Publication Items

OSHA Has Data. Does It Have Safety and Health? [1]

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 [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Chemicals [3]
Economy & Business [4]
Environmental Politics [5]
Health [6]
Journalism & Media [7]
Laws & Regulations [8]
Policy [9]
Region:
National (U.S.) [10]
Visibility:
Public [11]
- Read more about OSHA Has Data. Does It Have Safety and Health? [1]
Farm Bill Stuck in the Mud? [12]

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 [13]
Topics on the Beat:
Agriculture [14]
Chemicals [3]
Climate Change [15]
Consumer [16]
Economy & Business [4]
Environmental Health [17]
Environmental Politics [5]
Food [18]
Government [19]
Laws & Regulations [8]
People & Population [20]
Policy [9]
Pollution [21]
Water & Oceans [22]
Region:
National (U.S.) [10]
Visibility:
Public [11]
- Read more about Farm Bill Stuck in the Mud? [12]
Electric Shadyland — the Riddle of Rising Energy Bills [23]

While the Iran war has certainly brought on soaring oil prices, the rise in residential electricity costs may stem as much from the actions of a labyrinthine complex of federal and state utility regulators, writes the latest TipSheet. Start unraveling the factors here, with the backstory, and more than a dozen questions to ask and resources to tap.

SEJ Publication Types:
TipSheet [24]
Topics on the Beat:
Consumer [16]
Energy & Fuel [25]
Infrastructure [26]
Journalism & Media [7]
Laws & Regulations [8]
Policy [9]
Region:
National (U.S.) [10]
Visibility:
Public [11]
- Read more about Electric Shadyland — the Riddle of Rising Energy Bills [23]
‘Trade Secrets’ Keep Journalists, Public in the Dark [27]

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 [28]
Topics on the Beat:
Chemicals [3]
Economy & Business [4]
Environmental Politics [5]
Government [19]
Health [6]
Journalism & Media [7]
Laws & Regulations [8]
Policy [9]
Region:
National (U.S.) [10]
Visibility:
Public [11]
- Read more about ‘Trade Secrets’ Keep Journalists, Public in the Dark [27]
Extremely Hot Weather Cooks Up Unusually Awful Air Pollution [29]

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 [30]
Air [31]
Chemicals [3]
Climate Change [15]
Energy & Fuel [25]
Environmental Health [17]
Government [19]
Health [6]
Journalism & Media [7]
Laws & Regulations [8]
Pollution [21]
Transportation [32]
Region:
National (U.S.) [10]
International [33]
Visibility:
Public [11]
- Read more about Extremely Hot Weather Cooks Up Unusually Awful Air Pollution [29]
Taming the Freight Beast [34]

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 [35]
Topics on the Beat:
Activism [30]
Air [31]
Climate Change [15]
Consumer [16]
Economy & Business [4]
Energy & Fuel [25]
Environmental Health [17]
Environmental Justice [36]
Environmental Politics [5]
Government [19]
Health [6]
Infrastructure [26]
Journalism & Media [7]
Laws & Regulations [8]
Policy [9]
Pollution [21]
Technology [37]
Transportation [32]
Region:
National (U.S.) [10]
California [38]
Great Lakes (IL IN MI MN OH WI) [39]
Visibility:
Public [11]
- Read more about Taming the Freight Beast [34]
Reporters Uncover a State Parks Scandal in Florida [40]

Emailed documents and an anonymous memo set two Tampa Bay Times reporters to investigating government development plans for sensitive state lands. Max Chesnes and Emily L. Mahoney followed the fast-moving story for more than a year, approaching it as a drumbeat of scoops. Ultimately, the government reversed course. Read about this award-winning series in the latest Inside Story Q&A.

SEJ Publication Types:
Inside Story [41]
Topics on the Beat:
Activism [30]
Environmental Politics [5]
Government [19]
Journalism & Media [7]
Laws & Regulations [8]
Region:
National (U.S.) [10]
SE (AL AR FL GA KY LA MS NC PR SC TN) [42]
Visibility:
Public [11]
- Read more about Reporters Uncover a State Parks Scandal in Florida [40]
Trump Wants Nondisclosure Agreements for Federal Employees [43]

As if it’s not already hard enough for reporters to talk to civil servants, the Trump administration wants all federal government employees to sign a nondisclosure agreement that could cost them their jobs if they do. The new WatchDog Opinion column spotlights the dangers of such a policy and details the widespread opposition it has engendered.

SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog [28]
Topics on the Beat:
Government [19]
Journalism & Media [7]
Laws & Regulations [8]
Policy [9]
Region:
National (U.S.) [10]
Visibility:
Public [11]
- Read more about Trump Wants Nondisclosure Agreements for Federal Employees [43]
Why the Loss of Voting Rights Is a Climate Crisis [44]

When the Supreme Court further hollowed out the Voting Rights Act this spring, it augured a historic loss of civic power for Black communities. And with that comes a further blow — to progress on the environment. For as Voices of Environmental Justice columnist Yessenia Funes explains, key to climate policy are Black voters, and the Black legislators they bring into office.

SEJ Publication Types:
Voices of Environmental Justice [45]
Topics on the Beat:
Activism [30]
Climate Change [15]
Disasters [46]
Environmental Justice [36]
Environmental Politics [5]
Government [19]
Journalism & Media [7]
Laws & Regulations [8]
People & Population [20]
Policy [9]
Pollution [21]
Region:
National (U.S.) [10]
SE (AL AR FL GA KY LA MS NC PR SC TN) [42]
Southwest (AZ NM OK TX) [47]
Visibility:
Public [11]
- Read more about Why the Loss of Voting Rights Is a Climate Crisis [44]
Is Climate Disaster Insurance a Worsening Disaster? [48]

The growing disconnect between climate risk and risk insurance for homeowners is leaving millions on the knife-edge of economic disaster. But the latest TipSheet suggests that reality offers environmental journalists an opportunity to navigate the morass, community by community. Get more than a dozen story ideas and reporting resources in the latest column.

SEJ Publication Types:
TipSheet [24]
Topics on the Beat:
Climate Change [15]
Consumer [16]
Disasters [46]
Environmental Politics [5]
Government [19]
Journalism & Media [7]
Laws & Regulations [8]
People & Population [20]
Planning & Growth [49]
Policy [9]
Water & Oceans [22]
Wildlife [50]
Region:
National (U.S.) [10]
California [38]
SE (AL AR FL GA KY LA MS NC PR SC TN) [42]
Visibility:
Public [11]
- Read more about Is Climate Disaster Insurance a Worsening Disaster? [48]

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