Publication Items

Trump 2.0 Cuts Hit FOIA Offices at Federal Agencies [1]

The Freedom of Information Act is a key tool for environmental journalists, but firings at many federal agencies’ FOIA offices threaten to seriously undermine it. That’s the warning from WatchDog Opinion, which points to dire implications for the free flow of information on public health and environmental health threats. A look at what’s at stake and what some are doing to keep FOIA alive.

SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Environmental Politics [3]
Government [4]
Health [5]
Laws & Regulations [6]
People & Population [7]
Policy [8]
Region:
National (U.S.) [9]
Visibility:
Public [10]
- Read more about Trump 2.0 Cuts Hit FOIA Offices at Federal Agencies [1]
As One Door Shuts on Climate Risk Data, News Outlet Opens Another [11]

Even as U.S. government agencies rush to wipe climate change information (or even the mention of the word climate) from their websites, others are racing to reconstruct lost data elsewhere. Case in point is a rescued database on climate risks preserved by The Guardian. The latest Reporter’s Toolbox has more on the preserved database and how best to use it.

SEJ Publication Types:
Reporters Toolbox [12]
Topics on the Beat:
Climate Change [13]
Disasters [14]
Environmental Health [15]
Environmental Politics [3]
Government [4]
Journalism & Media [16]
Policy [8]
Region:
National (U.S.) [9]
Visibility:
Public [10]
- Read more about As One Door Shuts on Climate Risk Data, News Outlet Opens Another [11]
#SEJ2025 — Confronting the Past, Surviving the Future [17]

Next week, hundreds of environmental journalists are expected to gather in Arizona for #SEJ2025, the Society of Environmental Journalists’ expansive annual conference. Co-chair Kendal Blust has highlights of the four-day event, plus how the challenges facing the Southwest are those of communities across the United States, and why now is a critical time for journalists to come together. Read her rundown [17] and register now [18], before the April 16 midnight deadline.

SEJ Publication Types:
SEJ News [19]
Topics on the Beat:
Agriculture [20]
Biodiversity [21]
Climate Change [13]
Energy & Fuel [22]
Environmental Health [15]
Environmental Justice [23]
Environmental Politics [3]
Fish & Fisheries [24]
Food [25]
Government [4]
Health [5]
Journalism & Media [16]
Natural Resources [26]
People & Population [7]
Planning & Growth [27]
Policy [8]
Pollution [28]
Science [29]
Water & Oceans [30]
Wildlife [31]
Region:
National (U.S.) [9]
Southwest (AZ NM OK TX) [32]
International [33]
Mexico [34]
Visibility:
Public [10]
- Read more about #SEJ2025 — Confronting the Past, Surviving the Future [17]
With Scientific Research Under Attack, Journalists Must Up Their Game [35]

The Trump administration’s offensive against evidence-based research is making clear, accurate reporting on science more important than ever — because people who understand how scientific research works and what it tells us are less likely to be duped by misinformation or pseudoscience. SciLine director Matt DeRienzo on the challenges of the time and new resources to help journalists understand and explain evidence-based research.

SEJ Publication Types:
Features [36]
Topics on the Beat:
Climate Change [13]
Consumer [37]
Environmental Studies [38]
Government [4]
Health [5]
Journalism & Media [16]
Laws & Regulations [6]
Pollution [28]
Science [29]
Region:
National (U.S.) [9]
Visibility:
Public [10]
- Read more about With Scientific Research Under Attack, Journalists Must Up Their Game [35]
How the Potomac Imparts the Capital’s Story [39]

The Potomac is one of the most prominent rivers in the United States, a defining ecological feature of Washington, D.C., at the same time it reveals the city’s history of racial inequality and disenfranchisement. Writer, historian, educator and herbalist Charlotte Taylor Fryar recounts that tale in her ambitious “Potomac Fever,” reviewed in the latest BookShelf by contributing editor Jennifer Weeks, herself a Washington native.

SEJ Publication Types:
BookShelf [40]
Topics on the Beat:
Environmental Health [15]
Environmental Justice [23]
Environmental Politics [3]
Natural Resources [26]
People & Population [7]
Pollution [28]
Water & Oceans [30]
Region:
National (U.S.) [9]
Mid-Atlantic (DC DE MD PA VA WV) [41]
Visibility:
Public [10]
- Read more about How the Potomac Imparts the Capital’s Story [39]
Dam Safety Firings Leave Downstream Residents at Risk [42]

Among the widespread federal firings that look like they’re putting the public increasingly at risk are those that strip away government oversight of dam safety. The latest TipSheet looks at what’s at stake and offers up a dozen story ideas, questions to ask and reporting resources to help environmental journalists spot the dam dangers nearest them.

SEJ Publication Types:
TipSheet [43]
Topics on the Beat:
Disasters [14]
Environmental Politics [3]
Government [4]
Infrastructure [44]
Journalism & Media [16]
Policy [8]
Water & Oceans [30]
Region:
National (U.S.) [9]
California [45]
Visibility:
Public [10]
- Read more about Dam Safety Firings Leave Downstream Residents at Risk [42]
An Editor’s Eye View to Successful Pitching [46]

The not-so-simple act of pitching story ideas is among the biggest challenges facing freelance environmental reporters. Is the pitch smartly targeted, thoroughly researched, well-crafted? Our new Freelance Files co-editor Marianne Messina spoke to four top-level editors at well-known outlets to get their perspectives on making a successful pitch. Learn why outlets need you, what they look for and how to avoid basic mistakes.

SEJ Publication Types:
Freelance Files [47]
Topics on the Beat:
Journalism & Media [16]
Region:
National (U.S.) [9]
International [33]
Visibility:
Public [10]
- Read more about An Editor’s Eye View to Successful Pitching [46]
U.S. Fuel Exports To Profit Industry, Slam Consumers [48]

‘Energy dominance’ is a Trump catchphrase whose meaning may be vague — since the U.S. is already the world’s top producer of oil and natural gas. But one thing that does seem clear, per the new Backgrounder, is that a flood of new U.S. permits to export gas will likely mean higher energy prices for U.S. customers.

SEJ Publication Types:
Backgrounders [49]
Topics on the Beat:
Climate Change [13]
Consumer [37]
Energy & Fuel [22]
Environmental Politics [3]
Policy [8]
Region:
National (U.S.) [9]
International [33]
Canada [50]
Mexico [34]
Europe [51]
Visibility:
Public [10]
- Read more about U.S. Fuel Exports To Profit Industry, Slam Consumers [48]
Follow the Money … for Lobbying State Legislatures [52]

With many states dominated by a few powerful industries — whether oil, mining or agriculture — the influence of campaign dollars can have an outsize effect on legislation, even to the point of corruption, notes the latest Reporter’s Toolbox. So while the U.S. Congress may be languishing, environmental journalists can dig up stories on lobbying at the state level using a powerful data source.

SEJ Publication Types:
Reporters Toolbox [12]
Topics on the Beat:
Activism [53]
Agriculture [20]
Economy & Business [54]
Energy & Fuel [22]
Environmental Politics [3]
Government [4]
Journalism & Media [16]
Laws & Regulations [6]
Policy [8]
Region:
National (U.S.) [9]
Great Plains (IA KS ND NE MO SD) [55]
Mid-Atlantic (DC DE MD PA VA WV) [41]
Southwest (AZ NM OK TX) [32]
Visibility:
Public [10]
- Read more about Follow the Money … for Lobbying State Legislatures [52]
Hazardous Risk Reporting Resource at Risk of Trump Blackout [56]

Hazardous sites around the United States are supposed to have disaster plans, which make for a localizable story environmental journalists can tell to help protect their communities. The problem, reports TipSheet, is that a key federal database of these plans may be shut down by the Trump administration. More on the Risk Management Program, efforts to protect the data and how reporters can use it.

SEJ Publication Types:
TipSheet [43]
Topics on the Beat:
Chemicals [57]
Disasters [14]
Environmental Health [15]
Environmental Politics [3]
Government [4]
Health [5]
Journalism & Media [16]
Laws & Regulations [6]
Pollution [28]
Waste [58]
Region:
National (U.S.) [9]
Visibility:
Public [10]
- Read more about Hazardous Risk Reporting Resource at Risk of Trump Blackout [56]

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