Publication Items

What Is the Half-Life of a Nuclear Revival? Part 2 [1]

Is the United States in the midst of a “nuclear renaissance”? This two-part Backgrounder explores the question, with a look at next-gen reactor design, the (lack of) independence of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and what to do with nuclear waste. Plus, see Part 1 [2] on the government role in developing nuclear power and an earlier effort at industry rebirth.

SEJ Publication Types:
Backgrounders [3]
Topics on the Beat:
Disasters [4]
Energy & Fuel [5]
Environmental Politics [6]
Laws & Regulations [7]
Nuclear Power & Radiation [8]
Policy [9]
Technology [10]
Region:
National (U.S.) [11]
International [12]
Visibility:
Public [13]
- Read more about What Is the Half-Life of a Nuclear Revival? Part 2 [1]
What Is the Half-Life of a Nuclear Revival? Part 1 [2]

Is the United States in the midst of a “nuclear renaissance”? This two-part Issue Backgrounder explores that question, beginning in Part 1 with a look at the government’s part in developing nuclear power, including through subsidies, as well as why the new reactors built earlier in the 2000s didn’t really make the case for the industry’s rebirth.

SEJ Publication Types:
Backgrounders [3]
Topics on the Beat:
Disasters [4]
Energy & Fuel [5]
Environmental Politics [6]
Laws & Regulations [7]
Nuclear Power & Radiation [8]
Policy [9]
Technology [10]
Region:
National (U.S.) [11]
International [12]
Visibility:
Public [13]
- Read more about What Is the Half-Life of a Nuclear Revival? Part 1 [2]
#SEJ2026 Live — Coverage of Conference Tours [14]

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 [15], Nathaniel Eisen [16], Nhung Nguyen [17] and Marlowe Starling [18] 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 [14] from our team of early-career freelance journalists, part of SEJournal’s live #SEJ2026 Live conference reporting.

SEJ Publication Types:
SEJ News [19]
Topics on the Beat:
Activism [20]
Agriculture [21]
Air [22]
Biodiversity [23]
Chemicals [24]
Climate Change [25]
Consumer [26]
Economy & Business [27]
Energy & Fuel [5]
Environmental Health [28]
Environmental Justice [29]
Environmental Politics [6]
Environmental Studies [30]
Food [31]
Forests [32]
Government [33]
Health [34]
Infrastructure [35]
Journalism & Media [36]
Laws & Regulations [7]
Natural Resources [37]
People & Population [38]
Planning & Growth [39]
Policy [9]
Pollution [40]
Science [41]
Technology [10]
Transportation [42]
Waste [43]
Water & Oceans [44]
Wildlife [45]
Region:
National (U.S.) [11]
Great Lakes (IL IN MI MN OH WI) [46]
Visibility:
Public [13]
- Read more about #SEJ2026 Live — Coverage of Conference Tours [14]
NASA Earthdata Offers a New Look at What Satellites See Down Here [47]

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 [48]
Topics on the Beat:
Biodiversity [23]
Climate Change [25]
Environmental Health [28]
Journalism & Media [36]
Natural Resources [37]
Science [41]
Technology [10]
Water & Oceans [44]
Region:
National (U.S.) [11]
International [12]
Visibility:
Public [13]
- Read more about NASA Earthdata Offers a New Look at What Satellites See Down Here [47]
Renewable Job Training Makes the Grade at Community Colleges [49]

Jobs are relatively plentiful in green energy fields, whether in solar, wind, geothermal, energy efficiency, storage or hydro. To get at the trend, environmental journalists can check in with area community colleges, many of which offer technical training — and local stories. TipSheet has a closer look at the phenomenon, with a dozen story ideas and reporting resources for your coverage.

SEJ Publication Types:
TipSheet [50]
Topics on the Beat:
Consumer [26]
Economy & Business [27]
Energy & Fuel [5]
Infrastructure [35]
Journalism & Media [36]
Natural Resources [37]
Planning & Growth [39]
Policy [9]
Technology [10]
Region:
National (U.S.) [11]
Visibility:
Public [13]
- Read more about Renewable Job Training Makes the Grade at Community Colleges [49]
Geothermal a Valuable, But Overlooked Clean Energy Source? [51]

More heat pumps than ever are going into homes and businesses in the United States these days. But they are just one small-scale use of geothermal energy, a promising utility-scale technology that is growing worldwide — and with a minimal carbon footprint to boot. But there are drawbacks as well. The new Issue Backgrounder explains how it all works.

SEJ Publication Types:
Backgrounders [3]
Topics on the Beat:
Climate Change [25]
Energy & Fuel [5]
Natural Resources [37]
Technology [10]
Region:
National (U.S.) [11]
California [52]
International [12]
Asia [53]
Australia & Oceania [54]
Europe [55]
Middle East [56]
Visibility:
Public [13]
- Read more about Geothermal a Valuable, But Overlooked Clean Energy Source? [51]
Top Environment and Energy Topics To Watch in 2026 [57]

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 [57].

SEJ Publication Types:
SEJ News [19]
Topics on the Beat:
Activism [20]
Agriculture [21]
Air [22]
Biodiversity [23]
Chemicals [24]
Climate Change [25]
Disasters [4]
Economy & Business [27]
Energy & Fuel [5]
Environmental Health [28]
Environmental Justice [29]
Environmental Politics [6]
Environmental Studies [30]
Fish & Fisheries [58]
Forests [32]
Government [33]
Health [34]
Infrastructure [35]
Journalism & Media [36]
Laws & Regulations [7]
Military [59]
Natural Resources [37]
Policy [9]
Pollution [40]
Science [41]
Technology [10]
Waste [43]
Water & Oceans [44]
Wildlife [45]
Region:
National (U.S.) [11]
Alaska and Hawaii [60]
California [52]
Great Lakes (IL IN MI MN OH WI) [46]
Great Plains (IA KS ND NE MO SD) [61]
Mid-Atlantic (DC DE MD PA VA WV) [62]
Mountain West (CO ID MT NV UT WY) [63]
Northeast (CT MA ME NH NJ NY RI VT) [64]
Northwest (OR WA) [65]
SE (AL AR FL GA KY LA MS NC PR SC TN) [66]
Southwest (AZ NM OK TX) [67]
International [12]
Visibility:
Public [13]
- Read more about Top Environment and Energy Topics To Watch in 2026 [57]
Orphans and Zombies — Reporting on Abandoned Oil and Gas Wells Across the Country [68]

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 [69]
Topics on the Beat:
Agriculture [21]
Air [22]
Climate Change [25]
Economy & Business [27]
Energy & Fuel [5]
Environmental Health [28]
Government [33]
Health [34]
Journalism & Media [36]
Laws & Regulations [7]
Natural Resources [37]
Policy [9]
Pollution [40]
Technology [10]
Water & Oceans [44]
Wildlife [45]
Region:
National (U.S.) [11]
Great Lakes (IL IN MI MN OH WI) [46]
Great Plains (IA KS ND NE MO SD) [61]
Mid-Atlantic (DC DE MD PA VA WV) [62]
Mountain West (CO ID MT NV UT WY) [63]
Southwest (AZ NM OK TX) [67]
Visibility:
Public [13]
- Read more about Orphans and Zombies — Reporting on Abandoned Oil and Gas Wells Across the Country [68]
Will Your Town Pass the Electric School Bus Acid Test? [70]

A Biden-era plan to put billions into school buses, clean EV-style, could be in the rearview mirror under the Trump administration, reports the latest TipSheet. That’s despite the fume-free, greenhouse gas-scarce qualities that benefit the air and the climate, parents and kids. To get in the driver’s seat on this story, here are a half a dozen local story ideas, plus reporting resources.

SEJ Publication Types:
TipSheet [50]
Topics on the Beat:
Air [22]
Climate Change [25]
Energy & Fuel [5]
Environmental Politics [6]
Government [33]
Health [34]
Infrastructure [35]
Journalism & Media [36]
Policy [9]
Pollution [40]
Technology [10]
Transportation [42]
Region:
National (U.S.) [11]
Visibility:
Public [13]
- Read more about Will Your Town Pass the Electric School Bus Acid Test? [70]
Climate Solutions, for Some, May Not Be [71]

A small Louisiana community, home to the descendants of formerly enslaved Black people, continues to fight for its freedom many decades later, this time from a potentially polluting technology. FEJ StoryLog contributor Yessenia Funes recounts her journey to this Cancer Alley community, where a grant from the Fund for Environmental Journalism helped her tell the story of residents challenging a multibillion-dollar carbon capture plant.

SEJ Publication Types:
FEJ StoryLog [72]
Topics on the Beat:
Activism [20]
Air [22]
Chemicals [24]
Climate Change [25]
Economy & Business [27]
Energy & Fuel [5]
Environmental Health [28]
Environmental Justice [29]
Environmental Politics [6]
Journalism & Media [36]
People & Population [38]
Planning & Growth [39]
Policy [9]
Pollution [40]
Science [41]
Technology [10]
Region:
National (U.S.) [11]
SE (AL AR FL GA KY LA MS NC PR SC TN) [66]
Visibility:
Public [13]
- Read more about Climate Solutions, for Some, May Not Be [71]

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