Publication Items

Top Environment and Energy Topics To Watch in 2026 [1]

Explore our 10th annual Journalists’ Guide to Environment + Energy, as we scour the beat to identify 15 top stories to put on your radar for 2026. Our updated format for the special report provides a quick read and a broad scope — with insights on climate change and environmental justice, bird and insect declines, data centers and deep sea mining, deregulation and PFAS and much more. Get started here [1].

SEJ Publication Types:
SEJ News [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Activism [3]
Agriculture [4]
Air [5]
Biodiversity [6]
Chemicals [7]
Climate Change [8]
Disasters [9]
Economy & Business [10]
Energy & Fuel [11]
Environmental Health [12]
Environmental Justice [13]
Environmental Politics [14]
Environmental Studies [15]
Fish & Fisheries [16]
Forests [17]
Government [18]
Health [19]
Infrastructure [20]
Journalism & Media [21]
Laws & Regulations [22]
Military [23]
Natural Resources [24]
Policy [25]
Pollution [26]
Science [27]
Technology [28]
Waste [29]
Water & Oceans [30]
Wildlife [31]
Region:
National (U.S.) [32]
Alaska and Hawaii [33]
California [34]
Great Lakes (IL IN MI MN OH WI) [35]
Great Plains (IA KS ND NE MO SD) [36]
Mid-Atlantic (DC DE MD PA VA WV) [37]
Mountain West (CO ID MT NV UT WY) [38]
Northeast (CT MA ME NH NJ NY RI VT) [39]
Northwest (OR WA) [40]
SE (AL AR FL GA KY LA MS NC PR SC TN) [41]
Southwest (AZ NM OK TX) [42]
International [43]
Visibility:
Public [44]
- Read more about Top Environment and Energy Topics To Watch in 2026 [1]
Citizen Pollution Monitors Face Industry Pushback, Legal Threats [45]

A steep decline in the enforcement of environmental laws means the monitoring of pollution by citizens is more important than ever. But as the latest TipSheet notes, some states have passed laws that severely constrain the use of citizen monitoring or the sharing of findings. Get the backstory, along with top reporting angles and resources for finding monitoring in your area.

SEJ Publication Types:
TipSheet [46]
Topics on the Beat:
Activism [3]
Air [5]
Environmental Health [12]
Environmental Justice [13]
Environmental Politics [14]
Environmental Studies [15]
Government [18]
Health [19]
Journalism & Media [21]
Laws & Regulations [22]
Pollution [26]
Science [27]
Water & Oceans [30]
Region:
National (U.S.) [32]
SE (AL AR FL GA KY LA MS NC PR SC TN) [41]
Visibility:
Public [44]
- Read more about Citizen Pollution Monitors Face Industry Pushback, Legal Threats [45]
Orphans and Zombies — Reporting on Abandoned Oil and Gas Wells Across the Country [47]

For more than a century, oil and gas companies have been drilling — and abandoning — wells across the country, leaving hundreds of thousands to potentially leak pollutants into the air, water and soil. Climate and environment reporter Martha Pskowski looks at how funding and regulatory issues are impacting efforts to identify and plug these wells, and offers resources for drilling into their story.

SEJ Publication Types:
Features [48]
Topics on the Beat:
Agriculture [4]
Air [5]
Climate Change [8]
Economy & Business [10]
Energy & Fuel [11]
Environmental Health [12]
Government [18]
Health [19]
Journalism & Media [21]
Laws & Regulations [22]
Natural Resources [24]
Policy [25]
Pollution [26]
Technology [28]
Water & Oceans [30]
Wildlife [31]
Region:
National (U.S.) [32]
Great Lakes (IL IN MI MN OH WI) [35]
Great Plains (IA KS ND NE MO SD) [36]
Mid-Atlantic (DC DE MD PA VA WV) [37]
Mountain West (CO ID MT NV UT WY) [38]
Southwest (AZ NM OK TX) [42]
Visibility:
Public [44]
- Read more about Orphans and Zombies — Reporting on Abandoned Oil and Gas Wells Across the Country [47]
Drinking Water Database Opens Spigot on Local Stories [49]

Drinking water may be ubiquitous in the United States, but that doesn’t mean it’s always safe. To report the answer in your community, the latest Reporter’s Toolbox suggests exploring the Safe Drinking Water Information System, a federal government database mandated by the Safe Drinking Water Act. Here’s how to use it to identify whether your local systems meet its standards.

SEJ Publication Types:
Reporters Toolbox [50]
Topics on the Beat:
Chemicals [7]
Consumer [51]
Health [19]
Infrastructure [20]
Journalism & Media [21]
Laws & Regulations [22]
Natural Resources [24]
Pollution [26]
Water & Oceans [30]
Region:
National (U.S.) [32]
Visibility:
Public [44]
- Read more about Drinking Water Database Opens Spigot on Local Stories [49]
Targets on Their Backs … and Ours? Reporting on Immigrant Farmworkers [52]

For years, state-sponsored programs have helped California farmworkers get much-needed access to clean water. But many immigrants now shun these services, afraid of exposure to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents. As Circle of Blue intern Anahita Banerjee dug into this story, she discovered that their fear extended to speaking with journalists — and that ICE activities threatened her own safety.

SEJ Publication Types:
Features [48]
Topics on the Beat:
Activism [3]
Agriculture [4]
Environmental Justice [13]
Environmental Politics [14]
Food [53]
Government [18]
Health [19]
Journalism & Media [21]
Laws & Regulations [22]
People & Population [54]
Water & Oceans [30]
Region:
National (U.S.) [32]
California [34]
Visibility:
Public [44]
- Read more about Targets on Their Backs … and Ours? Reporting on Immigrant Farmworkers [52]
DOE Climate ‘Endangerment’ Report Sparks Stormy Retort [55]

When the Trump Energy Department issued a report this summer questioning a central precept of U.S. climate change policy, it kicked off an angry backlash from scientific experts who fear it undermines decades of peer-reviewed research — and the very basis for climate action. Backgrounder scrutinizes the DOE report and the climate skeptics behind it, as well as the furious response.

SEJ Publication Types:
Backgrounders [56]
Topics on the Beat:
Climate Change [8]
Environmental Politics [14]
Environmental Studies [15]
Government [18]
Laws & Regulations [22]
Policy [25]
Science [27]
Region:
National (U.S.) [32]
International [43]
Visibility:
Public [44]
- Read more about DOE Climate ‘Endangerment’ Report Sparks Stormy Retort [55]
Coal Ash Is an Issue That Just Won’t Stay Buried [57]

Even as the number of coal-fired power plants declines in the United States, the dangerous coal ash byproducts they generate are found in dumps in every state, threatening to leach toxins into drinking water supplies. The latest TipSheet examines why the problem won’t seem to go away, and offers 10 top story ideas and resources for reporting on coal ash in your locale.

SEJ Publication Types:
TipSheet [46]
Topics on the Beat:
Energy & Fuel [11]
Environmental Health [12]
Environmental Politics [14]
Journalism & Media [21]
Laws & Regulations [22]
Natural Resources [24]
Pollution [26]
Waste [29]
Water & Oceans [30]
Region:
National (U.S.) [32]
Visibility:
Public [44]
- Read more about Coal Ash Is an Issue That Just Won’t Stay Buried [57]
A Guide to Legal Resources [58]

Freelance journalists, including environmental reporters, need not brave legal woes alone, counsels Freelance Files co-editor Elyse Hauser. A wide variety of groups offers aid for everything from denials of access to assaults or arrests, and her latest entry IDs more than a dozen resources, including legal assistance, emergency financial help and more. Plus, how to prevent problems to begin with.

SEJ Publication Types:
Freelance Files [59]
Topics on the Beat:
Journalism & Media [21]
Laws & Regulations [22]
Region:
National (U.S.) [32]
International [43]
Visibility:
Public [44]
- Read more about A Guide to Legal Resources [58]
The Art of Access — Strategies for Acquiring Environmental Records [60]

As government resistance intensifies over sharing public records — especially environmental documents — journalists need to hone their skills to get the information they need to do their jobs and serve their audiences. FOIA expert David Cuillier offers tips and tactics to help you use your reporting time and dollars most effectively and ensure your public records requests produce high-quality results.

SEJ Publication Types:
Features [48]
Topics on the Beat:
Government [18]
Journalism & Media [21]
Laws & Regulations [22]
Policy [25]
Region:
National (U.S.) [32]
Visibility:
Public [44]
- Read more about The Art of Access — Strategies for Acquiring Environmental Records [60]
Trump Climate Science Denial Hinges on … Not Saying the Word [61]

A war on the facts behind climate change — and on the actions to address it — is well underway in the second Trump administration. The new WatchDog Opinion column takes the measure of the battlefront, eyeing key examples of the political onslaught, including a concerted effort to eradicate the very term itself. Regulations killed, research discredited, speech censored and more.

SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog [62]
Topics on the Beat:
Climate Change [8]
Energy & Fuel [11]
Environmental Justice [13]
Environmental Politics [14]
Environmental Studies [15]
Government [18]
Journalism & Media [21]
Laws & Regulations [22]
Planning & Growth [63]
Policy [25]
Science [27]
Region:
National (U.S.) [32]
Visibility:
Public [44]
- Read more about Trump Climate Science Denial Hinges on … Not Saying the Word [61]

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