Publication Items

Farm Bill Stuck in the Mud? [1]

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 [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Agriculture [3]
Chemicals [4]
Climate Change [5]
Consumer [6]
Economy & Business [7]
Environmental Health [8]
Environmental Politics [9]
Food [10]
Government [11]
Laws & Regulations [12]
People & Population [13]
Policy [14]
Pollution [15]
Water & Oceans [16]
Region:
National (U.S.) [17]
Visibility:
Public [18]
- Read more about Farm Bill Stuck in the Mud? [1]
‘Trade Secrets’ Keep Journalists, Public in the Dark [19]

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 [20]
Topics on the Beat:
Chemicals [4]
Economy & Business [7]
Environmental Politics [9]
Government [11]
Health [21]
Journalism & Media [22]
Laws & Regulations [12]
Policy [14]
Region:
National (U.S.) [17]
Visibility:
Public [18]
- Read more about ‘Trade Secrets’ Keep Journalists, Public in the Dark [19]
Extremely Hot Weather Cooks Up Unusually Awful Air Pollution [23]

Summertime and the livin' is smoggy. American air may be clearer now than when the Clean Air Act was passed in 1970, but pollutants still abound. Heat and sunlight stoke chemical reactions that exacerbate health hazards. And worsening wildfires mix in harmful smoke. The latest TipSheet has more than a dozen story ideas and reporting resources.

SEJ Publication Types:
TipSheet [24]
Topics on the Beat:
Activism [25]
Air [26]
Chemicals [4]
Climate Change [5]
Energy & Fuel [27]
Environmental Health [8]
Government [11]
Health [21]
Journalism & Media [22]
Laws & Regulations [12]
Pollution [15]
Transportation [28]
Region:
National (U.S.) [17]
International [29]
Visibility:
Public [18]
- Read more about Extremely Hot Weather Cooks Up Unusually Awful Air Pollution [23]
Risk Data Is There Despite Efforts To Hide It [30]

Hazmat risk data has long been subject to blackout efforts by industry. And now, Trump administration allies may change the rules to make existing information even harder to get. But Reporter’s Toolbox knows where journalists can still find the goods to support their reporting. Read on to learn about risks to the program in question — and Toolbox workarounds.

SEJ Publication Types:
Reporters Toolbox [31]
Topics on the Beat:
Air [26]
Chemicals [4]
Disasters [32]
Environmental Politics [9]
Government [11]
Journalism & Media [22]
Laws & Regulations [12]
Policy [14]
Pollution [15]
Region:
National (U.S.) [17]
Visibility:
Public [18]
- Read more about Risk Data Is There Despite Efforts To Hide It [30]
#SEJ2026 Live — Coverage of Conference Tours [33]

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 [34], Nathaniel Eisen [35], Nhung Nguyen [36] and Marlowe Starling [37] 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 [33] from our team of early-career freelance journalists, part of SEJournal’s live #SEJ2026 Live conference reporting.

SEJ Publication Types:
SEJ News [38]
Topics on the Beat:
Activism [25]
Agriculture [3]
Air [26]
Biodiversity [39]
Chemicals [4]
Climate Change [5]
Consumer [6]
Economy & Business [7]
Energy & Fuel [27]
Environmental Health [8]
Environmental Justice [40]
Environmental Politics [9]
Environmental Studies [41]
Food [10]
Forests [42]
Government [11]
Health [21]
Infrastructure [43]
Journalism & Media [22]
Laws & Regulations [12]
Natural Resources [44]
People & Population [13]
Planning & Growth [45]
Policy [14]
Pollution [15]
Science [46]
Technology [47]
Transportation [28]
Waste [48]
Water & Oceans [16]
Wildlife [49]
Region:
National (U.S.) [17]
Great Lakes (IL IN MI MN OH WI) [50]
Visibility:
Public [18]
- Read more about #SEJ2026 Live — Coverage of Conference Tours [33]
War and Pizza — #SEJ2026 in Chicago [51]

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 [38]
Topics on the Beat:
Agriculture [3]
Air [26]
Chemicals [4]
Climate Change [5]
Economy & Business [7]
Energy & Fuel [27]
Environmental Health [8]
Environmental Justice [40]
Environmental Politics [9]
Fish & Fisheries [52]
Government [11]
Health [21]
Journalism & Media [22]
Natural Resources [44]
Policy [14]
Pollution [15]
Science [46]
Waste [48]
Water & Oceans [16]
Region:
National (U.S.) [17]
Great Lakes (IL IN MI MN OH WI) [50]
Visibility:
Public [18]
- Read more about War and Pizza — #SEJ2026 in Chicago [51]
Report on PFAS Better, With a Better Mapping Tool [53]

If drinking water safety is on your beat, then keeping track of seesawing regulations around PFAS is a challenge. But as Reporter’s Toolbox writes, a powerful government data mapping tool can help you at least locate nearby PFAS facilities at a glance. What it does well and where it sources its underlying data, plus some suggestions on using it for your reporting.

SEJ Publication Types:
Reporters Toolbox [31]
Topics on the Beat:
Chemicals [4]
Consumer [6]
Environmental Health [8]
Health [21]
Journalism & Media [22]
Pollution [15]
Water & Oceans [16]
Region:
National (U.S.) [17]
Visibility:
Public [18]
- Read more about Report on PFAS Better, With a Better Mapping Tool [53]
Why I Write About Extinction [54]

Reporting on species who are gone forever can be disheartening, but don’t let that stop you. After more than two decades on the extinction beat, John R. Platt has learned this work can also be deeply rewarding. He explains why he’s stuck with it and why other journalists should consider joining him in telling the stories of vanishing animals and plants.

SEJ Publication Types:
Features [55]
Topics on the Beat:
Activism [25]
Biodiversity [39]
Chemicals [4]
Climate Change [5]
Environmental Studies [41]
Journalism & Media [22]
Pollution [15]
Religion, Faith and Spirituality [56]
Science [46]
Wildlife [49]
Region:
National (U.S.) [17]
International [29]
Visibility:
Public [18]
- Read more about Why I Write About Extinction [54]
Insect Decline Poses Foundational Ecological Hazards [57]

Bugs may get a bad rap, but a serious possible global decline in their populations is making clearer what may be lost for ecosystems and human societies. Issue Backgrounder peers beneath the detritus to find what insects do, how we try to kill them and how they survive, and why it’s so hard to pin down the data around their shifting numbers.

SEJ Publication Types:
Backgrounders [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Biodiversity [39]
Chemicals [4]
Environmental Health [8]
Natural Resources [44]
Pollution [15]
Science [46]
Region:
National (U.S.) [17]
International [29]
Visibility:
Public [18]
- Read more about Insect Decline Poses Foundational Ecological Hazards [57]
‘Poisoned for Gold’ Project Pricks Nation’s Conscience [58]

Two Ghanian video journalists traveled their country to document how contamination from illegal gold mining was harming the health of workers and nearby communities. Their resulting reporting not only won acclaim from their peers but also ignited a debate that resulted in the closing of polluting mining operations. Read more about their award-winning project and its impact in Inside Story Q&A.

SEJ Publication Types:
Inside Story [59]
Topics on the Beat:
Chemicals [4]
Disasters [32]
Economy & Business [7]
Environmental Health [8]
Environmental Justice [40]
Health [21]
Journalism & Media [22]
Natural Resources [44]
People & Population [13]
Pollution [15]
Waste [48]
Water & Oceans [16]
Region:
International [29]
Africa [60]
Visibility:
Public [18]
- Read more about ‘Poisoned for Gold’ Project Pricks Nation’s Conscience [58]

Pages