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]
National Seashores Are a Secret Summer Treasure [12]

While less heralded than its national park system, the United States abounds in waterfront treasures that are part of the national seashore and lakeshore program. The latest TipSheet takes you on a guided tour of more than a dozen, from barrier islands and dunes to tidepools and turtles. Plus, a half-dozen reporting ideas for your own region.

SEJ Publication Types:
TipSheet [13]
Topics on the Beat:
Government [14]
Journalism & Media [5]
Laws & Regulations [15]
Natural Resources [16]
Water & Oceans [17]
Region:
California [9]
Great Lakes (IL IN MI MN OH WI) [18]
Mid-Atlantic (DC DE MD PA VA WV) [19]
Northeast (CT MA ME NH NJ NY RI VT) [20]
SE (AL AR FL GA KY LA MS NC PR SC TN) [10]
Southwest (AZ NM OK TX) [21]
International [22]
Canada [23]
Visibility:
Public [11]
- Read more about National Seashores Are a Secret Summer Treasure [12]
Why the Silencing of Protest Matters [24]

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 [25]
Topics on the Beat:
Activism [26]
Climate Change [27]
Energy & Fuel [28]
Environmental Health [29]
Environmental Justice [30]
Environmental Politics [4]
Government [14]
Journalism & Media [5]
Natural Resources [16]
People & Population [6]
Policy [7]
Pollution [31]
Religion, Faith and Spirituality [32]
Water & Oceans [17]
Region:
National (U.S.) [8]
Great Lakes (IL IN MI MN OH WI) [18]
Great Plains (IA KS ND NE MO SD) [33]
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 [24]
Beyond the Fires and Floods — Comprehensively Covering Disasters [34]

Reporting on extreme-weather disasters is complicated, challenging work. Besides covering immediate impacts, there’s the broader context to consider, from climate change to social and political dynamics — all while looking out for your personal safety and well-being. Environmental journalist Colleen Hagerty draws on her own and others’ front-line experiences as she shares insights and advice for telling these high-stakes stories.

SEJ Publication Types:
Features [35]
Topics on the Beat:
Climate Change [27]
Disasters [3]
Diversity [36]
Environmental Justice [30]
Government [14]
Journalism & Media [5]
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 Beyond the Fires and Floods — Comprehensively Covering Disasters [34]
Helping Students Learn the Hard Work of Journalism [37]

Two flourishing nonprofit programs teach young writers the basics of journalism and environmental reporting — mentoring and paying students, who publish enterprise and public records stories, personal essays and narrative features. Read more about Florida Student News Watch with CD Davidson-Hiers [37] and Indiana’s climate solutions-focused Youth Environmental Press Team with Jim Poyser [38], in the new EJ Academy.

SEJ Publication Types:
EJ Academy [39]
Topics on the Beat:
Agriculture [40]
Climate Change [27]
Government [14]
Water & Oceans [17]
Wildlife [41]
Region:
National (U.S.) [8]
Great Lakes (IL IN MI MN OH WI) [18]
Great Plains (IA KS ND NE MO SD) [33]
Mountain West (CO ID MT NV UT WY) [42]
SE (AL AR FL GA KY LA MS NC PR SC TN) [10]
Southwest (AZ NM OK TX) [21]
Visibility:
Public [11]
- Read more about Helping Students Learn the Hard Work of Journalism [37]
Top Environment and Energy Topics To Watch in 2026 [43]

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 [43].

SEJ Publication Types:
SEJ News [44]
Topics on the Beat:
Activism [26]
Agriculture [40]
Air [45]
Biodiversity [46]
Chemicals [47]
Climate Change [27]
Disasters [3]
Economy & Business [48]
Energy & Fuel [28]
Environmental Health [29]
Environmental Justice [30]
Environmental Politics [4]
Environmental Studies [49]
Fish & Fisheries [50]
Forests [51]
Government [14]
Health [52]
Infrastructure [53]
Journalism & Media [5]
Laws & Regulations [15]
Military [54]
Natural Resources [16]
Policy [7]
Pollution [31]
Science [55]
Technology [56]
Waste [57]
Water & Oceans [17]
Wildlife [41]
Region:
National (U.S.) [8]
Alaska and Hawaii [58]
California [9]
Great Lakes (IL IN MI MN OH WI) [18]
Great Plains (IA KS ND NE MO SD) [33]
Mid-Atlantic (DC DE MD PA VA WV) [19]
Mountain West (CO ID MT NV UT WY) [42]
Northeast (CT MA ME NH NJ NY RI VT) [20]
Northwest (OR WA) [59]
SE (AL AR FL GA KY LA MS NC PR SC TN) [10]
Southwest (AZ NM OK TX) [21]
International [22]
Visibility:
Public [11]
- Read more about Top Environment and Energy Topics To Watch in 2026 [43]
Citizen Pollution Monitors Face Industry Pushback, Legal Threats [60]

A steep decline in the enforcement of environmental laws means the monitoring of pollution by citizens is more important than ever. But as the latest TipSheet notes, some states have passed laws that severely constrain the use of citizen monitoring or the sharing of findings. Get the backstory, along with top reporting angles and resources for finding monitoring in your area.

SEJ Publication Types:
TipSheet [13]
Topics on the Beat:
Activism [26]
Air [45]
Environmental Health [29]
Environmental Justice [30]
Environmental Politics [4]
Environmental Studies [49]
Government [14]
Health [52]
Journalism & Media [5]
Laws & Regulations [15]
Pollution [31]
Science [55]
Water & Oceans [17]
Region:
National (U.S.) [8]
SE (AL AR FL GA KY LA MS NC PR SC TN) [10]
Visibility:
Public [11]
- Read more about Citizen Pollution Monitors Face Industry Pushback, Legal Threats [60]
Climate Solutions, for Some, May Not Be [61]

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 [62]
Topics on the Beat:
Activism [26]
Air [45]
Chemicals [47]
Climate Change [27]
Economy & Business [48]
Energy & Fuel [28]
Environmental Health [29]
Environmental Justice [30]
Environmental Politics [4]
Journalism & Media [5]
People & Population [6]
Planning & Growth [63]
Policy [7]
Pollution [31]
Science [55]
Technology [56]
Region:
National (U.S.) [8]
SE (AL AR FL GA KY LA MS NC PR SC TN) [10]
Visibility:
Public [11]
- Read more about Climate Solutions, for Some, May Not Be [61]
Sunshine State Weirdness, With a Solid Dose of Environment [64]

The story behind the story that captures the “real” Florida is the essence of a new volume from veteran journalist and author Craig Pittman. BookShelf editor Tom Henry writes that “Welcome to Florida: True Tales from America’s Most Interesting State” not only taps into the state’s rich vein of the weird but offers a hefty dose of environmental topics, from climate change to manatees.

SEJ Publication Types:
BookShelf [65]
Topics on the Beat:
Climate Change [27]
Environmental Politics [4]
People & Population [6]
Pollution [31]
Water & Oceans [17]
Wildlife [41]
Region:
National (U.S.) [8]
SE (AL AR FL GA KY LA MS NC PR SC TN) [10]
Visibility:
Public [11]
- Read more about Sunshine State Weirdness, With a Solid Dose of Environment [64]
‘People Will Die’ — Stories Behind Trump Budget Bill [66]

The Trump administration’s “One Big Beautiful Bill” is anything but, especially in its unraveling of efforts to weave environmental and climate justice into American society, argues the new Voices of Environmental Justice. In her latest column, writer Yessenia Funes calls on journalists to report its ramifications not just for the planet but for the most vulnerable people living on it. Here are key stories to start with.

SEJ Publication Types:
Voices of Environmental Justice [25]
Topics on the Beat:
Activism [26]
Air [45]
Chemicals [47]
Climate Change [27]
Energy & Fuel [28]
Environmental Health [29]
Environmental Justice [30]
Environmental Politics [4]
Government [14]
Health [52]
Infrastructure [53]
Journalism & Media [5]
Laws & Regulations [15]
People & Population [6]
Policy [7]
Pollution [31]
Waste [57]
Water & Oceans [17]
Region:
National (U.S.) [8]
Alaska and Hawaii [58]
SE (AL AR FL GA KY LA MS NC PR SC TN) [10]
Visibility:
Public [11]
- Read more about ‘People Will Die’ — Stories Behind Trump Budget Bill [66]

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