Publication Items

In 2019, PFAS Chemicals Will Show Up in Drinking Water … and Headlines [1]

The vast and widely used PFAS family of chemicals is causing serious worries across the country, as it turns up in more and more drinking water systems. Pressure to regulate it is also growing, but with mixed results. This week’s TipSheet offers a detailed look-ahead on this big, developing story, with a walk-through of the context, what the EPA is (and isn’t) doing, and why states are stepping up.

SEJ Publication Types:
TipSheet [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Activism [3]
Air [4]
Chemicals [5]
Economy & Business [6]
Environmental Health [7]
Environmental Studies [8]
Government [9]
Health [10]
Journalism & Media [11]
Laws & Regulations [12]
Policy [13]
Pollution [14]
Science [15]
Water & Oceans [16]
Region:
National (U.S.) [17]
Great Lakes (IL IN MI MN OH WI) [18]
Mid-Atlantic (DC DE MD PA VA WV) [19]
Northeast (CT MA ME NH NJ NY RI VT) [20]
Northwest (OR WA) [21]
Visibility:
Public [22]
- Read more about In 2019, PFAS Chemicals Will Show Up in Drinking Water … and Headlines [1]
“Diet for a Changing Climate: Food for Thought” [23]

As our BookShelf column moves to a monthly schedule, we take a look at an imaginative take on how to deal with the spread of invasive species — eating them! A pair of children’s book authors offers insight into the problem for young adult readers (and the rest of us), along with recipes. Read our review.

SEJ Publication Types:
BookShelf [24]
Topics on the Beat:
Activism [3]
Agriculture [25]
Climate Change [26]
Consumer [27]
Food [28]
Region:
National (U.S.) [17]
International [29]
Visibility:
Public [22]
- Read more about “Diet for a Changing Climate: Food for Thought” [23]
Field Reporting Yields ‘Impact’ for Poaching Package [30]

A freelancer’s coverage of the international wildlife trade won one of the Society of Environmental Journalists’ top journalism awards this year for its combination of “fearless reporting and graceful writing.” SEJournal Online talks with award-winner Rachel Nuwer about the series, the benefits of field reporting and the project’s challenges, such as securing funding, all in the latest Inside Story Q&A. And good news for Inside Story fans — the quarterly feature is now upping its frequency to bi-monthly!

SEJ Publication Types:
Inside Story [31]
Topics on the Beat:
Biodiversity [32]
Economy & Business [6]
Journalism & Media [11]
Wildlife [33]
Region:
International [29]
Africa [34]
Asia [35]
Visibility:
Public [22]
- Read more about Field Reporting Yields ‘Impact’ for Poaching Package [30]
Flood Insurance Reform Remains Key Congressional Task [36]

With flooding from hurricanes and other climate disasters becoming the new normal, badly needed flood insurance reform continues to founder in the halls of Congress. The National Flood Insurance Program is billions of dollars in debt, and aid packages are doing little to get people out of flood-prone areas. Congress watchers will keep an eye on new House leadership for insurance solutions, although politically unpalatable rate hikes swamped the big reform. This week’s TipSheet has more on the story, with leads on what to watch in 2019.

SEJ Publication Types:
TipSheet [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Climate Change [26]
Consumer [27]
Disasters [37]
Economy & Business [6]
Environmental Politics [38]
Government [9]
Laws & Regulations [12]
People & Population [39]
Region:
National (U.S.) [17]
California [40]
Mid-Atlantic (DC DE MD PA VA WV) [19]
Northeast (CT MA ME NH NJ NY RI VT) [20]
SE (AL AR FL GA KY LA MS NC PR SC TN) [41]
Visibility:
Public [22]
- Read more about Flood Insurance Reform Remains Key Congressional Task [36]
Bear Stories Should Go Beyond Bare Facts [42]

Bears, particularly the plentiful black bears that are the source of much human-bear conflict, can serve as a opening to larger environmental stories, such as habitat destruction and the challenges of the “wildland-urban interface.” This week’s TipSheet has some of the good news/bad news on bears, with story ideas and resources for your reporting.

SEJ Publication Types:
TipSheet [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Climate Change [26]
Environmental Health [7]
Forests [43]
Journalism & Media [11]
Laws & Regulations [12]
Natural Resources [44]
People & Population [39]
Wildlife [33]
Region:
National (U.S.) [17]
Alaska and Hawaii [45]
California [40]
Great Lakes (IL IN MI MN OH WI) [18]
Great Plains (IA KS ND NE MO SD) [46]
Mountain West (CO ID MT NV UT WY) [47]
Northeast (CT MA ME NH NJ NY RI VT) [20]
Northwest (OR WA) [21]
SE (AL AR FL GA KY LA MS NC PR SC TN) [41]
International [29]
Canada [48]
Antarctica & Arctic [49]
Visibility:
Public [22]
- Read more about Bear Stories Should Go Beyond Bare Facts [42]
Pushback on White House, Info Access Summit, Records Destruction & more [50]

The Society of Environmental Journalists last week objected to the White House suspension of CNN reporter Jim Acosta after a contentious briefing with President Donald Trump and the release of a doctored video of the incident. SEJ joined numerous other journalism groups in fighting what it called unacceptable censorship. Details in this month’s WatchDog TipSheet. Plus, science writers host an “info access summit,” a look at issues around secrecy at the Interior Department and the CNN pipe bomb.

SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet [51]
Topics on the Beat:
Activism [3]
Biodiversity [32]
Environmental Politics [38]
Government [9]
Journalism & Media [11]
Natural Resources [44]
Policy [13]
Wildlife [33]
Region:
National (U.S.) [17]
Visibility:
Public [22]
- Read more about Pushback on White House, Info Access Summit, Records Destruction & more [50]
Incoming House Democrat Committee Chairs Promise News [52]

What will a divided Congress mean for environment and energy issues? This week’s TipSheet explores the question by looking at the Democrats who will now lead key House committees once the new Congress is seated next year. Take a lightning tour of a half-dozen top panels, their anticipated leadership and the issues they tackle, including drinking water safety, environmental justice and climate change, infrastructure, science policy, natural resources and more.

SEJ Publication Types:
TipSheet [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Activism [3]
Air [4]
Climate Change [26]
Economy & Business [6]
Energy & Fuel [53]
Environmental Politics [38]
Fish & Fisheries [54]
Forests [43]
Government [9]
Journalism & Media [11]
Laws & Regulations [12]
Natural Resources [44]
Policy [13]
Pollution [14]
Science [15]
Technology [55]
Transportation [56]
Water & Oceans [16]
Wildlife [33]
Region:
National (U.S.) [17]
Visibility:
Public [22]
- Read more about Incoming House Democrat Committee Chairs Promise News [52]
Wetlands Mitigation — Why Draining the Swamp Is a Local Story [57]

As the Trump administration challenges wetlands preservation policy under the Clean Water Act, an important related practice has come into question. Mitigation banking — the creation or preservation of one wetland to offset the loss of another — has become a billion-dollar industry. But as this week’s TipSheet reports, the legal and regulatory tangle aside, wetlands permitting and mitigation continues, likely near you. Tracking the local story.

SEJ Publication Types:
TipSheet [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Economy & Business [6]
Environmental Health [7]
Environmental Politics [38]
Fish & Fisheries [54]
Government [9]
Journalism & Media [11]
Laws & Regulations [12]
Military [58]
Natural Resources [44]
People & Population [39]
Planning & Growth [59]
Policy [13]
Water & Oceans [16]
Region:
National (U.S.) [17]
Visibility:
Public [22]
- Read more about Wetlands Mitigation — Why Draining the Swamp Is a Local Story [57]
Will Hackers Crash U.S. Energy, Environment Infrastructure? [60]

The vulnerability of critical U.S. infrastructure to cyberattacks has been a growing worry for years, as electric utilities, drinking water systems, chemical plants, nuclear plants, pipelines and more are the target of a burgeoning cadre of hackers. But for environmental and other journalists focused on the story, another problem has emerged: The secrecy that has long been part of the U.S. cybersecurity policy. In this comprehensive Backgrounder, SEJournal takes a look at the risk, the response and the resources to let reporters go deep on cyber warfare as an energy and environment story.

SEJ Publication Types:
Backgrounders [61]
Topics on the Beat:
Disasters [37]
Energy & Fuel [53]
Government [9]
Journalism & Media [11]
Laws & Regulations [12]
Military [58]
Nuclear Power & Radiation [62]
People & Population [39]
Planning & Growth [59]
Policy [13]
Technology [55]
Region:
National (U.S.) [17]
International [29]
Canada [48]
Asia [35]
Europe [63]
Visibility:
Public [22]
- Read more about Will Hackers Crash U.S. Energy, Environment Infrastructure? [60]
Hunting for Wildlife Stories? Go to a Wildlife Refuge [64]

Long-standing tensions between hunting and conservation mean stories for environmental reporters, especially as hunting season gets underway. But as this week’s TipSheet points out, much hunting also takes place in one of the nation’s most protected habitats — its national wildlife refuges. A look at why, and where, plus a scan of the landscape of sources and resources to tell the story more richly.

SEJ Publication Types:
TipSheet [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Fish & Fisheries [54]
Forests [43]
Government [9]
Journalism & Media [11]
Laws & Regulations [12]
Natural Resources [44]
Wildlife [33]
Region:
National (U.S.) [17]
Visibility:
Public [22]
- Read more about Hunting for Wildlife Stories? Go to a Wildlife Refuge [64]

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