Publication Items

Behind the Crime Rings Trafficking Sand [1]

An investigative journalism pair shone a light on an important but rarely reported subject with huge environmental consequences: the illegal trafficking of massive quantities of natural sand from African countries. Read an interview with Inside Story about their award-winning reporting and learn what surprised them most and how they overcame the story’s unique challenges.

SEJ Publication Types:
Inside Story [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Economy & Business [3]
Environmental Health [4]
Environmental Justice [5]
Natural Resources [6]
Region:
International [7]
Africa [8]
Visibility:
Public [9]
- Read more about Behind the Crime Rings Trafficking Sand [1]
Grazing Data Unlocks Public Land Stories [10]

The Interior Department keeps an extensive database of thousands of permits it issues to use federal lands for grazing livestock. And as the latest Reporter’s Toolbox notes, that data can readily be used as an investigative tool to look for one thing the government would rather the public not see — a penchant for permit partiality.

SEJ Publication Types:
Reporters Toolbox [11]
Topics on the Beat:
Agriculture [12]
Economy & Business [3]
Environmental Politics [13]
Government [14]
Journalism & Media [15]
Natural Resources [6]
Policy [16]
Region:
National (U.S.) [17]
Mountain West (CO ID MT NV UT WY) [18]
Southwest (AZ NM OK TX) [19]
Visibility:
Public [9]
- Read more about Grazing Data Unlocks Public Land Stories [10]
OSHA Has Data. Does It Have Safety and Health? [20]

Occupational exposure to toxic chemicals can serve as an early warning system for broader public risks, just one reason the extensive data gathered by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration is a valuable tool for environmental journalists — even if much of the resulting reporting focuses on agency failings. Reporter’s Toolbox on OSHA datasets.

SEJ Publication Types:
Reporters Toolbox [11]
Topics on the Beat:
Chemicals [21]
Economy & Business [3]
Environmental Politics [13]
Health [22]
Journalism & Media [15]
Laws & Regulations [23]
Policy [16]
Region:
National (U.S.) [17]
Visibility:
Public [9]
- Read more about OSHA Has Data. Does It Have Safety and Health? [20]
Farm Bill Stuck in the Mud? [24]

The Farm Bill — omnibus legislation that affects the food supply of millions of Americans, as well as their air, water and soil — is bogged down in hyperpartisan division. But as Backgrounder outlines, environmental journalists would be wise to track how Congress ultimately uses it to address matters like land and water conservation, rural water supply and pollution, pesticides and more.

SEJ Publication Types:
Backgrounders [25]
Topics on the Beat:
Agriculture [12]
Chemicals [21]
Climate Change [26]
Consumer [27]
Economy & Business [3]
Environmental Health [4]
Environmental Politics [13]
Food [28]
Government [14]
Laws & Regulations [23]
People & Population [29]
Policy [16]
Pollution [30]
Water & Oceans [31]
Region:
National (U.S.) [17]
Visibility:
Public [9]
- Read more about Farm Bill Stuck in the Mud? [24]
Decarbonizing Energy Systems With Clean Firm Power [32]

Solar and wind power are critical for combating climate change, but some energy experts warn they won’t be enough. Their vision for an emissions-free grid depends on technologies ranging from long-duration batteries to nuclear reactors. Journalist Nicolás Rivero on clean firm power’s potential, the challenges ahead and how Big Tech is driving the pursuit of always-on zero-carbon electricity.

SEJ Publication Types:
Features [33]
Topics on the Beat:
Climate Change [26]
Economy & Business [3]
Energy & Fuel [34]
Government [14]
Infrastructure [35]
Nuclear Power & Radiation [36]
Policy [16]
Pollution [30]
Science [37]
Technology [38]
Region:
National (U.S.) [17]
Great Lakes (IL IN MI MN OH WI) [39]
Great Plains (IA KS ND NE MO SD) [40]
Mid-Atlantic (DC DE MD PA VA WV) [41]
Visibility:
Public [9]
- Read more about Decarbonizing Energy Systems With Clean Firm Power [32]
‘Trade Secrets’ Keep Journalists, Public in the Dark [42]

So-called confidential business information is a major obstacle to the dissemination of knowledge about environmental threats for the public, cautions WatchDog Opinion. Part of the problem is how federal agencies treat requests for confidentiality, and so is the way environmental laws handle the issue. A look at the worst offenders, and a call for journalists to break through the veil of secrecy.

SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog [43]
Topics on the Beat:
Chemicals [21]
Economy & Business [3]
Environmental Politics [13]
Government [14]
Health [22]
Journalism & Media [15]
Laws & Regulations [23]
Policy [16]
Region:
National (U.S.) [17]
Visibility:
Public [9]
- Read more about ‘Trade Secrets’ Keep Journalists, Public in the Dark [42]
Taming the Freight Beast [44]

The U.S. freight system delivers significant environmental impacts nationwide, especially in states that host major rail-and-road hubs and seaports. Meanwhile, new federal laws and policies are making it harder to curtail pollution generated by freight trucks, trains and warehouses. Journalist John Lippert looks at how the public, private and nonprofit sectors are rising to this challenge.

SEJ Publication Types:
Features [33]
Topics on the Beat:
Activism [45]
Air [46]
Climate Change [26]
Consumer [27]
Economy & Business [3]
Energy & Fuel [34]
Environmental Health [4]
Environmental Justice [5]
Environmental Politics [13]
Government [14]
Health [22]
Infrastructure [35]
Journalism & Media [15]
Laws & Regulations [23]
Policy [16]
Pollution [30]
Technology [38]
Transportation [47]
Region:
National (U.S.) [17]
California [48]
Great Lakes (IL IN MI MN OH WI) [39]
Visibility:
Public [9]
- Read more about Taming the Freight Beast [44]
Great Lakes Steelmaking at a Crossroads [49]

The Great Lakes region is a top steel producer, but its coal-fired steel mills are also a major source of planet-warming emissions and health-harming pollution. Climate advocates, community members and workers have been pushing to clean up these facilities for decades. Now, foreign funding offers new hope for revitalizing and decarbonizing the region’s steel industry. Canary Media’s Maria Gallucci explains.

SEJ Publication Types:
Features [33]
Topics on the Beat:
Activism [45]
Air [46]
Climate Change [26]
Economy & Business [3]
Energy & Fuel [34]
Environmental Politics [13]
Government [14]
Health [22]
Natural Resources [6]
Pollution [30]
Technology [38]
Water & Oceans [31]
Region:
National (U.S.) [17]
Great Lakes (IL IN MI MN OH WI) [39]
SE (AL AR FL GA KY LA MS NC PR SC TN) [50]
International [7]
Asia [51]
Visibility:
Public [9]
- Read more about Great Lakes Steelmaking at a Crossroads [49]
#SEJ2026 Live — Coverage of Conference Tours [52]

SEJournal is providing full coverage of all eight of the day-long tours from the annual Society of Environmental Journalists’ conference, April 15-18, in Chicago. In Part 2, contributors Meg Duff [53], Nathaniel Eisen [54], Nhung Nguyen [55] and Marlowe Starling [56] provide detailed reports from tours focused on the transitioning steel industry, microgrids, climate-friendly crop practices and evolving Midwestern agricultural systems.

Also check out the first round of tour coverage and read all the great work [52] from our team of early-career freelance journalists, part of SEJournal’s live #SEJ2026 Live conference reporting.

SEJ Publication Types:
SEJ News [57]
Topics on the Beat:
Activism [45]
Agriculture [12]
Air [46]
Biodiversity [58]
Chemicals [21]
Climate Change [26]
Consumer [27]
Economy & Business [3]
Energy & Fuel [34]
Environmental Health [4]
Environmental Justice [5]
Environmental Politics [13]
Environmental Studies [59]
Food [28]
Forests [60]
Government [14]
Health [22]
Infrastructure [35]
Journalism & Media [15]
Laws & Regulations [23]
Natural Resources [6]
People & Population [29]
Planning & Growth [61]
Policy [16]
Pollution [30]
Science [37]
Technology [38]
Transportation [47]
Waste [62]
Water & Oceans [31]
Wildlife [63]
Region:
National (U.S.) [17]
Great Lakes (IL IN MI MN OH WI) [39]
Visibility:
Public [9]
- Read more about #SEJ2026 Live — Coverage of Conference Tours [52]
War and Pizza — #SEJ2026 in Chicago [64]

Nearly as rejuvenating as attending the Society of Environmental Journalists’ annual gathering is perusing the après-conference spoof by contributing quipster David Helvarg. While it seemed he was mostly there unabashedly preselling his forthcoming book, he somehow found time to send up SEJ’s earnest sessions, lambast its blown-up tours and rib its beat dinners. Read his Chicago roast.

SEJ Publication Types:
SEJ News [57]
Topics on the Beat:
Agriculture [12]
Air [46]
Chemicals [21]
Climate Change [26]
Economy & Business [3]
Energy & Fuel [34]
Environmental Health [4]
Environmental Justice [5]
Environmental Politics [13]
Fish & Fisheries [65]
Government [14]
Health [22]
Journalism & Media [15]
Natural Resources [6]
Policy [16]
Pollution [30]
Science [37]
Waste [62]
Water & Oceans [31]
Region:
National (U.S.) [17]
Great Lakes (IL IN MI MN OH WI) [39]
Visibility:
Public [9]
- Read more about War and Pizza — #SEJ2026 in Chicago [64]

Pages