beat:
Government [17]
Journalism & Media [7]
Laws & Regulations [35]
Policy [20]
Region:
National (U.S.) [9]
Visibility:
Public [10]
- Read more about DOJ Double-Dribbles on Leak Subpoenas, As Probes Start [33]
Drilling for Data on Offshore Wells [36]

For reporters covering the long-standing conflict over offshore drilling, which erupted again this month after a federal judge blocked a halt to new leases, an Interior Department database offers a wealth of data about offshore wells. The latest Reporter’s Toolbox walks you through the maze of bureaucracy behind the database, and then provides detailed guidance on how to make the most of its info.

SEJ Publication Types:
Reporters Toolbox [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Economy & Business [14]
Energy & Fuel [15]
Environmental Health [4]
Environmental Politics [16]
Government [17]
Journalism & Media [7]
Natural Resources [19]
Policy [20]
Water & Oceans [30]
Region:
National (U.S.) [9]
Alaska and Hawaii [37]
Mid-Atlantic (DC DE MD PA VA WV) [38]
Northeast (CT MA ME NH NJ NY RI VT) [39]
Visibility:
Public [10]
- Read more about Drilling for Data on Offshore Wells [36]
Boom and Bust — Two Books Explore Working-Class Communities in the Clean Energy Transition [40]

For a clean energy transition to succeed, it almost certainly will have to bring along displaced workers and communities. To help journalists understand the challenges underlying that shift, BookShelf’s Jenny Weeks reviews two volumes. The first is a new memoir of working in North Dakota’s booming Bakken oil fields, the second an earlier account of decline in a working-class community in Oregon.

SEJ Publication Types:
BookShelf [41]
Topics on the Beat:
Economy & Business [14]
Energy & Fuel [15]
Environmental Justice [5]
Environmental Politics [16]
Health [6]
People & Population [8]
Policy [20]
Region:
National (U.S.) [9]
Great Plains (IA KS ND NE MO SD) [42]
Northwest (OR WA) [43]
Visibility:
Public [10]
- Read more about Boom and Bust — Two Books Explore Working-Class Communities in the Clean Energy Transition [40]
Uncovering Inequality’s Roots in Timber Poaching [44]

Journalist Lyndsie Bourgon had covered timber poaching in the Pacific Northwest for over a decade when she decided to expand her scope, heading to the Peruvian Amazon to explore old-growth poaching there. In FEJ StoryLog, she shares the ups and downs of that project, made possible in part by a grant from the Society of Environmental Journalists’ Fund for Environmental Journalism.

SEJ Publication Types:
FEJ StoryLog [45]
Topics on the Beat:
Environmental Health [4]
Environmental Justice [5]
Environmental Politics [16]
Forests [46]
Journalism & Media [7]
Natural Resources [19]
People & Population [8]
Region:
National (U.S.) [9]
Northwest (OR WA) [43]
International [22]
Canada [47]
South America [48]
Visibility:
Public [10]
- Read more about Uncovering Inequality’s Roots in Timber Poaching [44]
Irrigation Districts Are Key to Covering Coming Drought [49]

With megadrought a growing reality, one way into the story is through ubiquitous water management agencies. TipSheet surveys the “waterscape” of these governmental bodies — from local irrigation districts to multi-state regional water compacts — and how focusing on them can yield vital insights for drought stories. Plus, questions to ask and links to reporting resources.

SEJ Publication Types:
TipSheet [12]
Topics on the Beat:
Agriculture [50]
Climate Change [3]
Consumer [13]
Disasters [27]
Environmental Health [4]
Environmental Politics [16]
Fish & Fisheries [51]
Government [17]
Infrastructure [18]
Journalism & Media [7]
Laws & Regulations [35]
Natural Resources [19]
People & Population [8]
Planning & Growth [52]
Water & Oceans [30]
Region:
National (U.S.) [9]
Visibility:
Public [10]
- Read more about Irrigation Districts Are Key to Covering Coming Drought [49]
Is Investor Activism Really Greening Corporate Policy? [53]

Corporate boardrooms are increasingly arenas in the fight over the future of energy and the environment, making it vital for journalists to understand the players, their motivations and the potential impacts on business planning. The new Issue Backgrounder explores the implications of recent news around investment policy, explaining some of its origins and deciphering the shifting scrimmage ahead.

SEJ Publication Types:
Backgrounders [54]
Topics on the Beat:
Activism [26]
Climate Change [3]
Consumer [13]
Economy & Business [14]
Energy & Fuel [15]
Environmental Politics [16]
Journalism & Media [7]
Policy [20]
Region:
National (U.S.) [9]
International [22]
Visibility:
Public [10]
- Read more about Is Investor Activism Really Greening Corporate Policy? [53]
Forest Service Offers Mapping Database on Potential Wildfire Hazards [55]

With a particularly dangerous wildfire season ahead, environmental journalists can better cover the heightened risk with a specialized U.S. Forest Service database. It predicts fire risk using a range of frequently updated variables like amount and condition of fuel, drought and topography, then maps it in high resolution with overlays of human structures and populations. The latest Reporter’s Toolbox has more on the database, and details how to make smart use of it.

SEJ Publication Types:
Reporters Toolbox [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Climate Change [3]
Disasters [27]
Forests [46]
Journalism & Media [7]
Region:
National (U.S.) [9]
Visibility:
Public [10]
- Read more about Forest Service Offers Mapping Database on Potential Wildfire Hazards [55]

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