Publication Items

Kelp — The Understory, Underwater [1]

Massive kelp groves, little-noticed despite their proximity to populated coastlines or their importance to ecosystems and to us humans, face numerous pressures and a drastic decline. In “Forest of the Sea,” author David Helvarg dives into the subject, literally, to help reveal this unique undersea world. BookShelf contributing editor Jennifer Weeks has a review.

SEJ Publication Types:
BookShelf [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Biodiversity [3]
Climate Change [4]
Environmental Health [5]
Fish & Fisheries [6]
Natural Resources [7]
Pollution [8]
Water & Oceans [9]
Region:
National (U.S.) [10]
International [11]
Visibility:
Public [12]
- Read more about Kelp — The Understory, Underwater [1]
Graphic Content — Journalistic Lessons From Crossing Genres [13]

Today’s teens are growing up in a world of conspicuous climate change, often directly affected by its consequences. Despite their youth, some are at the forefront of the fight against this threat. Freelance journalist and author Meera Subramanian — co-creator of a new nonfiction graphic novel about young climate campaigners — on teens as sources, activism as a topic and the pleasures of collaboration. See a sample of the book [14].

SEJ Publication Types:
Features [15]
Topics on the Beat:
Activism [16]
Biodiversity [3]
Climate Change [4]
Disasters [17]
Diversity [18]
Environmental Health [5]
Environmental Justice [19]
Environmental Politics [20]
Environmental Studies [21]
Health [22]
Journalism & Media [23]
Pollution [8]
Religion, Faith and Spirituality [24]
Science [25]
Region:
National (U.S.) [10]
Northeast (CT MA ME NH NJ NY RI VT) [26]
International [11]
Visibility:
Public [12]
- Read more about Graphic Content — Journalistic Lessons From Crossing Genres [13]
In Subzero Temperatures, Protecting a Tiger in the Snow [27]

The population of Siberian tigers, the second-largest subspecies in the world, took a turn for the worse after the fall of the Soviet Union. But an international team of biologists in remote Russia has been working to try to save the big cats. “Tigers Between Empires” traces that effort, in a new BookShelf review from contributing editor Jennifer Weeks.

SEJ Publication Types:
BookShelf [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Biodiversity [3]
Science [25]
Wildlife [28]
Region:
International [11]
Asia [29]
Visibility:
Public [12]
- Read more about In Subzero Temperatures, Protecting a Tiger in the Snow [27]
#SEJ2026 Live — Coverage of Conference Tours [30]

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 [31], Nathaniel Eisen [32], Nhung Nguyen [33] and Marlowe Starling [34] 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 [30] from our team of early-career freelance journalists, part of SEJournal’s live #SEJ2026 Live conference reporting.

SEJ Publication Types:
SEJ News [35]
Topics on the Beat:
Activism [16]
Agriculture [36]
Air [37]
Biodiversity [3]
Chemicals [38]
Climate Change [4]
Consumer [39]
Economy & Business [40]
Energy & Fuel [41]
Environmental Health [5]
Environmental Justice [19]
Environmental Politics [20]
Environmental Studies [21]
Food [42]
Forests [43]
Government [44]
Health [22]
Infrastructure [45]
Journalism & Media [23]
Laws & Regulations [46]
Natural Resources [7]
People & Population [47]
Planning & Growth [48]
Policy [49]
Pollution [8]
Science [25]
Technology [50]
Transportation [51]
Waste [52]
Water & Oceans [9]
Wildlife [28]
Region:
National (U.S.) [10]
Great Lakes (IL IN MI MN OH WI) [53]
Visibility:
Public [12]
- Read more about #SEJ2026 Live — Coverage of Conference Tours [30]
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 [15]
Topics on the Beat:
Activism [16]
Biodiversity [3]
Chemicals [38]
Climate Change [4]
Environmental Studies [21]
Journalism & Media [23]
Pollution [8]
Religion, Faith and Spirituality [24]
Science [25]
Wildlife [28]
Region:
National (U.S.) [10]
International [11]
Visibility:
Public [12]
- Read more about Why I Write About Extinction [54]
NASA Earthdata Offers a New Look at What Satellites See Down Here [55]

The capacity to visualize Earth’s ecosystems in detail is an invaluable aid to reporting on the environment. That’s now being bolstered with an ongoing upgrade to NASA’s Earthdata program, fueled by its ranks of satellites. Reporter’s Toolbox says the refurbishment offers treasures for journalists ranging from oceans, groundwater and land surfaces to the biosphere and atmosphere.

SEJ Publication Types:
Reporters Toolbox [56]
Topics on the Beat:
Biodiversity [3]
Climate Change [4]
Environmental Health [5]
Journalism & Media [23]
Natural Resources [7]
Science [25]
Technology [50]
Water & Oceans [9]
Region:
National (U.S.) [10]
International [11]
Visibility:
Public [12]
- Read more about NASA Earthdata Offers a New Look at What Satellites See Down Here [55]
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 [58]
Topics on the Beat:
Biodiversity [3]
Chemicals [38]
Environmental Health [5]
Natural Resources [7]
Pollution [8]
Science [25]
Region:
National (U.S.) [10]
International [11]
Visibility:
Public [12]
- Read more about Insect Decline Poses Foundational Ecological Hazards [57]
The Joy of Rewilding [59]

Rewilding is a global movement to restore natural processes and boost biodiversity. It’s also the name of an online magazine launched by journalists Kat Tancock and Domini Clark. Their goal? To expose more people to the concept and inspire action through positive storytelling. Co-founder Tancock on the magazine’s editorial vision, opportunities for freelancers to contribute and what rewilding means to her.

SEJ Publication Types:
Features [15]
Topics on the Beat:
Activism [16]
Agriculture [36]
Biodiversity [3]
Climate Change [4]
Environmental Health [5]
Journalism & Media [23]
Science [25]
Wildlife [28]
Region:
National (U.S.) [10]
Great Lakes (IL IN MI MN OH WI) [53]
International [11]
Canada [60]
Mexico [61]
Europe [62]
Visibility:
Public [12]
- Read more about The Joy of Rewilding [59]
Spring Is Coming. How Silent Will It Be? [63]

Bird populations remain in steep decline, mostly due to human activity. But as the latest TipSheet reports, reporting on the disappearance of our avian residents can lead journalists to some bread-and-butter environmental stories: whether about local ecosystems, climate change, chemicals, land disturbance and more. Read on for more, including nearly a dozen-and-a-half story ideas and reporting resources.

SEJ Publication Types:
TipSheet [64]
Topics on the Beat:
Biodiversity [3]
Chemicals [38]
Climate Change [4]
Environmental Health [5]
Environmental Studies [21]
Health [22]
Wildlife [28]
Region:
National (U.S.) [10]
International [11]
Canada [60]
Visibility:
Public [12]
- Read more about Spring Is Coming. How Silent Will It Be? [63]
Even in This Toxic River — A Salmon Story [65]

Seattle’s heavily polluted Duwamish River is no place to catch fish — except for salmon, which pass quickly through these troubled waters on their way from the sea to their freshwater spawning grounds. With fishing pole in hand, environmental journalist Alex Brown joins jostling crowds of industrial-zone anglers and catches a firsthand view of a spectacle that is both anomalous and awe-inspiring.

SEJ Publication Types:
Features [15]
Topics on the Beat:
Biodiversity [3]
Chemicals [38]
Environmental Health [5]
Fish & Fisheries [6]
Food [42]
Pollution [8]
Water & Oceans [9]
Wildlife [28]
Region:
National (U.S.) [10]
Northwest (OR WA) [66]
Visibility:
Public [12]
- Read more about Even in This Toxic River — A Salmon Story [65]

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