Publication Items

Reporting From the Blue — An Ocean of Opportunities [1]

As a veteran of reporting on the marine environment, David Helvarg is encouraged by recent improvements in the quality of ocean journalism, but sees a pressing need for more hands on deck. Offering inspiration from his own career, he notes that the world’s rapidly changing oceans hold an abundance of stories and urges others to dive in and explore them.

SEJ Publication Types:
Features [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Activism [3]
Biodiversity [4]
Climate Change [5]
Disasters [6]
Environmental Health [7]
Fish & Fisheries [8]
Government [9]
Journalism & Media [10]
Natural Resources [11]
Science [12]
Technology [13]
Water & Oceans [14]
Wildlife [15]
Region:
National (U.S.) [16]
SE (AL AR FL GA KY LA MS NC PR SC TN) [17]
Southwest (AZ NM OK TX) [18]
International [19]
Canada [20]
Antarctica & Arctic [21]
Asia [22]
Australia & Oceania [23]
Central America & the Caribbean [24]
Middle East [25]
Visibility:
Public [26]
- Read more about Reporting From the Blue — An Ocean of Opportunities [1]
Grazing Data Unlocks Public Land Stories [27]

The Interior Department keeps an extensive database of thousands of permits it issues to use federal lands for grazing livestock. And as the latest Reporter’s Toolbox notes, that data can readily be used as an investigative tool to look for one thing the government would rather the public not see — a penchant for permit partiality.

SEJ Publication Types:
Reporters Toolbox [28]
Topics on the Beat:
Agriculture [29]
Economy & Business [30]
Environmental Politics [31]
Government [9]
Journalism & Media [10]
Natural Resources [11]
Policy [32]
Region:
National (U.S.) [16]
Mountain West (CO ID MT NV UT WY) [33]
Southwest (AZ NM OK TX) [18]
Visibility:
Public [26]
- Read more about Grazing Data Unlocks Public Land Stories [27]
Why the Loss of Voting Rights Is a Climate Crisis [34]

When the Supreme Court further hollowed out the Voting Rights Act this spring, it augured a historic loss of civic power for Black communities. And with that comes a further blow — to progress on the environment. For as Voices of Environmental Justice columnist Yessenia Funes explains, key to climate policy are Black voters, and the Black legislators they bring into office.

SEJ Publication Types:
Voices of Environmental Justice [35]
Topics on the Beat:
Activism [3]
Climate Change [5]
Disasters [6]
Environmental Justice [36]
Environmental Politics [31]
Government [9]
Journalism & Media [10]
Laws & Regulations [37]
People & Population [38]
Policy [32]
Pollution [39]
Region:
National (U.S.) [16]
SE (AL AR FL GA KY LA MS NC PR SC TN) [17]
Southwest (AZ NM OK TX) [18]
Visibility:
Public [26]
- Read more about Why the Loss of Voting Rights Is a Climate Crisis [34]
National Seashores Are a Secret Summer Treasure [40]

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 [41]
Topics on the Beat:
Government [9]
Journalism & Media [10]
Laws & Regulations [37]
Natural Resources [11]
Water & Oceans [14]
Region:
California [42]
Great Lakes (IL IN MI MN OH WI) [43]
Mid-Atlantic (DC DE MD PA VA WV) [44]
Northeast (CT MA ME NH NJ NY RI VT) [45]
SE (AL AR FL GA KY LA MS NC PR SC TN) [17]
Southwest (AZ NM OK TX) [18]
International [19]
Canada [20]
Visibility:
Public [26]
- Read more about National Seashores Are a Secret Summer Treasure [40]
Helping Students Learn the Hard Work of Journalism [46]

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 [46] and Indiana’s climate solutions-focused Youth Environmental Press Team with Jim Poyser [47], in the new EJ Academy.

SEJ Publication Types:
EJ Academy [48]
Topics on the Beat:
Agriculture [29]
Climate Change [5]
Government [9]
Water & Oceans [14]
Wildlife [15]
Region:
National (U.S.) [16]
Great Lakes (IL IN MI MN OH WI) [43]
Great Plains (IA KS ND NE MO SD) [49]
Mountain West (CO ID MT NV UT WY) [33]
SE (AL AR FL GA KY LA MS NC PR SC TN) [17]
Southwest (AZ NM OK TX) [18]
Visibility:
Public [26]
- Read more about Helping Students Learn the Hard Work of Journalism [46]
Top Environment and Energy Topics To Watch in 2026 [50]

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 [50].

SEJ Publication Types:
SEJ News [51]
Topics on the Beat:
Activism [3]
Agriculture [29]
Air [52]
Biodiversity [4]
Chemicals [53]
Climate Change [5]
Disasters [6]
Economy & Business [30]
Energy & Fuel [54]
Environmental Health [7]
Environmental Justice [36]
Environmental Politics [31]
Environmental Studies [55]
Fish & Fisheries [8]
Forests [56]
Government [9]
Health [57]
Infrastructure [58]
Journalism & Media [10]
Laws & Regulations [37]
Military [59]
Natural Resources [11]
Policy [32]
Pollution [39]
Science [12]
Technology [13]
Waste [60]
Water & Oceans [14]
Wildlife [15]
Region:
National (U.S.) [16]
Alaska and Hawaii [61]
California [42]
Great Lakes (IL IN MI MN OH WI) [43]
Great Plains (IA KS ND NE MO SD) [49]
Mid-Atlantic (DC DE MD PA VA WV) [44]
Mountain West (CO ID MT NV UT WY) [33]
Northeast (CT MA ME NH NJ NY RI VT) [45]
Northwest (OR WA) [62]
SE (AL AR FL GA KY LA MS NC PR SC TN) [17]
Southwest (AZ NM OK TX) [18]
International [19]
Visibility:
Public [26]
- Read more about Top Environment and Energy Topics To Watch in 2026 [50]
Orphans and Zombies — Reporting on Abandoned Oil and Gas Wells Across the Country [63]

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 [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Agriculture [29]
Air [52]
Climate Change [5]
Economy & Business [30]
Energy & Fuel [54]
Environmental Health [7]
Government [9]
Health [57]
Journalism & Media [10]
Laws & Regulations [37]
Natural Resources [11]
Policy [32]
Pollution [39]
Technology [13]
Water & Oceans [14]
Wildlife [15]
Region:
National (U.S.) [16]
Great Lakes (IL IN MI MN OH WI) [43]
Great Plains (IA KS ND NE MO SD) [49]
Mid-Atlantic (DC DE MD PA VA WV) [44]
Mountain West (CO ID MT NV UT WY) [33]
Southwest (AZ NM OK TX) [18]
Visibility:
Public [26]
- Read more about Orphans and Zombies — Reporting on Abandoned Oil and Gas Wells Across the Country [63]
Covering the Health Impacts of Extreme Heat — An Arizona Reporter Weighs In [64]

Before giving summer its send-off, consider that heat kills more people in the U.S. annually than any other weather-related disaster. Phoenix journalist Katherine Davis-Young is well acquainted with this human toll. Drawing on her own reporting experience, she looks at how to cover extreme heat in your community. Pro tip: Don’t wait until next summer to familiarize yourself with vulnerable communities and investigate local mitigation policies.

SEJ Publication Types:
Features [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Climate Change [5]
Disasters [6]
Environmental Health [7]
Environmental Justice [36]
Government [9]
Health [57]
Journalism & Media [10]
Policy [32]
Region:
National (U.S.) [16]
Southwest (AZ NM OK TX) [18]
Visibility:
Public [26]
- Read more about Covering the Health Impacts of Extreme Heat — An Arizona Reporter Weighs In [64]
Teaming Up To Tap Into Texas Regulatory Capture [65]

When reporters from Inside Climate News and The Texas Tribune teamed up on a multipart series about Texas environmental regulators, they found state agencies sidestepping science, the law and accountability. The beneficiaries? The oil and gas industry. Their prizewinning reporting was praised for its data analysis, and public records and field reporting. Read an Inside Story Q&A with Martha Pskowski of Inside Climate News.

SEJ Publication Types:
Inside Story [66]
Topics on the Beat:
Pollution [39]
Water & Oceans [14]
Region:
National (U.S.) [16]
Southwest (AZ NM OK TX) [18]
Visibility:
Public [26]
- Read more about Teaming Up To Tap Into Texas Regulatory Capture [65]
Coastal Flooding Challenges Cities Around the U.S. [67]

The United States has nearly 100,000 miles of coastline and much of it is at risk of flooding. But what that inundation looks like varies widely from place to place. From storm surges to land subsidence, the latest Backgrounder details the different types of flooding and the threats they pose to coastal communities, especially sea level cities.

SEJ Publication Types:
Backgrounders [68]
Topics on the Beat:
Climate Change [5]
Disasters [6]
Infrastructure [58]
Journalism & Media [10]
Water & Oceans [14]
Region:
National (U.S.) [16]
Alaska and Hawaii [61]
California [42]
Great Lakes (IL IN MI MN OH WI) [43]
Mid-Atlantic (DC DE MD PA VA WV) [44]
Northeast (CT MA ME NH NJ NY RI VT) [45]
Northwest (OR WA) [62]
SE (AL AR FL GA KY LA MS NC PR SC TN) [17]
Southwest (AZ NM OK TX) [18]
Visibility:
Public [26]
- Read more about Coastal Flooding Challenges Cities Around the U.S. [67]

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