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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]

EPA Urged To Ban Spraying Of Antibiotics On Food Crops Amid Resistance Fears [34]

"A new legal petition filed by a dozen public health and farm worker groups demands the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) stop allowing farms to spray antibiotics on food crops in the US because they are probably causing superbugs to flourish and sickening farm workers."

Agriculture [21]
Biodiversity [35]
Chemicals [36]
Consumer [37]
Environmental Health [5]
Environmental Politics [7]
Laws & Regulations [12]
People & Population [38]
Pollution [13]
Science [14]
Technology [27]
Public [18]
National (U.S.) [16]
Source: Guardian [39], 12/01/2025
  • Read more about EPA Urged To Ban Spraying Of Antibiotics On Food Crops Amid Resistance Fears [34]

"Many Fighting Climate Change Worry They Are Losing the Information War" [40]

"Shifting politics, intensive lobbying and surging disinformation online have undermined international efforts to respond to the threat."

Climate Change [22]
Disasters [41]
Economy & Business [23]
Energy & Fuel [24]
Environmental Health [5]
Environmental Politics [7]
Journalism & Media [11]
Pollution [13]
Science [14]
Public [18]
National (U.S.) [16]
International [42]
Source: NYTimes [43], 12/01/2025
  • Read more about "Many Fighting Climate Change Worry They Are Losing the Information War" [40]

What’s Lost With Federal Funding Cuts At USGS Climate Science Centers [44]

"When the Trump administration began freezing federal funding for climate and ecosystem research, one of the programs hit hard was ours: the U.S. Geological Survey’s Climate Adaptation Science Centers." "The centers have been helping to track invasive species, protect water supplies and make agriculture more sustainable in the face of increasing drought conditions. They’re improving wildfire forecasting, protecting shorelines and saving Alaska salmon, among many other projects."

Agriculture [21]
Climate Change [22]
Environmental Health [5]
Environmental Politics [7]
Fish & Fisheries [45]
People & Population [38]
Science [14]
Water & Oceans [15]
Public [18]
National (U.S.) [16]
Source: The Conversation [46], 12/01/2025
  • Read more about What’s Lost With Federal Funding Cuts At USGS Climate Science Centers [44]

"Beekeepers, Farmers and the Fight to Save a Century-Old Research Hub" [47]

UPDATE: As of Dec. 1, NPR reports funding for USDA's Beltsville, Md., research center has been resored. No link available. 

"Industry groups and scientists have urged the Trump administration to reconsider its plan to close a renowned Agriculture Department center in Maryland and disperse its work around the country."

Agriculture [21]
Biodiversity [35]
Chemicals [36]
Climate Change [22]
Consumer [37]
Environmental Health [5]
Environmental Politics [7]
Food [48]
Government [9]
Science [14]
Public [18]
National (U.S.) [16]
Mid-Atlantic (DC DE MD PA VA WV) [31]
Source: NYTimes [49], 12/01/2025
  • Read more about "Beekeepers, Farmers and the Fight to Save a Century-Old Research Hub" [47]

FDA Pulls Proposal To Require Talc-Containing Cosmetics To Test For Asbestos [50]

"The Trump administration is withdrawing a proposal to require cosmetic companies to test their talc-containing products for asbestos, according to a public notice Tuesday."

Chemicals [36]
Consumer [37]
Environmental Health [5]
Environmental Politics [7]
Environmental Studies [8]
Laws & Regulations [12]
Pollution [13]
Science [14]
Public [18]
National (U.S.) [16]
Source: The Hill [51], 12/01/2025
  • Read more about FDA Pulls Proposal To Require Talc-Containing Cosmetics To Test For Asbestos [50]

"Atrazine Probably Causes Cancer In Humans, WHO Cancer Agency Says" [52]

"The World Health Organization’s cancer research agency has classified atrazine – the second most widely used herbicide in the United States – as “probably carcinogenic to humans,” adding to growing concerns about toxic exposures in the nation’s farm belt."

Agriculture [21]
Chemicals [36]
Consumer [37]
Environmental Health [5]
Environmental Justice [6]
Laws & Regulations [12]
People & Population [38]
Pollution [13]
Science [14]
Public [18]
National (U.S.) [16]
Source: US Right to Know [53], 12/01/2025
  • Read more about "Atrazine Probably Causes Cancer In Humans, WHO Cancer Agency Says" [52]

Rolling Sand Dunes Creeping Up On Last Remaining Oases On Edge Of Sahara [54]

"In western Chad, villagers are desperately trying to hold back the sand as the climate crisis wreaks havoc on one of the hottest countries in the world"

Agriculture [21]
Climate Change [22]
Disasters [41]
Environmental Health [5]
Natural Resources [25]
People & Population [38]
Water & Oceans [15]
Public [18]
Africa [55]
Middle East [56]
Source: Guardian [57], 11/26/2025
  • Read more about Rolling Sand Dunes Creeping Up On Last Remaining Oases On Edge Of Sahara [54]

"‘Climate Smart’ Beef? After A Lawsuit, Tyson Agrees To Drop The Label." [58]

"Advocates say a recent settlement is a win in the fight to hold industrial ag giants accountable."

Biodiversity [35]
Climate Change [22]
Consumer [37]
Environmental Health [5]
Food [48]
Journalism & Media [11]
Laws & Regulations [12]
Public [18]
National (U.S.) [16]
Source: Grist [59], 11/26/2025
  • Read more about "‘Climate Smart’ Beef? After A Lawsuit, Tyson Agrees To Drop The Label." [58]

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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/epa-urged-ban-spraying-antibiotics-food-crops-amid-resistance-fears [35] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/biodiversity-1 [36] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/chemicals/toxics [37] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/consumer [38] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/people-population [39] https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/nov/30/antibiotics-spraying-farms-epa-bacteria-resistance [40] https://www.sej.org/headlines/many-fighting-climate-change-worry-they-are-losing-information-war [41] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/disaster [42] https://www.sej.org/category/region/international [43] https://www.nytimes.com/2025/11/30/climate/climate-change-disinformation.html?unlocked_article_code=1.5E8.WOwV.LKPM8OaYiJiO&smid=url-share [44] https://www.sej.org/headlines/what-s-lost-federal-funding-cuts-usgs-climate-science-centers [45] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/fisheries [46] https://theconversation.com/from-invasive-species-tracking-to-water-security-whats-lost-with-federal-funding-cuts-at-us-climate-adaptation-science-centers-269908 [47] https://www.sej.org/headlines/beekeepers-farmers-and-fight-save-century-old-research-hub [48] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/food [49] https://www.nytimes.com/2025/11/27/us/politics/beekeepers-farmers-research-hub-barc.html?unlocked_article_code=1.5E8.6P8N.1Bht3_TRZJVb&smid=url-share [50] https://www.sej.org/headlines/fda-pulls-proposal-require-talc-containing-cosmetics-test-asbestos [51] https://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/5622484-fda-talc-asbestos-testing-proposal-withdrawn/ [52] https://www.sej.org/headlines/atrazine-probably-causes-cancer-humans-who-cancer-agency-says [53] https://usrtk.org/pesticides/atrazine-probably-carcinogenic-iarc/ [54] https://www.sej.org/headlines/rolling-sand-dunes-creeping-last-remaining-oases-edge-sahara [55] https://www.sej.org/category/region/international/africa [56] https://www.sej.org/category/region/international/middle-east [57] https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2025/nov/24/chad-desert-oases-wadi-water-gold-climate-crisis [58] https://www.sej.org/headlines/climate-smart-beef-after-lawsuit-tyson-agrees-drop-label [59] https://grist.org/food-and-agriculture/climate-smart-beef-after-a-lawsuit-tyson-agrees-to-drop-the-label/ [60] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/environmental-health?page=37 [61] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/environmental-health?page=34 [62] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/environmental-health?page=35 [63] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/environmental-health?page=36 [64] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/environmental-health?page=39 [65] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/environmental-health?page=40 [66] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/environmental-health?page=41 [67] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/environmental-health?page=42 [68] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/environmental-health?page=846