Publication Items

Reporters Expose Failed Systems After Hurricane Ian, Maui Fires [1]

In the wake of two major disasters, beat reporters at The Washington Post examined systemic failures in response and recovery, and the human toll for affected communities. Journalist Brianna Sacks shares what she learned from those investigations, which won a large market award for beat reporting from the Society of Environmental Journalists. Read our Inside Story Q&A.

SEJ Publication Types:
Inside Story [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Disasters [3]
Environmental Politics [4]
Journalism & Media [5]
People & Population [6]
Policy [7]
Region:
National (U.S.) [8]
California [9]
SE (AL AR FL GA KY LA MS NC PR SC TN) [10]
Visibility:
Public [11]
- Read more about Reporters Expose Failed Systems After Hurricane Ian, Maui Fires [1]
#SEJ2026 Live — Coverage of Conference Tours [12]

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 [13], Nathaniel Eisen [14], Nhung Nguyen [15] and Marlowe Starling [16] 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 [12] from our team of early-career freelance journalists, part of SEJournal’s live #SEJ2026 Live conference reporting.

SEJ Publication Types:
SEJ News [17]
Topics on the Beat:
Activism [18]
Agriculture [19]
Air [20]
Biodiversity [21]
Chemicals [22]
Climate Change [23]
Consumer [24]
Economy & Business [25]
Energy & Fuel [26]
Environmental Health [27]
Environmental Justice [28]
Environmental Politics [4]
Environmental Studies [29]
Food [30]
Forests [31]
Government [32]
Health [33]
Infrastructure [34]
Journalism & Media [5]
Laws & Regulations [35]
Natural Resources [36]
People & Population [6]
Planning & Growth [37]
Policy [7]
Pollution [38]
Science [39]
Technology [40]
Transportation [41]
Waste [42]
Water & Oceans [43]
Wildlife [44]
Region:
National (U.S.) [8]
Great Lakes (IL IN MI MN OH WI) [45]
Visibility:
Public [11]
- Read more about #SEJ2026 Live — Coverage of Conference Tours [12]
Why the Silencing of Protest Matters [46]

As the Trump administration and its allies seek to stifle free speech and paint protest as domestic terrorism, Voices columnist Yessenia Funes argues that environmental journalists must heed the impact on the environmental movement we cover. Start with what happened in Standing Rock, which swept back into the news this spring. Funes explains the connection, and where we may be headed.

SEJ Publication Types:
Voices of Environmental Justice [47]
Topics on the Beat:
Activism [18]
Climate Change [23]
Energy & Fuel [26]
Environmental Health [27]
Environmental Justice [28]
Environmental Politics [4]
Government [32]
Journalism & Media [5]
Natural Resources [36]
People & Population [6]
Policy [7]
Pollution [38]
Religion, Faith and Spirituality [48]
Water & Oceans [43]
Region:
National (U.S.) [8]
Great Lakes (IL IN MI MN OH WI) [45]
Great Plains (IA KS ND NE MO SD) [49]
SE (AL AR FL GA KY LA MS NC PR SC TN) [10]
Visibility:
Public [11]
- Read more about Why the Silencing of Protest Matters [46]
‘Poisoned for Gold’ Project Pricks Nation’s Conscience [50]

Two Ghanian video journalists traveled their country to document how contamination from illegal gold mining was harming the health of workers and nearby communities. Their resulting reporting not only won acclaim from their peers but also ignited a debate that resulted in the closing of polluting mining operations. Read more about their award-winning project and its impact in Inside Story Q&A.

SEJ Publication Types:
Inside Story [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Chemicals [22]
Disasters [3]
Economy & Business [25]
Environmental Health [27]
Environmental Justice [28]
Health [33]
Journalism & Media [5]
Natural Resources [36]
People & Population [6]
Pollution [38]
Waste [42]
Water & Oceans [43]
Region:
International [51]
Africa [52]
Visibility:
Public [11]
- Read more about ‘Poisoned for Gold’ Project Pricks Nation’s Conscience [50]
Fire Sleuths Can Spark Story Ideas With Wildland Urban Interface Data Maps [53]

Communities surrounded by forest can be a beautiful place to live … or a wildfire trap. Environmental journalists can readily map and identify these so-called wildland urban interfaces through a federal government resource, writes the latest Reporter’s Toolbox. More on this data mapping tool and how to use it to track your area’s risk, explore historical trends and layer other data.

SEJ Publication Types:
Reporters Toolbox [54]
Topics on the Beat:
Disasters [3]
Environmental Studies [29]
Forests [31]
Government [32]
Journalism & Media [5]
People & Population [6]
Planning & Growth [37]
Region:
National (U.S.) [8]
Alaska and Hawaii [55]
California [9]
Visibility:
Public [11]
- Read more about Fire Sleuths Can Spark Story Ideas With Wildland Urban Interface Data Maps [53]
Between the Lines — Writing Nature Through Illness and Disability [56]

Writers with disabilities and chronic illnesses explore perspectives on nature and environment in a unique anthology, “Moving Mountains.” Editor Louise Kenward discusses the recent volume with contributor William Allen in a new BookShelf “Between the Lines” Q&A — the connection between climate change and disability, the benefits of learning to rest, the value of engaging with different perspectives and more.

SEJ Publication Types:
BookShelf [57]
Topics on the Beat:
Climate Change [23]
Disasters [3]
Diversity [58]
Environmental Justice [28]
Environmental Politics [4]
Health [33]
Journalism & Media [5]
People & Population [6]
Policy [7]
Region:
National (U.S.) [8]
International [51]
Visibility:
Public [11]
- Read more about Between the Lines — Writing Nature Through Illness and Disability [56]
A Town Derailed, a Trust Obtained [59]

The devastating 2023 East Palestine, Ohio, toxic train derailment left a legacy of illness and a town torn by competing understandings of the contamination’s aftereffects. A yearlong reporting initiative with photojournalist Rebecca Kiger and Time magazine writer Alejandro de la Garza worked to gain the community’s confidence and tell its story. Their prize-winning feature, in the latest Inside Story Q&A.

SEJ Publication Types:
Inside Story [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Air [20]
Chemicals [22]
Disasters [3]
Environmental Health [27]
Environmental Justice [28]
Health [33]
Journalism & Media [5]
People & Population [6]
Pollution [38]
Science [39]
Transportation [41]
Water & Oceans [43]
Region:
National (U.S.) [8]
Great Lakes (IL IN MI MN OH WI) [45]
Visibility:
Public [11]
- Read more about A Town Derailed, a Trust Obtained [59]
From Words to Frames — Writer Learns To Wield Power of Visual Storytelling [60]

When writer Gulnaz Khan saw how global warming drove both natural loss and spiritual breaks for surrounding human communities, it started her on a PBS documentary series exploring sacred sites around the world threatened by climate change. But she also undertook another odyssey, one from writer to visual storyteller. What she learned on her journey from text to screen, in the new EJ InSight column.

SEJ Publication Types:
EJ InSight [61]
Topics on the Beat:
Agriculture [19]
Biodiversity [21]
Climate Change [23]
Environmental Health [27]
Environmental Justice [28]
Food [30]
Forests [31]
Government [32]
Health [33]
Journalism & Media [5]
Natural Resources [36]
People & Population [6]
Pollution [38]
Religion, Faith and Spirituality [48]
Science [39]
Waste [42]
Water & Oceans [43]
Wildlife [44]
Region:
International [51]
Africa [52]
Asia [62]
South America [63]
Visibility:
Public [11]
- Read more about From Words to Frames — Writer Learns To Wield Power of Visual Storytelling [60]
Queer Ecology — A Powerful Lens for Reporting on Environmental Injustice [64]

Queer ecology is an evolving field that challenges traditional assumptions in science and explores LGBTQ+ experiences in an ecological context. It’s easy to catch your audience’s attention with stories about transitioning clownfish or same-sex albatross parenting. But as contributor Isaias Hernandez explains, queer ecology also offers journalists an important perspective for covering a range of environmental issues, from climate risk to pollution exposure, and reimagining environmental narratives.

SEJ Publication Types:
Features [65]
Topics on the Beat:
Activism [18]
Agriculture [19]
Air [20]
Biodiversity [21]
Climate Change [23]
Disasters [3]
Diversity [58]
Environmental Health [27]
Environmental Justice [28]
Environmental Politics [4]
Environmental Studies [29]
Health [33]
Journalism & Media [5]
People & Population [6]
Planning & Growth [37]
Science [39]
Wildlife [44]
Region:
National (U.S.) [8]
International [51]
Visibility:
Public [11]
- Read more about Queer Ecology — A Powerful Lens for Reporting on Environmental Injustice [64]
Tapping Into COP30 To Cover Indigenous Issues [66]

COP30 negotiators from around the world gather next week in Belém, Brazil, at the mouth of the Amazon River. Our Voices of Environmental Justice columnist Yessenia Funes says it’s a vital opportunity to engage with the Indigenous peoples who help protect the vast rainforest region — even for environmental reporters not there in person. Here’s how to tell their stories.

SEJ Publication Types:
Voices of Environmental Justice [47]
Topics on the Beat:
Agriculture [19]
Biodiversity [21]
Climate Change [23]
Economy & Business [25]
Energy & Fuel [26]
Environmental Health [27]
Environmental Justice [28]
Environmental Politics [4]
Forests [31]
Government [32]
Journalism & Media [5]
Natural Resources [36]
People & Population [6]
Planning & Growth [37]
Policy [7]
Pollution [38]
Water & Oceans [43]
Region:
International [51]
South America [63]
Visibility:
Public [11]
- Read more about Tapping Into COP30 To Cover Indigenous Issues [66]

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