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Citizen Pollution Monitors Face Industry Pushback, Legal Threats [1]

A steep decline in the enforcement of environmental laws means the monitoring of pollution by citizens is more important than ever. But as the latest TipSheet notes, some states have passed laws that severely constrain the use of citizen monitoring or the sharing of findings. Get the backstory, along with top reporting angles and resources for finding monitoring in your area.

SEJ Publication Types: 
TipSheet [2]
Topics on the Beat: 
Activism [3]
Air [4]
Environmental Health [5]
Environmental Justice [6]
Environmental Politics [7]
Environmental Studies [8]
Government [9]
Health [10]
Journalism & Media [11]
Laws & Regulations [12]
Pollution [13]
Science [14]
Water & Oceans [15]
Region: 
National (U.S.) [16]
SE (AL AR FL GA KY LA MS NC PR SC TN) [17]
Visibility: 
Public [18]
  • Read more about Citizen Pollution Monitors Face Industry Pushback, Legal Threats [1]

Orphans and Zombies — Reporting on Abandoned Oil and Gas Wells Across the Country [19]

For more than a century, oil and gas companies have been drilling — and abandoning — wells across the country, leaving hundreds of thousands to potentially leak pollutants into the air, water and soil. Climate and environment reporter Martha Pskowski looks at how funding and regulatory issues are impacting efforts to identify and plug these wells, and offers resources for drilling into their story.

SEJ Publication Types: 
Features [20]
Topics on the Beat: 
Agriculture [21]
Air [4]
Climate Change [22]
Economy & Business [23]
Energy & Fuel [24]
Environmental Health [5]
Government [9]
Health [10]
Journalism & Media [11]
Laws & Regulations [12]
Natural Resources [25]
Policy [26]
Pollution [13]
Technology [27]
Water & Oceans [15]
Wildlife [28]
Region: 
National (U.S.) [16]
Great Lakes (IL IN MI MN OH WI) [29]
Great Plains (IA KS ND NE MO SD) [30]
Mid-Atlantic (DC DE MD PA VA WV) [31]
Mountain West (CO ID MT NV UT WY) [32]
Southwest (AZ NM OK TX) [33]
Visibility: 
Public [18]
  • Read more about Orphans and Zombies — Reporting on Abandoned Oil and Gas Wells Across the Country [19]

La. Health Official Who Halted State Vaccine Campaign Tapped As CDC’s No. 2 [34]

"A Louisiana health official who ordered his health department to stop promoting mass vaccinations this past winter during a surge in influenza cases has been tapped to serve as the new No. 2 leader at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention."

Consumer [35]
Environmental Health [5]
Environmental Politics [7]
Health [10]
Laws & Regulations [12]
People & Population [36]
Public [18]
National (U.S.) [16]
Source: Washington Post [37], 11/26/2025
  • Read more about La. Health Official Who Halted State Vaccine Campaign Tapped As CDC’s No. 2 [34]

"A Bowhead Whale's DNA Offers Clues To Fight Cancer" [38]

"Scientists searching for novel ways to fight cancer think they may have uncovered a promising new lead tucked away inside the cells of the bowhead whale."

Biodiversity [39]
Fish & Fisheries [40]
Health [10]
Natural Resources [25]
People & Population [36]
Science [14]
Water & Oceans [15]
Wildlife [28]
Public [18]
National (U.S.) [16]
International [41]
Source: NPR [42], 11/25/2025
  • Read more about "A Bowhead Whale's DNA Offers Clues To Fight Cancer" [38]

"Bird Flu Patient Dies, Marking Second U.S. Fatality In 2025" [43]

"A Washington resident who was the first human case of bird flu in the U.S. since February died on Friday, state health officials said. The person was an older adult with underlying conditions and had been hospitalized since early November with a strain that was previously reported in animals but never before in humans."

Agriculture [21]
Biodiversity [39]
Environmental Health [5]
Health [10]
Science [14]
Wildlife [28]
Public [18]
National (U.S.) [16]
International [41]
Source: Washington Post [44], 11/24/2025
  • Read more about "Bird Flu Patient Dies, Marking Second U.S. Fatality In 2025" [43]

CDC Site Now Denies Scientific Conclusion That Vaccines Don’t Cause Autism [45]

"A Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website has been changed to contradict the longtime scientific conclusion that vaccines do not cause autism, spurring outrage among a number of public health and autism experts."

Consumer [35]
Environmental Health [5]
Environmental Politics [7]
Health [10]
Journalism & Media [11]
People & Population [36]
Science [14]
Public [18]
National (U.S.) [16]
Source: AP [46], 11/21/2025
  • Read more about CDC Site Now Denies Scientific Conclusion That Vaccines Don’t Cause Autism [45]

"FDA Names Longtime Cancer Scientist Pazdur To Lead Drug Center" [47]

"The Food and Drug Administration on Tuesday named a longtime regulator of cancer medicines to lead the agency’s drug center, replacing the former drug director who was recently ousted after an ethics complaint."

Chemicals [48]
Environmental Health [5]
Health [10]
Laws & Regulations [12]
Science [14]
Technology [27]
Public [18]
National (U.S.) [16]
Source: AP [49], 11/13/2025
  • Read more about "FDA Names Longtime Cancer Scientist Pazdur To Lead Drug Center" [47]

"Environment Takeaways From The Spending Deal" [50]

"The Senate approved a three-bill spending package for fiscal 2026. Lawmakers also passed a stopgap for the rest of the government."

Agriculture [21]
Climate Change [22]
Energy & Fuel [24]
Environmental Health [5]
Environmental Politics [7]
Health [10]
Laws & Regulations [12]
Water & Oceans [15]
Public [18]
National (U.S.) [16]
Source: E&E News [51], 11/12/2025
  • Read more about "Environment Takeaways From The Spending Deal" [50]

Queer Ecology — A Powerful Lens for Reporting on Environmental Injustice [52]

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.

SEJ Publication Types: 
Features [20]
Topics on the Beat: 
Activism [3]
Agriculture [21]
Air [4]
Biodiversity [39]
Climate Change [22]
Disasters [53]
Diversity [54]
Environmental Health [5]
Environmental Justice [6]
Environmental Politics [7]
Environmental Studies [8]
Health [10]
Journalism & Media [11]
People & Population [36]
Planning & Growth [55]
Science [14]
Wildlife [28]
Region: 
National (U.S.) [16]
International [41]
Visibility: 
Public [18]
  • Read more about Queer Ecology — A Powerful Lens for Reporting on Environmental Injustice [52]

Trump Country Coal Miners With Black Lung Say Government Is Suffocating Them [56]

"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."

Energy & Fuel [24]
Environmental Health [5]
Environmental Justice [6]
Environmental Politics [7]
Government [9]
Health [10]
Laws & Regulations [12]
Natural Resources [25]
Public [18]
National (U.S.) [16]
Mid-Atlantic (DC DE MD PA VA WV) [31]
SE (AL AR FL GA KY LA MS NC PR SC TN) [17]
Source: AP [57], 11/10/2025
  • Read more about Trump Country Coal Miners With Black Lung Say Government Is Suffocating Them [56]

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Source URL:https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/health?page=2

Links
[1] https://www.sej.org/publications/tipsheet/citizen-pollution-monitors-face-industry-pushback-legal-threats [2] https://www.sej.org/category/sej-publication/tipsheet [3] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/activism [4] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/air [5] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/environmental-health [6] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/environmental-justice [7] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/environmental-politics [8] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/environmentalists [9] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/government [10] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/health [11] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/journalism/media [12] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/laws [13] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/pollution [14] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/science [15] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/water [16] https://www.sej.org/category/region/national [17] https://www.sej.org/category/region/national/southeast [18] https://www.sej.org/taxonomy/term/81 [19] https://www.sej.org/publications/features/orphans-and-zombies-reporting-abandoned-oil-and-gas-wells-across-country [20] https://www.sej.org/category/sej-publication-types/features [21] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/agriculture [22] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/climate-change [23] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/business [24] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/energy [25] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/land [26] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/policy [27] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/technology [28] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/wildlife [29] https://www.sej.org/category/region/national/great-lakes [30] https://www.sej.org/category/region/national/great-plains [31] https://www.sej.org/category/region/national/mid-atlantic [32] https://www.sej.org/category/region/national/mountain-west [33] https://www.sej.org/category/region/national/southwest [34] https://www.sej.org/headlines/la-health-official-who-halted-state-vaccine-campaign-tapped-cdc-s-no-2 [35] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/consumer [36] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/people-population [37] https://wapo.st/4pvW7C8 [38] https://www.sej.org/headlines/bowhead-whales-dna-offers-clues-fight-cancer [39] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/biodiversity-1 [40] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/fisheries [41] https://www.sej.org/category/region/international [42] https://www.npr.org/2025/11/24/nx-s1-5612550/bowhead-whale-cancer-dna-longevity [43] https://www.sej.org/headlines/bird-flu-patient-dies-marking-second-us-fatality-2025 [44] https://wapo.st/4psL8cE [45] https://www.sej.org/headlines/cdc-site-now-denies-scientific-conclusion-vaccines-don-t-cause-autism [46] https://apnews.com/article/cdc-autism-vaccines-7b1890f626dd5921fafd00fdd1e6425a [47] https://www.sej.org/headlines/fda-names-longtime-cancer-scientist-pazdur-lead-drug-center [48] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/chemicals/toxics [49] https://apnews.com/article/fda-drug-center-rick-pazdur-tidmarsh-42ab2cae8188990cbb5cec509d595e22 [50] https://www.sej.org/headlines/environment-takeaways-spending-deal [51] https://www.eenews.net/articles/environment-takeaways-from-the-spending-deal/ [52] https://www.sej.org/publications/features/queer-ecology-powerful-lens-reporting-environmental-injustice [53] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/disaster [54] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/diversity [55] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/cities-towns [56] https://www.sej.org/headlines/trump-country-coal-miners-black-lung-say-government-suffocating-them [57] https://apnews.com/article/black-lung-coal-miners-trump-doge-7c2258181a73f650d138faf07fc4517b [58] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/health?page=1 [59] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/health?page=3 [60] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/health?page=4 [61] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/health?page=5 [62] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/health?page=6 [63] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/health?page=7 [64] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/health?page=8 [65] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/health?page=126