Publication Items

Grant Brings Documentary Team to Chesapeake Bay’s Vastness [1]

New York-based documentarians Sebastian Tuinder and Duy Linh Tu took their multimedia skills on the road to explore the environmental problems plaguing the Chesapeake Bay. The resulting project, “Trouble in the Chesapeake,” was nominated for a local Emmy award and was credited with helping efforts to curb over-the-limit discharges from Maryland’s wastewater plants. Lessons learned from the grant-funded effort, in the latest FEJ StoryLog.

SEJ Publication Types:
FEJ StoryLog [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Agriculture [3]
Climate Change [4]
Environmental Health [5]
Fish & Fisheries [6]
Journalism & Media [7]
Natural Resources [8]
Pollution [9]
Waste [10]
Water & Oceans [11]
Region:
National (U.S.) [12]
Mid-Atlantic (DC DE MD PA VA WV) [13]
Visibility:
Public [14]
- Read more about Grant Brings Documentary Team to Chesapeake Bay’s Vastness [1]
Eco-Alternatives to the Perfect, Weedless Lawn [15]

A good and very localizable environmental story is right outside your front door … or at least outside your neighbor’s. Lawns and the myriad ways they are managed can provide a window into wildness, or resource use, or chemical pollution. The latest TipSheet offers more than a dozen story ideas and reporting resources, from xeriscaping and butterfly gardens to nurseries and planning boards.

SEJ Publication Types:
TipSheet [16]
Topics on the Beat:
Agriculture [3]
Chemicals [17]
Consumer [18]
Environmental Health [5]
Government [19]
Journalism & Media [7]
Laws & Regulations [20]
Planning & Growth [21]
Pollution [9]
Waste [10]
Water & Oceans [11]
Wildlife [22]
Region:
National (U.S.) [12]
International [23]
Visibility:
Public [14]
- Read more about Eco-Alternatives to the Perfect, Weedless Lawn [15]
Making Sense of Jewish Perspectives on the Climate Story [24]

American Jews are heavily involved in climate action in both the political and civic realms. But current events in Israel and Gaza can make it hard for U.S. journalists to cover environmental stories important to Jews at home or abroad. Jewish freelancer Ethan Brown on differences and synergies between Israeli and American Jewish environmentalism and how to approach stories within each community.

SEJ Publication Types:
Features [25]
Topics on the Beat:
Activism [26]
Chemicals [17]
Climate Change [4]
Disasters [27]
Environmental Health [5]
Environmental Justice [28]
Environmental Politics [29]
Forests [30]
Government [19]
Journalism & Media [7]
Military [31]
People & Population [32]
Religion, Faith and Spirituality [33]
Region:
National (U.S.) [12]
International [23]
Middle East [34]
Visibility:
Public [14]
- Read more about Making Sense of Jewish Perspectives on the Climate Story [24]
Sea Surface Temperature Data Tells Many Environmental Stories [35]

With hurricane season expected to kick into high gear, a key data source for reporters is sea surface temperatures. But this widely available information can also tell reporters something about many other water-related environment stories, whether algal blooms, bacterial risks to public health or the prospects for entire estuarine systems. The latest Reporter’s Toolbox helps you dip your toe into this important data pool.

SEJ Publication Types:
Reporters Toolbox [36]
Topics on the Beat:
Climate Change [4]
Environmental Health [5]
Fish & Fisheries [6]
Health [37]
Journalism & Media [7]
Science [38]
Water & Oceans [11]
Region:
National (U.S.) [12]
Mid-Atlantic (DC DE MD PA VA WV) [13]
SE (AL AR FL GA KY LA MS NC PR SC TN) [39]
Southwest (AZ NM OK TX) [40]
International [23]
Visibility:
Public [14]
- Read more about Sea Surface Temperature Data Tells Many Environmental Stories [35]
What Would Trump 2.0 Mean for the Environment? [41]

If former President Donald Trump recaptures the White House this fall, it would likely bring back a radical deregulatory, climate change-oblivious, fossil fuel-intensive environmental policy. But could the fallout be even greater? The new Issue Backgrounder examines how the Project 2025 agenda of Trump’s allies takes aim, in particular, at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

SEJ Publication Types:
Backgrounders [42]
Topics on the Beat:
Chemicals [17]
Climate Change [4]
Energy & Fuel [43]
Environmental Justice [28]
Environmental Politics [29]
Government [19]
Laws & Regulations [20]
Natural Resources [8]
Policy [44]
Water & Oceans [11]
Region:
International [23]
Visibility:
Public [14]
- Read more about What Would Trump 2.0 Mean for the Environment? [41]
The Battle To Protect Congo’s Vast Peatlands [45]

The Congo Basin is home to the biggest network of tropical peatlands in the world, a vast carbon storehouse central to combating the challenge of climate change. A team of reporters made the journey to this little-covered region and returned with an award-winning feature that told the tale not just of the peatlands, but of the people that protect it. The latest Inside Story Q&A.

SEJ Publication Types:
Inside Story [46]
Topics on the Beat:
Climate Change [4]
Environmental Health [5]
Environmental Justice [28]
Environmental Politics [29]
Forests [30]
Journalism & Media [7]
Natural Resources [8]
People & Population [32]
Region:
International [23]
Africa [47]
Visibility:
Public [14]
- Read more about The Battle To Protect Congo’s Vast Peatlands [45]
For Animals, a New Text Suggests, the Play’s the Thing [48]

It’s a much-understudied area of animal behavior. But play, as it turns out, may serve many developmental functions. A new book, “Kingdom of Play,” explores what play looks like in many types of creatures and in the process provides a deft synthesis of evolutionary biology, neurology and the history of science to examine its elusive nature. A BookShelf review from Jenny Weeks.

SEJ Publication Types:
BookShelf [49]
Topics on the Beat:
Environmental Studies [50]
Science [38]
Wildlife [22]
Visibility:
Public [14]
- Read more about For Animals, a New Text Suggests, the Play’s the Thing [48]
Beach Nourishment Offers Challenging Local Environmental Stories [51]

It’s peak beach season around much of the United States, with its timeless traditions of sunbathing, beach reads, swimming and beachcombing. But nature has its own ideas about shorelines, stripping some beaches and growing others. Humans, too, have their own beach engineering enterprises, with their own environmental impacts. The latest TipSheet helps you cover your local beach scene, with questions to ask, story ideas and reporting resources.

SEJ Publication Types:
TipSheet [16]
Topics on the Beat:
Environmental Health [5]
Journalism & Media [7]
People & Population [32]
Water & Oceans [11]
Region:
National (U.S.) [12]
Visibility:
Public [14]
- Read more about Beach Nourishment Offers Challenging Local Environmental Stories [51]
Up for a Challenge — Fifty Environmental Journalists on the Profession and Its Future [52]

Environmental journalists tend to be intrepid and creative individuals who will fight to work their beat against all odds. That’s one of the findings of a journalism educator who is studying the rise of environmental journalism as a news priority. In this EJ Academy, Suzannah Evans Comfort talks about key takeaways from her research – and her next big question.

SEJ Publication Types:
EJ Academy [53]
Topics on the Beat:
Environmental Justice [28]
Environmental Studies [50]
Journalism & Media [7]
Region:
National (U.S.) [12]
Visibility:
Public [14]
- Read more about Up for a Challenge — Fifty Environmental Journalists on the Profession and Its Future [52]
Track Harmful Algal Blooms With Data. Avoid Bad Clams [54]

It’s summertime and the living is easy for algae that can be hazardous to human health. Climate heating and agricultural pollution are making the problem worse. The latest Reporter’s Toolbox explores useful sources of data for tracking trends. Plus, tips on how to use the data for local reporting on the risks posed by this seasonal threat.

SEJ Publication Types:
Reporters Toolbox [36]
Topics on the Beat:
Agriculture [3]
Biodiversity [55]
Climate Change [4]
Economy & Business [56]
Environmental Health [5]
Fish & Fisheries [6]
Food [57]
Government [19]
Health [37]
Journalism & Media [7]
Natural Resources [8]
Pollution [9]
Science [38]
Water & Oceans [11]
Wildlife [22]
Region:
National (U.S.) [12]
Visibility:
Public [14]
- Read more about Track Harmful Algal Blooms With Data. Avoid Bad Clams [54]

Pages