Publication Items

Extremely Hot Weather Cooks Up Unusually Awful Air Pollution [1]

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 [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Activism [3]
Air [4]
Chemicals [5]
Climate Change [6]
Energy & Fuel [7]
Environmental Health [8]
Government [9]
Health [10]
Journalism & Media [11]
Laws & Regulations [12]
Pollution [13]
Transportation [14]
Region:
National (U.S.) [15]
International [16]
Visibility:
Public [17]
- Read more about Extremely Hot Weather Cooks Up Unusually Awful Air Pollution [1]
Taming the Freight Beast [18]

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 [19]
Topics on the Beat:
Activism [3]
Air [4]
Climate Change [6]
Consumer [20]
Economy & Business [21]
Energy & Fuel [7]
Environmental Health [8]
Environmental Justice [22]
Environmental Politics [23]
Government [9]
Health [10]
Infrastructure [24]
Journalism & Media [11]
Laws & Regulations [12]
Policy [25]
Pollution [13]
Technology [26]
Transportation [14]
Region:
National (U.S.) [15]
California [27]
Great Lakes (IL IN MI MN OH WI) [28]
Visibility:
Public [17]
- Read more about Taming the Freight Beast [18]
Reporters Uncover a State Parks Scandal in Florida [29]

Emailed documents and an anonymous memo set two Tampa Bay Times reporters to investigate 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 [30]
Topics on the Beat:
Activism [3]
Environmental Politics [23]
Government [9]
Journalism & Media [11]
Laws & Regulations [12]
Region:
National (U.S.) [15]
SE (AL AR FL GA KY LA MS NC PR SC TN) [31]
Visibility:
Public [17]
- Read more about Reporters Uncover a State Parks Scandal in Florida [29]
Climate Data Site Spiked, Resurrected by Ex-NOAA Employees [32]

An effort by the Trump administration to tank a highly useful data source on climate change trends has met impressive resistance — in the form of a group of fired NOAA staffers who have rebuilt the climate.gov website stripped by the federal government. And as the latest Toolbox notes, it’s a great resource. Reacquaint yourself with it.

SEJ Publication Types:
Reporters Toolbox [33]
Topics on the Beat:
Activism [3]
Climate Change [6]
Environmental Politics [23]
Environmental Studies [34]
Government [9]
Science [35]
Region:
National (U.S.) [15]
International [16]
Visibility:
Public [17]
- Read more about Climate Data Site Spiked, Resurrected by Ex-NOAA Employees [32]
Trump Wants Nondisclosure Agreements for Federal Employees [36]

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 [37]
Topics on the Beat:
Government [9]
Journalism & Media [11]
Laws & Regulations [12]
Policy [25]
Region:
National (U.S.) [15]
Visibility:
Public [17]
- Read more about Trump Wants Nondisclosure Agreements for Federal Employees [36]
Why the Loss of Voting Rights Is a Climate Crisis [38]

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 [39]
Topics on the Beat:
Activism [3]
Climate Change [6]
Disasters [40]
Environmental Justice [22]
Environmental Politics [23]
Government [9]
Journalism & Media [11]
Laws & Regulations [12]
People & Population [41]
Policy [25]
Pollution [13]
Region:
National (U.S.) [15]
SE (AL AR FL GA KY LA MS NC PR SC TN) [31]
Southwest (AZ NM OK TX) [42]
Visibility:
Public [17]
- Read more about Why the Loss of Voting Rights Is a Climate Crisis [38]
Great Lakes Steelmaking at a Crossroads [43]

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 [19]
Topics on the Beat:
Activism [3]
Air [4]
Climate Change [6]
Economy & Business [21]
Energy & Fuel [7]
Environmental Politics [23]
Government [9]
Health [10]
Natural Resources [44]
Pollution [13]
Technology [26]
Water & Oceans [45]
Region:
National (U.S.) [15]
Great Lakes (IL IN MI MN OH WI) [28]
SE (AL AR FL GA KY LA MS NC PR SC TN) [31]
International [16]
Asia [46]
Visibility:
Public [17]
- Read more about Great Lakes Steelmaking at a Crossroads [43]
Is Climate Disaster Insurance a Worsening Disaster? [47]

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 [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Climate Change [6]
Consumer [20]
Disasters [40]
Environmental Politics [23]
Government [9]
Journalism & Media [11]
Laws & Regulations [12]
People & Population [41]
Planning & Growth [48]
Policy [25]
Water & Oceans [45]
Wildlife [49]
Region:
National (U.S.) [15]
California [27]
SE (AL AR FL GA KY LA MS NC PR SC TN) [31]
Visibility:
Public [17]
- Read more about Is Climate Disaster Insurance a Worsening Disaster? [47]
Risk Data Is There Despite Efforts To Hide It [50]

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 [33]
Topics on the Beat:
Air [4]
Chemicals [5]
Disasters [40]
Environmental Politics [23]
Government [9]
Journalism & Media [11]
Laws & Regulations [12]
Policy [25]
Pollution [13]
Region:
National (U.S.) [15]
Visibility:
Public [17]
- Read more about Risk Data Is There Despite Efforts To Hide It [50]
Why Environmental Journalists Should Care About the Presidential Records Act [51]

It may not seem at first glance like an environmental matter, but the Trump Justice Department’s declaration that the Presidential Records Act is unconstitutional potentially undermines the preservation of key administration records, warns WatchDog Opinion. That includes all kinds of environmental policy decision-making by the president, White House and other executive branch staff. Here’s why we need the act.

SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog [37]
Topics on the Beat:
Environmental Politics [23]
Government [9]
Journalism & Media [11]
Laws & Regulations [12]
Policy [25]
Region:
National (U.S.) [15]
Visibility:
Public [17]
- Read more about Why Environmental Journalists Should Care About the Presidential Records Act [51]

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