Now that a top court has tossed out parts of coal ash disposal rules, also in question is a planned loosening under the Trump EPA. That means potential state-level stories on how this coal combustion byproduct may threaten environmental health and water supplies. This week’s TipSheet runs down the issue and suggests resources and questions to ask.

Plastic straws might have quickly become this summer’s bogeyman, with bans by Starbucks, hotel chains, resorts and some big cities. But as this week’s TipSheet points out, straws are only a part of the massive marine litter problem facing the world’s oceans. Here’s how to put recent straw bans into broader perspective.

Could U.S. infrastructure go from being a saver of lives to a bringer of disaster? Yes, warns our latest Issue Backgrounder, which looks at vulnerabilities for our drinking water supply, sewage systems, flood control, power grids, pipelines, refineries and even hospitals. Are environmental reporters paying enough attention? Here’s why they should, with suggestions on how to go about it.

​It’s a blockbuster — literally. Homes by the tens of thousands are at risk of being lost to coastal flooding in coming years, communities broken up thanks to climate change. This week’s TipSheet tells you how to find the data to tell the story and provides examples of model reporting.

​The tale of the Flint, Michigan, drinking water crisis is told anew in a just-released book by a key protagonist in the tragedy. Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha’s “What the Eyes Don’t See: A Story of Crisis, Resistance, and Hope in an American City” is written with a grace, clarity, honesty and passion that our BookShelf editor Tom Henry says brings a unique perspective to this important story of American environmental injustice.

A key figure in the Flint, Mich., drinking water crisis, Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha, talks with SEJournal’s Between the Lines about her new book on the tragedy, and how she hopes telling the tale of the intersection of environmental injustice, racism, poverty and democracy might provide inspiration for other communities.