Selected journalists receive a trip to Amsterdam, accommodation and access to the world’s leading environmental thinkers during the Tyler Prize events taking place in April 2026. Open to professional journalists worldwide who cover environment, science or policy. Deadline: Jan 7, 2026.
With the COP30 U.N. climate talks starting this week in Brazil, in the heart of the Amazon River basin, our Issue Backgrounder points out that now is a critical time to consider a central question: Is the mandate to save the immense Amazon rainforest as a way to combat climate change being irretrievably undermined by the vast, destructive forces bringing about the rainforest’s rapid destruction?
A massive trove of mappable water data from the U.S. Geological Survey offers reporters resources to cover present-day flooding threats, compare them to past flood events or help prepare reporting for tomorrow’s disasters. According to the latest Reporter’s Toolbox, its various tools let you pinpoint immediate flooding, map future flood hazards and even configure phone alerts for breaking events.
Queer ecology is an evolving field that challenges traditional assumptions in science and explores LGBTQ+ experiences in an ecological context. It’s easy to catch your audience’s attention with stories about transitioning clownfish or same-sex albatross parenting. But as contributor Isaias Hernandez explains, queer ecology also offers journalists an important perspective for covering a range of environmental issues, from climate risk to pollution exposure, and reimagining environmental narratives.
"Queensland will roll out shark-spotting drones to more beaches, after a major study found drones detected more than double the number of sharks caught in adjacent nets."
"As wildfires burn closer to urban areas, scientists are trying to better catalog the vast array of pollutants that firefighters may be exposed to"
"Lisa Emery loves to talk about her “boys.” With each word, the respiratory therapist’s face softens and shines with pride. But keep her talking, and it doesn’t take long for that passion to switch to hurt. She knows the names, ages, families and the intimate stories of each one’s scarred lungs. She worries about a whole community of West Virginia coal miners — including a growing number in their 30s and 40s — who come to her for help while getting sicker and sicker from what used to be considered an old-timer’s disease: black lung."
"Near the end of his first term, President Donald Trump signed into law a bill that aimed to reduce harmful, planet-warming pollutants emitted by refrigerators and air conditioners. ... Five years later, the second Trump administration is reversing course, as it moves to loosen a federal rule — based on the 2020 law — that requires grocery stores, air-conditioning companies and others to reduce powerful greenhouse gases used in cooling equipment."
"Large swaths of the U.S. prepared for one of the season’s first blasts of wintry weather Sunday as temperatures dipped and snow fell in the Northern Plains, snowstorms developed eastward across the Great Lakes and the South prepared for a big chill."
"Voter anger over the cost of living is hurtling forward into next year’s midterm elections, when pivotal contests will be decided by communities that are home to fast-rising electric bills or fights over who’s footing the bill to power Big Tech’s energy-hungry data centers."
Links
[1] https://www.sej.org/calendar/deadline-tyler-prize-media-fellowship
[2] https://www.sej.org/publications/backgrounders/cop30-amazon-rainforest-center-stage-climate-catastrophe
[3] https://www.sej.org/publications/reporters-toolbox/database-flood-events-helps-cover-catastrophes-past-or-present
[4] https://www.sej.org/publications/features/queer-ecology-powerful-lens-reporting-environmental-injustice
[5] https://www.sej.org/headlines/shark-spotting-drones-become-permanent-fixture-queensland-beaches
[6] https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/nov/10/twice-as-effective-as-nets-shark-spotting-drones-to-become-permanent-fixture-on-queensland-beaches
[7] https://www.sej.org/headlines/firefighters-wear-wristbands-track-harmful-exposures
[8] https://cen.acs.org/environment/pollution/firefighters-wear-wristbands-track-harmful-silicone/103/web/2025/11
[9] https://www.sej.org/headlines/trump-country-coal-miners-black-lung-say-government-suffocating-them
[10] https://apnews.com/article/black-lung-coal-miners-trump-doge-7c2258181a73f650d138faf07fc4517b
[11] https://www.sej.org/headlines/trump-epa-moves-loosen-restrictions-it-once-supported-harmful-hfcs
[12] https://apnews.com/article/hfc-alternative-refrigerants-air-conditioners-trump-epa-fb2d3c8bd3029b9f924e9adb45bedfb4
[13] https://www.sej.org/headlines/forecast-intense-snow-great-lakes-states-and-record-lows-south
[14] https://apnews.com/article/winter-weather-snow-chicago-great-lakes-storm-34919c171b8ecebcad4ecab6708c0712
[15] https://www.sej.org/headlines/voter-anger-high-electric-bills-and-data-centers-looms-over-2026-midterms
[16] https://apnews.com/article/2026-election-utility-bills-ai-data-centers-13703f61d1397612fd067e69b9093116
[17] https://www.sej.org/search_results
[18] https://www.sej.org/search_results?page=30
[19] https://www.sej.org/search_results?page=27
[20] https://www.sej.org/search_results?page=28
[21] https://www.sej.org/search_results?page=29
[22] https://www.sej.org/search_results?page=32
[23] https://www.sej.org/search_results?page=33
[24] https://www.sej.org/search_results?page=34
[25] https://www.sej.org/search_results?page=35
[26] https://www.sej.org/search_results?page=4888