Publication Items

Taming the Freight Beast [1]

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 [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Activism [3]
Air [4]
Climate Change [5]
Consumer [6]
Economy & Business [7]
Energy & Fuel [8]
Environmental Health [9]
Environmental Justice [10]
Environmental Politics [11]
Government [12]
Health [13]
Infrastructure [14]
Journalism & Media [15]
Laws & Regulations [16]
Policy [17]
Pollution [18]
Technology [19]
Transportation [20]
Region:
National (U.S.) [21]
California [22]
Great Lakes (IL IN MI MN OH WI) [23]
Visibility:
Public [24]
- Read more about Taming the Freight Beast [1]
Databases on Data Centers, Brockovich and Beyond [25]

An explosion of new artificial intelligence data centers means potential trouble, as they hoover up power and water, and spew global warming gases. It’s a story with national and global ramifications, certainly. But it’s also one that can be reported locally. Reporter’s Toolbox offers up some handy databases for environmental journalists to find data center stories in their communities.

SEJ Publication Types:
Reporters Toolbox [26]
Topics on the Beat:
Activism [3]
Climate Change [5]
Energy & Fuel [8]
Infrastructure [14]
Journalism & Media [15]
Planning & Growth [27]
Technology [19]
Water & Oceans [28]
Region:
National (U.S.) [21]
Visibility:
Public [24]
- Read more about Databases on Data Centers, Brockovich and Beyond [25]
Great Lakes Steelmaking at a Crossroads [29]

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 [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Activism [3]
Air [4]
Climate Change [5]
Economy & Business [7]
Energy & Fuel [8]
Environmental Politics [11]
Government [12]
Health [13]
Natural Resources [30]
Pollution [18]
Technology [19]
Water & Oceans [28]
Region:
National (U.S.) [21]
Great Lakes (IL IN MI MN OH WI) [23]
SE (AL AR FL GA KY LA MS NC PR SC TN) [31]
International [32]
Asia [33]
Visibility:
Public [24]
- Read more about Great Lakes Steelmaking at a Crossroads [29]
What Is the Half-Life of a Nuclear Revival? Part 2 [34]

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 [35] on the government role in developing nuclear power and an earlier effort at industry rebirth.

SEJ Publication Types:
Backgrounders [36]
Topics on the Beat:
Disasters [37]
Energy & Fuel [8]
Environmental Politics [11]
Laws & Regulations [16]
Nuclear Power & Radiation [38]
Policy [17]
Technology [19]
Region:
National (U.S.) [21]
International [32]
Visibility:
Public [24]
- Read more about What Is the Half-Life of a Nuclear Revival? Part 2 [34]
What Is the Half-Life of a Nuclear Revival? Part 1 [35]

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 [36]
Topics on the Beat:
Disasters [37]
Energy & Fuel [8]
Environmental Politics [11]
Laws & Regulations [16]
Nuclear Power & Radiation [38]
Policy [17]
Technology [19]
Region:
National (U.S.) [21]
International [32]
Visibility:
Public [24]
- Read more about What Is the Half-Life of a Nuclear Revival? Part 1 [35]
#SEJ2026 Live — Coverage of Conference Tours [39]

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 [40], Nathaniel Eisen [41], Nhung Nguyen [42] and Marlowe Starling [43] 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 [39] from our team of early-career freelance journalists, part of SEJournal’s live #SEJ2026 Live conference reporting.

SEJ Publication Types:
SEJ News [44]
Topics on the Beat:
Activism [3]
Agriculture [45]
Air [4]
Biodiversity [46]
Chemicals [47]
Climate Change [5]
Consumer [6]
Economy & Business [7]
Energy & Fuel [8]
Environmental Health [9]
Environmental Justice [10]
Environmental Politics [11]
Environmental Studies [48]
Food [49]
Forests [50]
Government [12]
Health [13]
Infrastructure [14]
Journalism & Media [15]
Laws & Regulations [16]
Natural Resources [30]
People & Population [51]
Planning & Growth [27]
Policy [17]
Pollution [18]
Science [52]
Technology [19]
Transportation [20]
Waste [53]
Water & Oceans [28]
Wildlife [54]
Region:
National (U.S.) [21]
Great Lakes (IL IN MI MN OH WI) [23]
Visibility:
Public [24]
- Read more about #SEJ2026 Live — Coverage of Conference Tours [39]
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 [26]
Topics on the Beat:
Biodiversity [46]
Climate Change [5]
Environmental Health [9]
Journalism & Media [15]
Natural Resources [30]
Science [52]
Technology [19]
Water & Oceans [28]
Region:
National (U.S.) [21]
International [32]
Visibility:
Public [24]
- Read more about NASA Earthdata Offers a New Look at What Satellites See Down Here [55]
Renewable Job Training Makes the Grade at Community Colleges [56]

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 [57]
Topics on the Beat:
Consumer [6]
Economy & Business [7]
Energy & Fuel [8]
Infrastructure [14]
Journalism & Media [15]
Natural Resources [30]
Planning & Growth [27]
Policy [17]
Technology [19]
Region:
National (U.S.) [21]
Visibility:
Public [24]
- Read more about Renewable Job Training Makes the Grade at Community Colleges [56]
Geothermal a Valuable, But Overlooked Clean Energy Source? [58]

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 [36]
Topics on the Beat:
Climate Change [5]
Energy & Fuel [8]
Natural Resources [30]
Technology [19]
Region:
National (U.S.) [21]
California [22]
International [32]
Asia [33]
Australia & Oceania [59]
Europe [60]
Middle East [61]
Visibility:
Public [24]
- Read more about Geothermal a Valuable, But Overlooked Clean Energy Source? [58]
Top Environment and Energy Topics To Watch in 2026 [62]

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 [62].

SEJ Publication Types:
SEJ News [44]
Topics on the Beat:
Activism [3]
Agriculture [45]
Air [4]
Biodiversity [46]
Chemicals [47]
Climate Change [5]
Disasters [37]
Economy & Business [7]
Energy & Fuel [8]
Environmental Health [9]
Environmental Justice [10]
Environmental Politics [11]
Environmental Studies [48]
Fish & Fisheries [63]
Forests [50]
Government [12]
Health [13]
Infrastructure [14]
Journalism & Media [15]
Laws & Regulations [16]
Military [64]
Natural Resources [30]
Policy [17]
Pollution [18]
Science [52]
Technology [19]
Waste [53]
Water & Oceans [28]
Wildlife [54]
Region:
National (U.S.) [21]
Alaska and Hawaii [65]
California [22]
Great Lakes (IL IN MI MN OH WI) [23]
Great Plains (IA KS ND NE MO SD) [66]
Mid-Atlantic (DC DE MD PA VA WV) [67]
Mountain West (CO ID MT NV UT WY) [68]
Northeast (CT MA ME NH NJ NY RI VT) [69]
Northwest (OR WA) [70]
SE (AL AR FL GA KY LA MS NC PR SC TN) [31]
Southwest (AZ NM OK TX) [71]
International [32]
Visibility:
Public [24]
- Read more about Top Environment and Energy Topics To Watch in 2026 [62]

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