Publication Items

Gas Prices Are Environment — and Human — Story [1]

As the Iran war effectively turns the Strait of Hormuz into a bottleneck for much of the world’s oil and natural gas, the price of gasoline in the United States has spiked, creating inflationary worries. So it’s a good time for journalists to remind their audiences of the overall environmental impacts of fossil fuels. TipSheet has more, including 10-plus story ideas and reporting resources.

SEJ Publication Types:
TipSheet [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Consumer [3]
Energy & Fuel [4]
Environmental Health [5]
Journalism & Media [6]
Military [7]
Natural Resources [8]
Transportation [9]
Region:
National (U.S.) [10]
International [11]
Middle East [12]
Visibility:
Public [13]
- Read more about Gas Prices Are Environment — and Human — Story [1]
Top Environment and Energy Topics To Watch in 2026 [14]

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 [14].

SEJ Publication Types:
SEJ News [15]
Topics on the Beat:
Activism [16]
Agriculture [17]
Air [18]
Biodiversity [19]
Chemicals [20]
Climate Change [21]
Disasters [22]
Economy & Business [23]
Energy & Fuel [4]
Environmental Health [5]
Environmental Justice [24]
Environmental Politics [25]
Environmental Studies [26]
Fish & Fisheries [27]
Forests [28]
Government [29]
Health [30]
Infrastructure [31]
Journalism & Media [6]
Laws & Regulations [32]
Military [7]
Natural Resources [8]
Policy [33]
Pollution [34]
Science [35]
Technology [36]
Waste [37]
Water & Oceans [38]
Wildlife [39]
Region:
National (U.S.) [10]
Alaska and Hawaii [40]
California [41]
Great Lakes (IL IN MI MN OH WI) [42]
Great Plains (IA KS ND NE MO SD) [43]
Mid-Atlantic (DC DE MD PA VA WV) [44]
Mountain West (CO ID MT NV UT WY) [45]
Northeast (CT MA ME NH NJ NY RI VT) [46]
Northwest (OR WA) [47]
SE (AL AR FL GA KY LA MS NC PR SC TN) [48]
Southwest (AZ NM OK TX) [49]
International [11]
Visibility:
Public [13]
- Read more about Top Environment and Energy Topics To Watch in 2026 [14]
Ecofiction — A Novel Approach to Environmental Truth-Telling [50]

Fiction and journalism might seem like polar opposites, but some environmental journalists find writing ecofiction is an ideal complement to their day jobs. Drawing on journalistic research skills and curiosity, ecofiction lets them explore environmental issues from a different angle while enjoying an opportunity to unleash their imaginations. Journalist-fictioneers Valerie Brown and Meg Turville-Heitz on working across genre boundaries.

SEJ Publication Types:
Features [51]
Topics on the Beat:
Journalism & Media [6]
Military [7]
Science [35]
Technology [36]
Wildlife [39]
Region:
National (U.S.) [10]
Mountain West (CO ID MT NV UT WY) [45]
International [11]
Asia [52]
Visibility:
Public [13]
- Read more about Ecofiction — A Novel Approach to Environmental Truth-Telling [50]
In West Bank, Hope for Future in Link Between Land and People [53]

On a tour of the West Bank this spring, Yessenia Funes found a region where the relationship between land and people serves as a counterweight to occupation and the threat of violence. For her Voices of Environmental Justice column, Funes exhorts fellow environment journalists to report on that struggle, through stories that touch on wildlife, wildfire, food, climate and more.

SEJ Publication Types:
Voices of Environmental Justice [54]
Topics on the Beat:
Agriculture [17]
Climate Change [21]
Environmental Justice [24]
Environmental Politics [25]
Food [55]
Government [29]
Journalism & Media [6]
Military [7]
People & Population [56]
Policy [33]
Water & Oceans [38]
Region:
International [11]
Middle East [12]
Visibility:
Public [13]
- Read more about In West Bank, Hope for Future in Link Between Land and People [53]
With Climate, an Undercurrent of Violence [57]

In his ambitious first book, “The Heat and the Fury: On the Frontlines of Climate Violence,” journalist Peter Schwartzstein explores how climate change explains conflict, even war. BookShelf editor Tom Henry calls it a deeply researched volume that makes a strong case for the connections between global warming, political instability and violence, not just in poorer regions but for the richer West as well.

SEJ Publication Types:
BookShelf [58]
Topics on the Beat:
Climate Change [21]
Disasters [22]
Environmental Health [5]
Environmental Justice [24]
Environmental Politics [25]
Government [29]
Military [7]
Natural Resources [8]
People & Population [56]
Policy [33]
Water & Oceans [38]
Region:
National (U.S.) [10]
International [11]
Africa [59]
Asia [52]
Europe [60]
Middle East [12]
Visibility:
Public [13]
- Read more about With Climate, an Undercurrent of Violence [57]
Making Sense of Jewish Perspectives on the Climate Story [61]

American Jews are heavily involved in climate action in both the political and civic realms. But current events in Israel and Gaza can make it hard for U.S. journalists to cover environmental stories important to Jews at home or abroad. Jewish freelancer Ethan Brown on differences and synergies between Israeli and American Jewish environmentalism and how to approach stories within each community.

SEJ Publication Types:
Features [51]
Topics on the Beat:
Activism [16]
Chemicals [20]
Climate Change [21]
Disasters [22]
Environmental Health [5]
Environmental Justice [24]
Environmental Politics [25]
Forests [28]
Government [29]
Journalism & Media [6]
Military [7]
People & Population [56]
Religion, Faith and Spirituality [62]
Region:
National (U.S.) [10]
International [11]
Middle East [12]
Visibility:
Public [13]
- Read more about Making Sense of Jewish Perspectives on the Climate Story [61]
Rockets and Bombs and Chemicals — The Environmental Horrors of War [63]

With the world in the midst of wars in Ukraine and the Gaza Strip, it’s time for journalists to appraise — and report on — the intersection of conflict and the environment, argues the new Backgrounder. That means considering the environment not only as a victim of war, but also as the cause of war and a means of carrying it out.

SEJ Publication Types:
Backgrounders [64]
Topics on the Beat:
Chemicals [20]
Climate Change [21]
Disasters [22]
Environmental Health [5]
Environmental Politics [25]
Government [29]
Health [30]
Journalism & Media [6]
Military [7]
People & Population [56]
Policy [33]
Water & Oceans [38]
Region:
National (U.S.) [10]
Great Lakes (IL IN MI MN OH WI) [42]
Mid-Atlantic (DC DE MD PA VA WV) [44]
Mountain West (CO ID MT NV UT WY) [45]
Northeast (CT MA ME NH NJ NY RI VT) [46]
SE (AL AR FL GA KY LA MS NC PR SC TN) [48]
International [11]
Africa [59]
Asia [52]
Europe [60]
Middle East [12]
Visibility:
Public [13]
- Read more about Rockets and Bombs and Chemicals — The Environmental Horrors of War [63]
What’s Ahead on Climate Justice, Climate Crisis Beat [65]

What environment stories will matter most in 2024 to communities of color and Indigenous communities? Columnist Yessenia Funes sheds light on concerns ranging from the environmental damage in Gaza and extreme weather across the United States to the fallout from the U.S. presidential election to the local impacts of the clean energy transition. Insights in the latest Voices of Environmental Justice.

SEJ Publication Types:
Voices of Environmental Justice [54]
Topics on the Beat:
Activism [16]
Climate Change [21]
Disasters [22]
Diversity [66]
Economy & Business [23]
Energy & Fuel [4]
Environmental Justice [24]
Environmental Politics [25]
Government [29]
Health [30]
Infrastructure [31]
Journalism & Media [6]
Military [7]
People & Population [56]
Planning & Growth [67]
Policy [33]
Pollution [34]
Water & Oceans [38]
Region:
National (U.S.) [10]
Alaska and Hawaii [40]
Northeast (CT MA ME NH NJ NY RI VT) [46]
SE (AL AR FL GA KY LA MS NC PR SC TN) [48]
International [11]
Middle East [12]
Visibility:
Public [13]
- Read more about What’s Ahead on Climate Justice, Climate Crisis Beat [65]
Epic Struggles Ahead in 2023 on Energy Transition, Pollution [68]

In our annual analysis of what’s ahead on the environment beat in 2023, there are some things to count on: worsening climate disasters and continued politicking over energy transitions, but also regulatory action on greenhouse gas emissions (not to mention on “forever chemicals”). Other things are less clear: environmental rulings by a conservative U.S. Supreme Court, energy impacts of war in Europe and the effectiveness of COP28 and treaty talks on plastic pollution. Read the full overview and get more in our “2023 Journalists’ Guide to Energy & Environment [69]” special report.

SEJ Publication Types:
Special Reports [70]
Topics on the Beat:
Activism [16]
Agriculture [17]
Air [18]
Biodiversity [19]
Chemicals [20]
Climate Change [21]
Disasters [22]
Economy & Business [23]
Energy & Fuel [4]
Environmental Justice [24]
Environmental Politics [25]
Fish & Fisheries [27]
Government [29]
Health [30]
Infrastructure [31]
Journalism & Media [6]
Laws & Regulations [32]
Military [7]
Natural Resources [8]
Planning & Growth [67]
Policy [33]
Pollution [34]
Science [35]
Waste [37]
Water & Oceans [38]
Region:
National (U.S.) [10]
International [11]
Europe [60]
Middle East [12]
Visibility:
Public [13]
- Read more about Epic Struggles Ahead in 2023 on Energy Transition, Pollution [68]
Documentary Tells of Human, Environmental Toll of Unexploded Ordnance [71]

A film by reporting duo Jerry Redfern and Karen Coates — supported by a grant from the Society of Environmental Journalists — shows the ongoing human and environmental harm of the unexploded U.S. bombs and other ordnance dropped on Southeast Asian villages during the Vietnam War. “Eternal Harvest,” which builds on their earlier book on the topic, was made painstakingly over years, and in the latest FEJ StoryLog, the couple explains their process and storytelling approach.

SEJ Publication Types:
FEJ StoryLog [72]
Topics on the Beat:
Agriculture [17]
Environmental Justice [24]
Health [30]
Journalism & Media [6]
Military [7]
People & Population [56]
Region:
International [11]
Asia [52]
Visibility:
Public [13]
- Read more about Documentary Tells of Human, Environmental Toll of Unexploded Ordnance [71]

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