It may be time to dive into the deep end of the ocean for environmental stories, where big vessels and small are often involved in spills, illegal fishing or more. The latest Reporter’s Toolbox looks into emerging ship-tracker services that offer data to help trace the source of environmental damage, and that can help create some eye-popping visuals.

As U.S. coal’s comedown continues, our latest Issue Backgrounder takes a close look at the factors behind the industry’s decline and finds a combination of economics, competition and shifting global markets, along with aging technology, politics and environmental pushback. What’s in store for coal in 2020?

Expect the fight to worsen over the Trump Administration’s attempted rollback of auto mileage standards. Not only is California resisting a loss of its waiver to set tighter rules, joining at least 16 other states in a preemptive lawsuit. But carmakers themselves are deviating from the Trump line, worried over a fracturing of the nationwide auto market or seeking an edge in the field for more efficient vehicles. This special edition TipSheet looks at prospects for conflict in the year ahead.

The economics of fracking may be as big a worry as its environmental impacts, finds a new book on the energy extraction industry. Our latest BookShelf reviews the volume from a seasoned business reporter, who questions conventional views about a renewed U.S. energy “dominance,” probes the financial instability of the industry’s boom and raises the politically destabilizing spectre of a future decline for the fossil fuel market.

In the first edition of a new SEJournal column — EJ InSight — we look at how one freelance print journalist took up the camera to diversify her skills and report a unique story from the marshes of Iraq. See a photo gallery [66] of her images. Plus, multimedia efforts from other environmental reporters [67].