Publication Items

The EPA’s Power Plant Rule … We’ll See You in Court [1]

A new federal rule to cut power plant pollution and carbon dioxide emissions promises to escalate a yearslong, highly partisan battle at the core of U.S. climate change policy. Our Issue Backgrounder lays out the shifting regulatory approaches from the administrations of George W. Bush to Joe Biden, and notes the legal tug-of-war that has heightened the importance of another big player — the Supreme Court.

SEJ Publication Types:
Backgrounders [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Air [3]
Climate Change [4]
Energy & Fuel [5]
Environmental Health [6]
Environmental Politics [7]
Government [8]
Laws & Regulations [9]
Policy [10]
Pollution [11]
Region:
National (U.S.) [12]
Visibility:
Public [13]
- Read more about The EPA’s Power Plant Rule … We’ll See You in Court [1]
From Reporter to Author — How I Published My First Book [14]

When freelancer Sophie Yeo first thought of writing a book, it seemed an impossible task. But with a successful website under her belt, she plunged in. Two missed deadlines and one baby later, she had her book, a history of the natural world titled “Nature’s Ghosts: The World We Lost and How To Bring It Back.” How she got there, and lessons learned, in the new Freelance Files.

SEJ Publication Types:
Freelance Files [15]
Topics on the Beat:
Biodiversity [16]
Environmental Health [6]
Journalism & Media [17]
Science [18]
Wildlife [19]
Region:
International [20]
Europe [21]
Visibility:
Public [13]
- Read more about From Reporter to Author — How I Published My First Book [14]
New HeatRisk Data Site Helps Warn on Health Threats [22]

As global warming worsens heat-related illnesses, U.S. government agencies have refined a data tool whose greatest value may be to warn people about the extreme heat events that can send them to the emergency room or worse. The latest Reporter’s Toolbox explores the improved HeatRisk site and how its combination of climate and medical considerations refocuses attention on the vulnerable.

SEJ Publication Types:
Reporters Toolbox [23]
Topics on the Beat:
Climate Change [4]
Consumer [24]
Disasters [25]
Health [26]
Journalism & Media [17]
People & Population [27]
Region:
National (U.S.) [12]
Visibility:
Public [13]
- Read more about New HeatRisk Data Site Helps Warn on Health Threats [22]
‘Green’ Steel: Five Things To Know About the U.S. Transition [28]

Plans for two new U.S. facilities that will use hydrogen instead of coal to make steel hold the promise of decarbonizing this essential but dirty industry. But don’t expect overnight change. Reporter Maria Gallucci looks at the complexities of making the switch, from ditching the blast furnace to reducing pollution all along the supply chain.

SEJ Publication Types:
Features [29]
Topics on the Beat:
Activism [30]
Air [3]
Chemicals [31]
Climate Change [4]
Economy & Business [32]
Energy & Fuel [5]
Environmental Health [6]
Environmental Justice [33]
Environmental Politics [7]
Government [8]
Natural Resources [34]
Policy [10]
Pollution [11]
Science [18]
Technology [35]
Region:
National (U.S.) [12]
Great Lakes (IL IN MI MN OH WI) [36]
Mid-Atlantic (DC DE MD PA VA WV) [37]
Southwest (AZ NM OK TX) [38]
International [20]
Europe [21]
Visibility:
Public [13]
- Read more about ‘Green’ Steel: Five Things To Know About the U.S. Transition [28]
‘Exvangelicals’ Memoir Explores Faith-Science Gap [39]

With her new memoir, “The Exvangelicals,” NPR correspondent Sarah McCammon, a one-time, award-winning environmental reporter, may not have written a book directly about environmental issues. Instead, writes BookShelf editor Tom Henry, her highly personal story about religion, science and betrayal offers an important, if indirect, message to those on the environment beat seeking to understand the faith community. Read his review.

SEJ Publication Types:
BookShelf [40]
Topics on the Beat:
Journalism & Media [17]
Religion, Faith and Spirituality [41]
Science [18]
Region:
National (U.S.) [12]
Visibility:
Public [13]
- Read more about ‘Exvangelicals’ Memoir Explores Faith-Science Gap [39]
New PFAS Drinking Water Rule Promises Local Stories [42]

New federal regulations governing a group of “forever chemicals” under the Safe Drinking Water Act — a rule years in the making — have important implications for local drinking water supplies and, per the latest TipSheet, local environment reporting. A look at the problem with PFAS, the complicated route to its regulation and more than a dozen story ideas and reporting resources.

SEJ Publication Types:
TipSheet [43]
Topics on the Beat:
Chemicals [31]
Consumer [24]
Government [8]
Health [26]
Journalism & Media [17]
Laws & Regulations [9]
Policy [10]
Pollution [11]
Water & Oceans [44]
Region:
National (U.S.) [12]
Visibility:
Public [13]
- Read more about New PFAS Drinking Water Rule Promises Local Stories [42]
Fake Newspapers Fill Gaps Left by Disappearing Real Ones [45]

When corporate, often politicized entities create fake newspapers in communities without their own in order to control the news agenda, it’s called “pink slime news.” And its purveyors have made a significant target of environmental and energy issues, writes WatchDog Opinion. A look at the rise of “fake news” outlets, the decline of real ones and how to fight back.

SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog [46]
Topics on the Beat:
Consumer [24]
Economy & Business [32]
Journalism & Media [17]
Region:
National (U.S.) [12]
Visibility:
Public [13]
- Read more about Fake Newspapers Fill Gaps Left by Disappearing Real Ones [45]
Greenhouse Gas Inventory Data Helps Tell the Climate Story [47]

A massive data set that tracks greenhouse gas emissions in the United States is now newly updated, and the latest Reporter’s Toolbox calls it essential for informed reporting on U.S. climate policy. Its three decades-plus of measurements can help journalists track big emitters near them and from a variety of major sources ranging from landfill methane to industrial polluters.

SEJ Publication Types:
Reporters Toolbox [23]
Topics on the Beat:
Agriculture [48]
Air [3]
Climate Change [4]
Energy & Fuel [5]
Environmental Health [6]
Government [8]
Journalism & Media [17]
Laws & Regulations [9]
Policy [10]
Pollution [11]
Transportation [49]
Region:
National (U.S.) [12]
Visibility:
Public [13]
- Read more about Greenhouse Gas Inventory Data Helps Tell the Climate Story [47]
Rapid Response Grant Yields Oil Patch Stories, Book Chapter [50]

Mid-pandemic, freelancer Erika Bolstad struck out from Oregon for the boom-bust Bakken oil fields of North Dakota, with cash from a grant, two story assignments and years of book research. She shares her experience on the road, dealing with COVID risks, tricky timing and a stubborn bureaucracy, as well as a generous well-plugger and supportive editors. Read the new FEJ StoryLog.

SEJ Publication Types:
FEJ StoryLog [51]
Topics on the Beat:
Energy & Fuel [5]
Journalism & Media [17]
Natural Resources [34]
Policy [10]
Region:
National (U.S.) [12]
Great Plains (IA KS ND NE MO SD) [52]
Visibility:
Public [13]
- Read more about Rapid Response Grant Yields Oil Patch Stories, Book Chapter [50]
Property Risk Disclosure Reveals Reportable Environmental Threats [53]

As the real estate market enters its busiest time of year, it’s also a smart time for environmental journalists to explore and report on all the risks facing prospective property owners — whether lead paint or pipes, radon, flood, wildfire or more. The latest TipSheet explores the beat and offers up more than a dozen story ideas to pursue in your community.

SEJ Publication Types:
TipSheet [43]
Topics on the Beat:
Consumer [24]
Journalism & Media [17]
Laws & Regulations [9]
Planning & Growth [54]
Pollution [11]
Region:
National (U.S.) [12]
Visibility:
Public [13]
- Read more about Property Risk Disclosure Reveals Reportable Environmental Threats [53]

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