Publication Items

NEPA Rollback, EPA Science Rules Threaten Transparency; Plus, Pandemic Press Restrictions? [1]

A long-standing law designed to protect public information about environmental impacts is facing an unfavorable overhaul, while a proposal dictating how EPA uses scientific findings in its rulings is nearing finalization. WatchDog has those items, plus how states are using the COVID-19 pandemic to restrict press and more.

SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Activism [3]
Climate Change [4]
Disasters [5]
Economy & Business [6]
Environmental Politics [7]
Government [8]
Journalism & Media [9]
Laws & Regulations [10]
Policy [11]
Science [12]
Region:
National (U.S.) [13]
Visibility:
Public [14]
- Read more about NEPA Rollback, EPA Science Rules Threaten Transparency; Plus, Pandemic Press Restrictions? [1]
Could Combined Sewer Overflows Be a COVID-19 Threat? [15]

For reporters investigating the coronavirus-environment connection, you might look to the untreated sewage that can sometimes overflow municipal systems during wet weather, possibly bringing the novel pathogen to beaches and other places where people can get sick from it. The latest TipSheet takes a look at the reality, plus provides story ideas and reporter resources.

SEJ Publication Types:
TipSheet [16]
Topics on the Beat:
Disasters [5]
Environmental Health [17]
Environmental Studies [18]
Government [8]
Health [19]
Journalism & Media [9]
Laws & Regulations [10]
People & Population [20]
Pollution [21]
Waste [22]
Water & Oceans [23]
Region:
National (U.S.) [13]
California [24]
International [25]
Europe [26]
Visibility:
Public [14]
- Read more about Could Combined Sewer Overflows Be a COVID-19 Threat? [15]
COVID-19 Data Challenges Can Spark Better Journalism [27]

Reporting the COVID-19 pandemic may mean telling environmental stories, while using the best data to do it. The latest Reporter’s Toolbox spotlights three key resources to capture a detailed look at where and who the coronavirus is striking, and how it connects to the environment: a dashboard, an ambitious data platform and an unheralded tool for uncovering environmental injustice.

SEJ Publication Types:
Reporters Toolbox [28]
Topics on the Beat:
Disasters [5]
Environmental Health [17]
Health [19]
Journalism & Media [9]
People & Population [20]
Region:
National (U.S.) [13]
Visibility:
Public [14]
- Read more about COVID-19 Data Challenges Can Spark Better Journalism [27]
Smokey’s 420 Gets the ‘Dirt’ on Pot Crop [29]

The story of Smokey’s 420, mom-and-pop pot shop that’s taken a more environmental perspective. Plus, why the explosion in the infant business legal cannabis could be bad news for the environment [30], if left largely unregulated.

SEJ Publication Types:
Features [31]
Topics on the Beat:
Activism [3]
Agriculture [32]
Chemicals [33]
Consumer [34]
Economy & Business [6]
Energy & Fuel [35]
Environmental Politics [7]
Government [8]
Health [19]
Journalism & Media [9]
Laws & Regulations [10]
Policy [11]
Pollution [21]
Waste [22]
Water & Oceans [23]
Region:
National (U.S.) [13]
Mountain West (CO ID MT NV UT WY) [36]
Visibility:
Public [14]
- Read more about Smokey’s 420 Gets the ‘Dirt’ on Pot Crop [29]
Why an Unregulated Pot Business May Be Bad for the Environment [30]

One industry seemingly unharmed by the coronavirus-related shutdown is legal cannabis. But the explosion in this infant business could be bad news for the environment, if left largely unregulated. A closer look at the issues. Plus, the story of Smokey’s 420 [29], mom-and-pop pot shop that’s taken a more environmental perspective.

SEJ Publication Types:
Features [31]
Topics on the Beat:
Activism [3]
Agriculture [32]
Chemicals [33]
Economy & Business [6]
Energy & Fuel [35]
Environmental Politics [7]
Government [8]
Health [19]
Journalism & Media [9]
Laws & Regulations [10]
Policy [11]
Pollution [21]
Waste [22]
Water & Oceans [23]
Region:
National (U.S.) [13]
Mountain West (CO ID MT NV UT WY) [36]
Visibility:
Public [14]
- Read more about Why an Unregulated Pot Business May Be Bad for the Environment [30]
Using Late Fees To Get Media Clients To Pay on Time [37]

Numerous freelance journalists are suffering financially alongside other businesses damaged by the economic fallout of the coronavirus crisis. But in an especially timely tale, one freelancer explains how she took matters into her own hands when media clients were overdue on payments. Freelance Files has the story.

SEJ Publication Types:
Freelance Files [38]
Topics on the Beat:
Economy & Business [6]
Journalism & Media [9]
Region:
National (U.S.) [13]
International [25]
Visibility:
Public [14]
- Read more about Using Late Fees To Get Media Clients To Pay on Time [37]
Ignoring COVID-19 Link, EPA Leaves Lax Soot Standard in Place [39]

As researchers are finding that soot and other forms of fine particulates in the air may actually make people more vulnerable to the coronavirus, the EPA decided earlier this month against tightening related standards under the Clean Air Act. The latest TipSheet explains why the decision matters, provides deeper context and offers story ideas and resources.

SEJ Publication Types:
TipSheet [16]
Topics on the Beat:
Air [40]
Disasters [5]
Environmental Health [17]
Environmental Politics [7]
Environmental Studies [18]
Government [8]
Health [19]
Journalism & Media [9]
Laws & Regulations [10]
People & Population [20]
Policy [11]
Pollution [21]
Science [12]
Transportation [41]
Region:
National (U.S.) [13]
Visibility:
Public [14]
- Read more about Ignoring COVID-19 Link, EPA Leaves Lax Soot Standard in Place [39]
For Oil Market Data, You Don’t Need Slippery Sources [42]

Tracking the oil market — or more precisely, the price of oil — will tell you a great deal about environmental issues, whether it be fracking, pipelines, land use, toxic emissions or more. The latest Reporter’s Toolbox helps you follow the data for your stories. Plus, a Backgrounder on Big Oil [43] and how it drives not just energy but environment stories.

SEJ Publication Types:
Reporters Toolbox [28]
Topics on the Beat:
Economy & Business [6]
Energy & Fuel [35]
Journalism & Media [9]
Natural Resources [44]
Region:
National (U.S.) [13]
International [25]
Visibility:
Public [14]
- Read more about For Oil Market Data, You Don’t Need Slippery Sources [42]
Turmoil in World Oil Markets Tips Environmental Scales Too [45]

The dramatic drop in demand for oil, driven by the shutdown of world economies by coronavirus, has meant a corresponding fall in prices. And that has profound environmental implications. But it’s a complicated dynamic to assess. Our Issue Backgrounder provides a look under the hood of Big Oil, and explains what it means for environment reporters. Plus, a Reporter’s Toolbox for tracking the data [42].

SEJ Publication Types:
Backgrounders [46]
Topics on the Beat:
Climate Change [4]
Economy & Business [6]
Energy & Fuel [35]
Environmental Politics [7]
Government [8]
Journalism & Media [9]
Laws & Regulations [10]
Natural Resources [44]
Policy [11]
Region:
National (U.S.) [13]
International [25]
Europe [26]
Middle East [47]
Visibility:
Public [14]
- Read more about Turmoil in World Oil Markets Tips Environmental Scales Too [45]
When the Crisis Was Immense, SEJ Award-Winner Went Narrow [48]

How do you gain perspective on a widespread public health disaster? Award-winning reporter Apoorva Mandavilli shares valuable lessons on using a small lens to cover a big story — no, not COVID-19, but the deadly 1984 gas leak in Bhopal, India. And as she explains in this Inside Story Q&A, this decades-old story never really went away in the first place.

SEJ Publication Types:
Inside Story [49]
Topics on the Beat:
Activism [3]
Air [40]
Chemicals [33]
Disasters [5]
Environmental Health [17]
Government [8]
Health [19]
Journalism & Media [9]
People & Population [20]
Pollution [21]
Water & Oceans [23]
Region:
International [25]
Asia [50]
Visibility:
Public [14]
- Read more about When the Crisis Was Immense, SEJ Award-Winner Went Narrow [48]

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