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May 7, 2025
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SEJ News: #SEJ2025 LIVE — On-the-Ground Coverage of Day One Sessions From Reporters in Our Student Newsroom
A team of student journalists reported on key environmental issues at the annual Society of Environmental Journalists’ conference, which took place April 23-26, 2025 in Tempe, Arizona.
- Read Part 1, with more than two dozen reports from Day 1 of the conference.
- Read Part 2, with nearly a dozen reports from Day 2 of the conference.
- Read Part 3, with more than a dozen reports from SEJ tours.
The #SEJ2025 LIVE initiative comprised 16 student journalist fellows working under the guidance of eight newsroom editors from The Arizona Republic, with SEJournal editor Adam Glenn serving as a facilitator.
Student reporters were Amelia Monroe, Bella Mazzilli, Eleri Mosier, George Headley, Naomi DuBovis, Serenity Reynolds, Sophia Ramirez and Tufan Neupane from Arizona State University; Arilynn Hyatt, Jay Corella, McKenna Manzo, Natasha Cortinovis, Sedona Paige Hartley and Summer Williams from the University of Arizona; Katarzyna Michalik from Prescott College; and Nikki Shaw from Alaska Pacific University.
Newsroom editors were Greg Burton, Shaun McKinnon, Kathy Tulumello, Wyatt Buchanan, Sean Holstege, Mark Henle, Pat Poblete and Steve Kilar of The Arizona Republic, and Kendal Blust of the University of Arizona.
The program was supported by the Nina Mason Pulliam Charitable Trust, Arizona State University’s Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication, the Arizona Media Association’s Local News Foundation and the University of Arizona's School of Journalism.
Many thanks to SEJ’s Cindy MacDonald, for her extra-human copy and production editing work on this special report; and to Lisa Palmer, editorial director for events, and Aparna Mukherjee, executive director, for their role in formulating and supporting the #SEJ2025 student newsroom.
The stories are available open-source for other outlets and organizations to share and republish, with credit and links.
SEJ Opening Plenary: Four Things Experts Said About Confronting the Climate Crisis in the Trump Era
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| Sammy Roth (left) moderates a discussion with Emily Fischer (second to left), Lena Gonzalez (center), Anne Hedges (second to right) and Nada Wolff Culver (right) during the Society of Environmental Journalists conference on April 25, at the Omni Hotel in Tempe, Arizona. Photo: Jay Corella. Click for more images here from the plenary, at AZCentral.com. |
Published April 25, 2025
By McKenna Manzo
Environmental leaders from the western U.S. gathered in metro Phoenix to discuss "confronting the climate crisis in the Trump Era" during the Society of Environmental Journalists conference.
In partnership with Arizona State University, the journalism group celebrated its 35th anniversary of bringing together journalists, scientists, governmental officials and others in Tempe, Arizona, near the university's campus.
The 2025 gathering explored environmental issues across the Southwest, including water scarcity, extreme heat, and other issues that resonate globally.
The discussion about the intersection of the climate crisis and the second Trump administration, including the rollback of Biden-era climate policies and how state and local governments can continue to fight climate change, opened the third day of the conference.
Here are some key takeaways from the conversation, moderated by Sammy Roth, the climate columnist for the Los Angeles Times.
Use of the word ‘climate’ in public policy realms comes and goes, natural resource expert says
A Biden-era principal deputy director of the U.S. Bureau of Land Management reflected on her experience with the dynamic nature of the word “climate” in public conversation.
Nada Wolff Culver said the word itself rises and falls in prominence, but real change stems from the concrete action by journalists, lawyers and policy advocates.
“Usually, the word is not always the big difference but the action that happens, the reporting, the lawsuit, the advocacy,” Culver said. “This is what makes the change on the ground.”
Energy affordability could fuel positive environmental impacts, advocate says
Anne Hedges, the executive director of the Montana Environmental Information Center, described herself as an optimist and said she saw a potential silver lining in President Donald Trump’s energy policies.
Hedges said she anticipated a moment of realization when Trump's promised fossil fuel boom fails to materialize because of market forces. The shift to renewable energy is already in motion, she said, and argued that the desire for affordability will spur a pushback against high nonrenewable energy costs.
“They are saying we are going to dig, we’re going to burn, and we are going to use it all,” she said. “He is giving a false sense of hope to a lot of people out there.”
Grassroots groups can drive environmental change, politician says
California Senate Majority Leader Lena Gonzalez, a Democrat who represents southeast Los Angeles, as well as Long Beach and other Southern California communities, said environmental justice issues resonate with people in her district.
When it comes to working with larger climate organizations, there has been a positive shift in the dynamics, she said.
Big groups have taken a step back and allowed front-line environmental justice advocates to take the lead, Gonzalez said. She said this collaborative approach has proved to be powerful in advancing legislation, including Senate Bill 1137, which established buffer zones between community areas and fossil fuel operations.
“In terms of lobbying with climate folks, sometimes the larger climate groups really take a step back and allow environmental folks to really push and be front and center,” Gonzalez said.
Journalists should connect natural disasters to climate change, professor says
Emily Fischer, an atmospheric science professor at Colorado State University, said even though it is a "scary" time to be a scientist, the science itself stays the same. The reality of climate change and its impact on the ground are undeniable and will not disappear, Fischer said.
She encouraged journalists covering environmental issues in 2025 to focus on the human impact of climate change, ensuring that the connections between disasters and broader climate patterns are made apparent. Many people fail to connect natural disasters to climate change, she said, and that knowledge gap can be a way for journalists and educators to get their foot in the door on educating the public about climate change.
“After a natural disaster, the information on climate change is twice as likely to be received, without a backlash,” Fischer said.
McKenna Manzo is a senior at the University of Arizona and a fellow of the SEJ student newsroom led by The Arizona Republic.
SEJ Opening Plenary: Climate Programs Will Struggle for Support, Attention Under Trump, Speakers Say
Published April 25, 2025
By Bella Mazzilli
Reflecting on the first 95 days of President Donald Trump’s administration, panelists at the opening session of the 2025 Society of Environmental Journalists conference were not hopeful for the future.
Nada Wolff Culver, former principal deputy director of the Bureau of Land Management, said the landscape of climate change and covering the crisis is uncertain.
“(There’s been) a lot of undoing. (The Trump administration) is trying to get the word ‘climate’ out of our vocabulary,” Culver said.
Culver, one of four panelists at the opening session of the conference in Tempe, said the term "climate" is often censored depending on the presidential administration in power.
“We’re not going to have the same federal backstop as we have had in the past,” said Anne Hedges, executive director of Montana Environmental Information Center.
The “federal backstop” she was referring to was a lack of support in the federal government and higher-level judiciary spheres for climate change. This sentiment was echoed by Culver.
“(There is) less certainty that the courts will be able to save and protect us,” Culver said.
On the topic of uncertainty, Lena Gonzalez, majority leader of the California State Senate, said the process of accessing FEMA relief funds in the wake of the Palisades and Eaton fires was “like a little chess game.”
Gonzalez said her work in the Senate, attempting to pass environmentally minded climate crisis solution bills, has been similar to the chess dichotomy she mentioned. She said Senate Bill 1137, known as the Setbacks Bill, was specifically difficult to pass and implement in the Golden State.
The measure, implemented in June 2024, created a more than 3,000-foot health protection zone around community gathering spaces such as homes and schools.
The bill, Gonzalez said, is an example of legislation the Trump administration is fighting to eradicate.
“We’re going to continue to push on this,” she said. “Multistate alignment (is necessary) when it comes to energy.”
Emily Fischer, a professor at Colorado State University, spoke passionately about her role as an atmospheric scientist, but also as a mother of two children.
“We cannot afford to lose four years of progress,” she said, referring to the Biden administration’s climate work between the first and second Trump administrations.
“Regardless of what’s happened over the past 95 days, the science is the same,” Fischer said.
Hedges said for every attempt at forward progress regarding the solutions to and coverage of the climate crisis, there is backward action.
“For every action, there’s an equal and opposite reaction,” she said to laughter in the audience.
While all four panelists were passionate about the changes made by the current administration in how the climate crisis is addressed and covered, Culver said it is possible for researchers and journalists to “work with” the Trump administration on climate crisis policy and legislative implementation.
Bella Mazzilli is a reporter at State Press Magazine at Arizona State University and a fellow of the SEJ student newsroom led by The Arizona Republic.
SEJ Session: Are Environmental Costs of Deep-Sea Mining Worth the Benefits? Three Key Points To Consider
Published April 25, 2025
By Nikki Shaw
On the floor of the Pacific Ocean, billions of tons of geological materials called nodules hold key minerals like nickel, cobalt and magnesium that are critical for uses like electric cars, power lines and wind turbines.
Whether mining these rocklike nodules is worth the potential environmental cost was the topic of discussion of experts and industry representatives gathered at the Society of Environmental Journalists conference in Tempe on April 25. That discussion came one day after President Trump signed an executive order to help the deep-sea mining industry.
Here are key takeaways from the conference panel:
Deep-sea mining could have a significant environmental impact. The seafloor holds large amounts of carbon dioxide and when it’s churned and moved, the gas can escape. Mitigation could include returning water and sediment to the ocean after the nodules are collected. Sheryl Murdock, a postdoctoral researcher at Arizona State University, noted the effects mining could have on wildlife throughout the ocean and said alterations to the seafloor can’t be undone.
Mining the minerals could bring economic benefits. It would decrease mining on land, which can harm people and wildlife nearby. Increasing the supply of minerals would help industries that use them for clean energy. Erica Ocampo, chief sustainability officer for The Metals Co., a Canadian mining company, touched on the socioeconomic benefits systems.
The issue deserves a holistic look that considers all perspectives, said Sameel Ali, distinguished professor of energy and the environment at the University of Delaware and the United Nations University. He encouraged journalists not to focus just on opponents of the mining in their reporting.
Nikki Shaw is a junior at Alaska Pacific University and a fellow of the SEJ student newsroom led by The Arizona Republic.
SEJ Session: Will Joe Biden’s Billions for Climate Initiatives Survive Donald Trump’s Purge?
Published April 26, 2025
By Amelia Monroe
President Donald Trump could freeze or rescind up to $750 billion that his predecessor wanted to spend on clean energy initiatives, according to reporters who have tracked former President Joe Biden’s trillion-dollar spending plan.
“They spent trillions of dollars on things having to do with the ‘green new scam’ and that’s caused tremendous inflationary pressures,” Trump said at the Republican National Convention in July 2024.
Jessie Blaeser, Politico’s senior data reporter, and Ben Storrow, a ClimateWire reporter, told attendees of the Society of Environmental Journalists annual conference that the Trump administration is already zeroing in on that climate funding. While Biden sought to spend more than $1 trillion to enhance America’s renewable energy sector and tackle climate change, Trump promised to “redirect” unspent billions to “more important” projects, such as roads, dams and bridges.
Institutions still waiting for funds announced by the Biden administration are now adjusting based on Trump’s energy agenda. The strategy now is to adopt the Trump administration's talking points, such as bringing manufacturing to America, Storrow said.
“That’s probably a harder argument to make for a nonprofit that’s put up solar panels in a low-income neighborhood,” Storrow said.
Blaeser and Storrow said such groups could potentially face challenges getting grant funding from the federal government, even if they had received assurance from the Biden administration.
Attendees at the SEJ conference indicated concern that the Department of Government Efficiency could take the lead on such cuts, which Blaeser said remains uncertain and something that she’s monitoring.
“I think that this is an overwhelming thing and everybody is living with this uncertainty,” Storrow said. “People in power don’t know what’s going on.”
Amelia Monroe is a junior at Arizona State University and a fellow of the SEJ student newsroom led by The Arizona Republic.
SEJ Session: Why Connecting Underserved Communities With Critical Environmental News Takes Collaboration
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| Ana Bueno (right) speaks during a “Communities: Where They Are in Environmental Journalism” panel at the SEJ conference in Tempe on April 25. Photo: Mark Henle/The Republic. |
Published April 25, 2025
By Katarzyna Michalik
How can news coverage better reach historically marginalized communities facing disproportionate environmental harms?
That was the question posed by a panel of reporters and others at the Society of Environmental Journalists conference in Tempe on April 25.
The session, moderated by Elena Bruess, an environment reporter for the Houston Landing, brought together voices from both English and Spanish-language media. Panelists included Ana Bueno of Univision 45, Alejandra Martinez of the Texas Tribune, and Sydney Fucci, director of marketing and communications at the Houston Landing.
Martinez emphasized the power of collaboration between newsrooms and community organizations.
“For our work to happen, it didn’t just take the Tribune — it took a lot of partners,” she said. “It requires a lot of people and funding.”
Bueno underscored the importance of language-accessible reporting that meets Latino communities where they are. Through partnerships with trusted local organizations, she can amplify critical stories and deliver them in formats that resonate.
One example shared by Martinez was her reporting on Cloverleaf, a predominantly Latino neighborhood near Houston’s Ship Channel. In partnership with advocacy groups, she helped distribute bilingual flyers outlining how residents could respond to chemical incidents and where to seek help — lifesaving information many had never received or heard before.
Bruess reflected on her experience reporting in Houston’s Fifth Ward, a historically Black neighborhood designated a cancer cluster due to groundwater contamination. She stressed the importance of long-term engagement and trust-building. Fucci, who led community outreach for the article, noted that partnerships were key to tailoring messaging.
The panelists agreed: Collaboration — with grassroots groups, health advocates and Spanish-language broadcasters and reporters — is essential to building trust, improving access to environmental information, and holding powerful entities accountable.
By moving away from extractive reporting and embracing community collaboration, these journalists are showing how environmental news can act as a bridge, connecting communities and policymakers and creating meaningful change.
Katarzyna Michalik is a doctoral student at Prescott College and a fellow of the SEJ student newsroom led by The Arizona Republic.
SEJ Session: Walling Off the US-Mexico Border Would Be ‘Catastrophic’ to Wildlife, Researchers Say
Published April 25, 2025
By Natasha Cortinovis
The wall at the United States' southern border disrupts ancient migration corridors, which researchers say threatens species like mountain lions, black bears, bighorn sheep, pronghorn, whitetail deer and mule deer, wild turkeys, desert tortoises and Mexican gray wolves.
“There are animals trying to cross as if their life depended on it,” Sierra Club researcher Erick Meza told attendees at the Society of Environmental Journalists’ 34th annual conference in Tempe on April 25. “Finding them dead at the feet of the wall is common.”
Southern Arizona zoologists from Wildland Networks, Sky Islands Alliance and Sierra Club have been monitoring wildlife in the borderlands since 2020 to try to understand what happens when nearly 70% of the border is blocked off by a wall that’s up to 30 feet tall.
In 2022, cameras picked up a wolf that came out of the Gila River from the north that kept on pacing back and forth for three days along the border wall, but, unable to cross it, ended up going back where it came from and dying.
But that wolf isn’t the only animal severely impacted by the 760 miles of barrier separating the United States and Mexico, which almost blocks off an entire continent, those zoologists explained.
“All these species do not fit through the openings in the wall,” Harrity said. “Jaguars won't get through either.”
If the United States wants to reestablish a population of jaguars, there cannot be a wall, journalist John Washington said.
The wall’s design — steel bollards spaced 4 inches apart or solid panels—prevents most animals larger than a bobcat from passing. Small 8.5-by-11-inch openings have allowed some female mountain lions to squeeze through, a feat researchers call remarkable but insufficient.
“For many species, those openings are the only way through the wall,” Sky Islands Alliance zoologist Eamon Harrity said. “But there’s only 19 in the entire barrier.”
At the San Bernardino National Wildlife Refuge in Arizona, Wildlands Network zoologist Myles Traphagan observed many animals before the construction of the wall, but very few after.
“One skunk out of 1,641 pictures,” he said, noting ancient watersheds were bulldozed. “I mourn that damage, like if I had lost a loved one.”
The Sierra Club in 2021 sued the Department of Homeland Security. The lawsuit secured open floodgates for two years at San Bernardino National Wildlife Refuge, more little wildlife openings, some funds for conservation science and habitat restoration, and engagement in environmental planning before further wall construction.
However, challenges remain. The Department of Homeland Security controls wall modifications, and the Trump administration could restart construction.
Researchers recently learned that the new administration wants to build across the 27.5-mile-long San Rafael Valley, considered the last network of wildlife connectivity at the southern border.
The "Sky Islands," tall mountains in the Sonoran Desert where the San Rafael Valley lies, are one of the most biodiverse places on the planet. They are the northernmost range of the jaguar, and the place where many species’ northernmost and southernmost extents of migration range happen, the zoologists said at the conference.
“If we block this, it’s forever. We are going to lose so many species,” Harrity said. “Driven north by warming climates, species will run into a barrier that will prevent them from reaching climate refuges.”
The zoologists repeatedly described that outcome as “catastrophic.”
But until the San Rafael Valley and the 63 miles of the Tohono O’odham Nation remain unwalled, there remains some hope for wildlife.
Natasha Cortinovis is a master's student at the University of Arizona and a fellow of the SEJ student newsroom led by The Arizona Republic.
SEJ Session: Environmental Journalists — Readers Are Losers in the AI Revolution
Published April 25, 2025
By Serenity Reynolds
The rise of artificial intelligence is making it harder for journalists to convey complicated science news about the environment, said panelists at the annual 2025 Society of Environmental Journalism conference in Tempe.
And readers of that news stand to lose the most from AI, said Panayiotis Moutis, assistant professor of the City College of New York.
As AI becomes more humanlike, it's becoming harder to differentiate the wording or images of a robot from those of a real person. AI programs lack the creative thinking of a human brain, leaving readers feeling they've read it all before. They click away.
Who are the winners in the AI revolution?
Arizona State University Professor Punya Mishra said the winners of the AI revolution are software developers and powerful companies.
Jay Barchas-Lichtenstein, senior research manager for the global Center for News, Technology and Innovation, agreed.
Not only are the companies becoming wealthier as these systems are being invented, but they are also using the public input as a sort of “trial test-run” to constantly improve on these systems to be better, Barchas-Lichtenstein said.
Can journalists use AI and is the public OK with it?
Barchas-Lichtenstein conducted an international public survey in 2024 asking journalists if they use AI in their current work, and if so, for what.
At least one in three of the public responders said they use AI technology and accept journalists doing the same.
In 2024, two-thirds said they use AI to translate content from another language, and 60% said they use AI to summarize or analyze documents or data.
But only 39% said they use AI to write story drafts.
Over 70% of the public said they were OK with journalists using AI. The biggest issue was with image creation and editing. As 43% of journalists said they’ve used AI to edit an image, less than 50% of the public said they were comfortable with that.
When can a journalist use AI effectively and ethically?
Mishra said that AI should never be used as a substitute for their own research or in place of their original writing.
“Use AI when accuracy doesn’t matter,” said Mishra.
Serenity Reynolds is a junior studying journalism at Arizona State University and a fellow of the SEJ student newsroom led by The Arizona Republic.
SEJ Session: Gathering Data for Environment Stories in Latino Communities Can Challenge Journalists
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| Panelists speak on reporting about Latino groups when data does not exist on April 25, at the Omni Hotel in Tempe, Arizona. From left: Myriam Vidal Valero, Estefanía Pinto Ruiz, Luis J. Méndez González and Monica Samaya. Photo: George Headley. |
Published April 25, 2025
By George Headley
When reporting on Latino groups for environment and climate stories, data can be difficult to find.
Some of the journalists who have been successful recommend going to the source, and they emphasize respect and trust in collaborations and interviews. They spoke on April 25 on a panel at the Society of Environmental Journalists conference in Tempe.
Who to reach out to
Luis J. Méndes González is a climate change investigative journalist for the Center for Investigative Journalism. He reports in Puerto Rico and said it’s extremely hard to get data through Freedom of Information Act requests. When collecting data outside of federal agencies, reaching out to lawyers and advocacy groups can be an effective resource, but navigating their biases is necessary.
When a lawyer loses a case, they can be open to talking about the case and the stories assembled from it. He related it to an investigation he conducted, where a lawyer shared with him documents that ended up narrating his story.
Méndes González also recommended contacting environmental groups and nonprofits within a region.
He asks nonprofits for any government documents they’ve requested from agencies, which he said can help speed up his investigative process.
The power of community leaders
Many of the panelists said a good place to start for gathering data is speaking to local leaders from Latino communities.
Estefanía Pinto Ruiz — a journalist for KWQC-TV 6 News in Davenport, Iowa, who reports for the Mississippi River Basin Water desk — said religious leaders can be helpful sources trying to understand what’s happening in a community.
Ruiz also recommended the League of United Latin American Citizens for a similar purpose, as many chapters in the U.S. know what is going on in communities and the issues they are experiencing.
Connect through similarities and understand differences
Monica Samayoa, a climate reporter for Oregon Public Broadcasting, said when there wasn’t enough data for her story on groundwater pollution, she went door-to-door to compile information. When speaking to sources and compiling data, connecting with them based on shared language and experiences was important.
Myriam Vidal Valero, a freelance journalist who works in science and data journalism, said it is also important to connect through differences, and understand the person rather than seeing them as only an aspect in your story.
“To build trust, they need to feel that you're not there just because you care about the story,” Valero said. “They need to see and feel that you care about them.”
Collaboration with both journalists and scientists
Valero said she finds herself collaborating with other scientists or journalists on her stories. As a freelance journalist, she said support can go a long way when you don’t have the resources to find data on your own.
Scientists can also help relate topics to other issues within environmental journalism, Valero said. They can ask questions that journalists don't think about, knowing more on the community level.
She and Méndes González said these collaborations are important because they provide new perspectives and background information a journalist might not have when going into a story.
Recommended resources from the panelists
Méndes González said he uses Open Corporates — a tool that can identify the corporations an individual is involved in and data about their presence in other countries.
He also recommended the Hispanic Federation. The federation is a Latino nonprofit that focuses on social, political and environmental issues affecting the demographic.
Ruiz cited the Hispanic Access Foundation, an organization that works with Latino communities to educate about resources and the environment.
Be cautious of artificial intelligence, but still apply it as a tool
Méndes González said he uses artificial intelligence in his reporting as a tool, meant to assist him in constructing formulas to speed up his data analyzing process.
Valero cautioned against overusing artificial intelligence when gathering data. She said that it can be dangerous to input names, addresses or other private information into artificial intelligence software, especially for Latino communities in the U.S. that could consider the data “sacred.”
George Headley is politics editor at The State Press at Arizona State University and a fellow of the SEJ student newsroom led by The Arizona Republic.
SEJ Session: How Trump’s Plan To Fast-Track Mining Projects Can Hinder Access To Water
Published April 25, 2025
By Arilynn Hyatt
The Trump Administration’s loosened mining regulations can limit access to life-sustaining drinking water, Wyatt Myskow said at the 2025 Society of Environmental Journalists conference in Tempe.
Under the new policy, the environmental permitting process for test drilling now takes 28 days, whereas previously it could take months. Panelists warned that mining companies lack adequate time to properly test available water.
On Hualapai tribal lands, a lithium-mining test drilling stopped the flow of water from a sacred spring nearby in August. The tribe sued the U.S. Bureau of Land Management, and the case is ongoing.
It was a classic water rights issue, underpinned by a long-standing “first at the time, first in line,” doctrine of Western water policy.
How does Western water policy work?
Water policy focuses on assuring both quality and quantity.
Alida Cantor, associate professor of Geography at Portland State University, said quality refers to how clean the water is from pollutants in the area and quantity is dealt with at the state level and refers to water rights.
Without water rights, developers can build anything substantial, including mines, Cantor said.
Those rights are set forth by Western water law and its “Prior Appropriation Doctrine," she said, adding the doctrine ignores the water needs of Indigenous people.
Both areas of water policy mold the energy and mining industries.
The effect of Western water policy on development
Kyle Roerink, the executive director of Great Basin Network, described how Western water law can complicate the availability of water and who can use it.
Under Nevada water law, companies that want to start building developments need to think about the availability of water and if there’s environmental soundness to their plan, he said.
Sometimes, there is more water on paper than there is in the aquifers.
“When a company sees a paper water right, they want to use it and they want to profit off of it,” said Roerink.
That could leave everybody else who needs the water high and dry.
What will happen under Trump's energy agenda?
Roerink works throughout Nevada and Utah, educating, litigating and lobbying on issues relating to groundwater and surface water.
Under the new administration’s push to make America energy independent with mining and drilling, environmental impact statements submitted under the National Environmental Policy Act can be processed in 28 days and have a public comment period of 10 days.
Historically, NEPA reviews required at least 45 days for the public to review and submit comments. Often, such reviews could take many months.
Projects need to follow certain laws, like the Clean Water Act. Applicants and federal regulators need enough time to run scenarios and talk to experts to ensure proposals are the least environmentally damaging.
How will Trump's water policy changes affect Indigenous lands?
According to Daryn Melvin, a member of the Hopi Tribe and the Grand Canyon manager for the Grand Canyon Trust, water can be sacred.
He says Hopis fear developments on their land could potentially alter the flow of water and harm the species that live near aquifers or springs.
With the federal government's fast-tracking of mining projects, tribes have started to bolster the requirements they have for approving projects near their reservations.
“If anything should happen, we would have these kinds of things to sort of ensure that all the I’s are dotted and T’s are crossed,” Melvin said.
Arilynn Hyatt is a junior studying journalism at the University of Arizona and a fellow of the SEJ student newsroom led by The Arizona Republic.
SEJ Session: Is Phoenix Sustainable? Experts Tell SEJ Conference the Region Plans for Heat, Drought
Published April 26, 2025
By Naomi DuBovis
As a major city in the middle of the Sonoran Desert, Phoenix has been in the spotlight in the debate over the sustainability of urban development, so much so that it’s gained the reputation for being an "uninhabitable hellscape."
But some on a panel at the 2025 Society of Environmental Journalists conference on April 25 argued that while Phoenix has its fair share of environmental and sustainability concerns — notably extreme heat and water shortages — a habitable future is still in reach.
Water remains a major concern over the sustainability of Phoenix, especially on the Colorado River, and by extension, the Central Arizona Project. The CAP is a system of pipes, tunnels and aqueducts designed to bring water from the river to Indigenous communities and populous regions of the state.
Kathryn Sorensen, director of research at Kyl Center for Water Policy at Arizona State University, said a plan for the Valley has been in the works in case Colorado River water runs low. She said the plan is to fall back on other water supplies like the Salt River, the Verde River and groundwater.
“It would be highly disruptive – I don’t want to minimize that,” Sorensen said. “But it is something that the municipal water planners have known about, it’s something they have planned for, and we have taken care of our aquifer exactly for that contingency.”
Weakening groundwater laws
But groundwater management remains a contentious battle.
Sandy Bahr, director of the Sierra Club's Grand Canyon Chapter, said she sees this play out at the state Legislature, especially when it comes to the Groundwater Management Act, a law passed in 1980 that established rules for pumping groundwater.
“What I’ve seen in my time at the Legislature is whittling away at the protections that were in that Groundwater Management Act — weakening it, finding ways around it,” she said “Yes, we require a 100-year assured water supply in Active Management Areas. … But there are all kinds of ways to get around that, and developers are very influential at the city and the state level.”
One way certain actors try to skirt the rules, she said, is to challenge the legitimacy of models showing that an area doesn’t have the required 100-year supply and calling for other calculations to be used.
Even so, Sorensen said there are reasons to remain optimistic, including increased efficiency in plumbing and appliances like washing machines, local efforts to reclaim and reuse wastewater and removal of grass lawns in exchange for more desert-adapted landscaping.
Planting trees to ease the heat
Phoenix is also notorious for its extreme temperatures, but some neighborhoods, like the Grant Park Neighborhood in south Phoenix, suffer from it more than others. That’s why community volunteers like Silverio Ontiveros are doing their best to plant trees so the neighborhood gets enough shade.
Ontiveros said nonprofit organizations and community groups have previously worked with the neighborhood to plant trees, but maintaining them has proven difficult.
“We’ve planted … around 300 trees, and I would guesstimate probably around a third of them are still alive today, only because they don’t get watered,” Ontiveros said.
One reason for this, he said, is that neighborhood residents don’t have the know-how to maintain the trees. He also attributes the tree shortage to the fact that many properties in the neighborhood are rented, and landlords don’t want to shoulder the cost of tree planting and maintenance.
City officials are also making efforts to plant trees in the areas, often using resident feedback and identifying places with the most need, like areas with high pedestrian activity and transportation use, said Willa Altman-Kaough, deputy chief of staff to Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego. Altman-Kaough also emphasized the need for other shade structures for places like street intersections that aren’t hospitable for trees.
All of these factors taken into consideration, journalist and author Tom Zoellner said the narrative of an unsustainable Phoenix, largely fueled by apocalyptic media coverage of the hot 2023 summer, “doesn’t take into account the tremendous adaptivity that has always been a feature of this particular state.”
Naomi DuBovis is a journalism student at Arizona State University and a fellow of the SEJ student newsroom led by The Arizona Republic.
SEJ Session: Building Trust Is Crucial for Journalists Telling Indigenous Stories, SEJ Panelists Say
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| Session speakers for the “Climate Visual Storytelling on Tribal Lands” session. Photo: Summer Williams. Click for more images from the panel, at AZCentral.com. |
Published April 29, 2025
By Summer Williams
Telling stories about tribal lands can be challenging for people who don't have connections to those communities.
But a panel of visual journalists at the Society of Environmental Journalists’ annual conference talked about ways of approaching visual storytelling that prioritize sensitivity and respect for these communities while upholding the search for truth.
Echo (Bonita) Reed, a multimedia specialist at Osage News, and Tyler Thomas, the executive editor of the Cherokee Phoenix, spoke on a panel with Tara Pixley, associate professor of journalism at Temple University. They advised visual journalists to engage respectfully and proactively with tribal communities.
“Climate Visual Storytelling on Tribal Lands” focused on the Solutions Journalists Network’s four pillars to inform engagement and visual practices when approaching climate stories that include or center around Indigenous communities.
“Trust is so crucial, especially within Indigenous communities,” said Thomas.
To avoid “extractive” or “exploitive” journalistic practices, the panelists highlighted the amount of time and preparation required beyond the camera to build relationships with the communities impacted by their stories.
“Getting to know the (Osage) people has helped me to take better photographs,” said Reed.
Planning as much as possible beforehand and continuing to foster relationships helps visual journalists craft a powerful story that enriches the lives of their readers.
Summer Williams is a journalism student at the University of Arizona and a fellow of the SEJ student newsroom led by The Arizona Republic.
SEJ Session: News About The Environment Abounds. What Will Make More People Read It?
Published April 25, 2025
By Eleri Mosier
The public’s main source for information about the environment and climate change comes from the news, but not enough people are reading it.
That was the challenge discussed by a group of journalists on April 25 at the Society of Environmental Journalists Conference, an event in Tempe intended to improve the accuracy and quality of environmental reporting.
Paige Vega, a climate editor at Vox, said making coverage appealing to a general national audience requires defining that audience, which is “the curious and overwhelmed.” Appealing to people’s emotional vulnerability is necessary to get people to listen, especially in a political climate where audiences may be desensitized. People are waiting to be surprised, she said.
She said it also is “effective to tap into that sense of disgust or sense of betrayal or something … that evokes strong emotions in your reader. I think that is the real key to unlocking the story.”
Maintaining a conversational tone is another way to grab readers, especially about an issue that requires urgency.
“We just try to talk to people on the level that they're on,” Vega said. “And part of that is we know our audience isn't always a bunch of biodiversity nerds or people who are really in the know about how ecosystems work. So we're trying to reach people who can just kind of be harmed in unexpected ways.”
Readers also tend to be drawn to issues they feel strongly about.
“People are really interested in the ethical dilemma,” said Michelle Nijhuis, a contributing editor for High Country News.
Eleri Mosier is a senior at Arizona State University and a fellow of the SEJ student newsroom led by The Arizona Republic.
SEJ Lunch Plenary: Environmental Journalists Face Challenges in Retaliatory Trump Era
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| Joan Meiners (left) is joined by Helina Selemon (center) and Amy Westervelt (right) on the stage at the Society of Environmental Journalists lunch plenary at the Omni Hotel in Tempe, Arizona, on April 25. Their discussion touched on challenges facing climate journalists during the Trump administration. Photo: Jay Corella. |
Published April 26, 2025
By Sedona Hartley
Environmental journalists are struggling to get sources to speak on the record and to publish their stories in mainstream publications as the second Trump administration, known for retaliation and harassment of perceived opponents, gets underway.
Those challenges were front and center during a panel discussion at the Society of Environmental Journalists conference in Tempe on April 25.
“I find myself walled off from access and climate conversations as a journalist," said Joan Meiners, a climate journalist for The Arizona Republic and former scientific researcher.
She said she has seen people afraid to step up and speak out for the environment in recent years.
"Many outlets that would normally partner with us on stories are now very hesitant to run them," Meiners said.
While journalists are encountering these challenges across a range of topics, a growing concern is whether environmental journalism can continue successfully as access to agencies, scientists, data and climate advocates continues to shrink.
While planning this year’s tours for the Society of Environmental Journalists conference, organizers found that a long list of politicians declined to participate, even those who publicly support climate and environmental health.
That reluctance foreshadowed a broader trend, as several environment-focused organizations, including the National Ecological Observatory Network, also pulled out of the event as the conference approached.
“People who would normally jump at the chance to speak to a group of journalists about their efforts on behalf of the environment backed away from having the spotlight on their work,” Meiners said.
Helina Selemon, science reporter and investigative researcher, advocated for journalists in the audience to talk to sources if they are hesitant to go on record and explain why their input is so important, as well as treating their sources like people and offering support.
“We are all doing this work because we like a challenge,” Selemon said. “If I like a story, I would never let it go. Keep your stories safe somewhere and let them haunt you until you can get your story heard.”
Amy Westervelt, executive director of the journalism organization Drilled, urged journalists to support one another. Drilled focuses on reporting about "climate accountability," which it defines as "investigating and understanding the various drivers of delay on climate action."
"There is huge strength in numbers and solidarity in this industry, especially in this country," she said.
When facing challenges getting sources on the record, she recommended having many background conversations first and working collaboratively to develop strategies for sharing environmental concerns.
Westervelt advocated for getting creative if a journalist were having trouble finding a source who would go on the record, such as “finding another researcher who works outside of the United States, such as Canada or Australia.”
Sedona Hartley is a senior at the University of Arizona and a fellow of the SEJ student newsroom led by The Arizona Republic.
SEJ Lunch Plenary: How Climate Journalists Should Handle Hesitation From Sources and Reader Pushback
Published April 26, 2025
By Amelia Monroe
Veteran climate journalists convened in Phoenix for a conversation about how reporters can mitigate hesitation from sources and manage pushback from readers.
It came as part of a panel discussion at the Society of Environmental Journalists’ annual conference about how journalists can hold people accountable. Panelists said that this is an extremely important topic to discuss because the success of journalism could be affected if a reporter doesn’t push for the truth.
Executive editor of Drilled Media, Amy Westervelt; former science reporter at the Blacklight Investigative Unit for New York Amsterdam News, Helina Selemon; and The Arizona Republic climate reporter Joan Meiners were featured on the panel.
Here are three takeaways from the discussion.
Investigative techniques are an essential part of reporting
- Westervelt said that the “old style” way of building relationships, like meeting people in person, is an essential part of getting information from sources.
- Journalists should grow a backbone. Westervelt emphasized that pushback from sources is not a sign to “roll over and give in.” Journalists should still push to find the answers.
Journalists must be considerate of a source's concerns
- Scientific experts and other professionals who are part of federally funded projects may be risking their professional careers when giving quotes in a journalistic story.
- Meiners said that journalists can mitigate this issue by understanding what’s going on, having in-depth knowledge about a subject and remaining sensitive to the concerns of sources.
Strength in numbers within the field of journalism
- Journalism should move away from its traditionally competitive and individualistic nature, Westervelt said. Instead, they should help one another.
- Organizations such as the SEJ and the Freelance Solidarity Project are avenues for reporters to collaborate and discuss hardships in the industry.
Amelia Monroe is a junior at Arizona State University and a fellow of the SEJ student newsroom led by The Arizona Republic.
SEJ Session: Preventing Destructive Wildfires Requires Major Societal Changes, Scientist Says
Published April 25, 2025
By Eleri Mosier
The wildfire that destroyed parts of Los Angeles in January also sparked debates on whether it was avoidable. Dominick DellaSala, chief scientist at Wild Heritage, said that it can’t happen without a paradigm shift.
DellaSala has a personal history with extreme wildfires. In the summer of 2020, he watched his Oregon hometown burn to the ground. Now, he wants to change the framework of dealing with them.
“We will not win the endless war on fire by spending and treating more areas,” said DellaSala, who was speaking at the Society of Environmental Journalists conference in Tempe on April 25. “Instead, we need to link the treatments directly to the causal factors.”
One of the causal factors is climate change, DellaSala said, specifically extreme heat, heat domes, and the vapor pressure deficit. Another factor is fossil fuels created by land sector contributions and emissions.
“Fast fires cannot be stopped by throwing more money at suppression or thinning. There are other ways to deal with it,” he said. Moving away from fossil fuels is key, DellaSala said, “and we've got to look at the land sector contributions and emissions. Logging, for instance, contributes five to eight times more carbon emissions at scale compared to fire and all insect and natural disturbance events in the lower 48 states. There are three publications backing that statement.”
Eleri Mosier is a senior at Arizona State University and a fellow of the SEJ student newsroom led by The Arizona Republic.
SEJ Session: How Can Arizona Mines Produce Key Minerals and Not Harm the Environment?
Published April 25, 2025
By Tufan Neupane
After the U.S. imposed new tariffs, China responded by restricting exports of several rare earth minerals critical to American defense and medical technologies.
To protect national security, the U.S. must produce more of these minerals domestically, panelists said April 25 at the Society of Environmental Journalists' 2025 conference in Tempe.
Securing critical minerals like copper, zinc and manganese inside the U.S. is now seen as a top priority, with minerals needed for a vast range of electric devices.
While mining is necessary for national security and maintaining domestic supply chains, the panelists said, the mining industry also needs to address environmental concerns and Indigenous rights.
Why does sustainable mining matter to Arizona?
Arizona is at the center of America’s mineral future.
The Hermosa Project, operated by South32 in the Patagonia Mountains southeast of Tucson, is one of the few advanced mining projects in the U.S. focused on critical minerals like manganese and zinc.
"What we have is one of the largest undeveloped deposits of zinc in the world, co-located with a high-purity, battery-grade manganese deposit on the same site," said Pat Risner, president of South32 Hermosa, noting some of the project's environmental advantages. "We'll use 90% less water than a typical mining operation.”
At the same time, Arizona’s heavy legacy from past mining — abandoned mines, contaminated water and damaged ecosystems — remains an important backdrop.
Strong environmental protections must guide new projects, said Misael Cabrera, director of the University of Arizona's School of Mining and Mineral Resources.
"There are very few countries that have environmental laws, and even fewer that enforce them. But we have environmental laws, and we enforce them," he said.
Trade-offs between mining and environmental protection
Panelists agreed that developing domestic mines is necessary, but it must not come by weakening environmental laws. Cabrera said delays in mining projects often come from administrative slowdowns, not stricter environmental rules.
"Speeding up permitting isn’t about skipping protections," he said. "It’s about cutting dead time where nothing happens."
They also discussed new executive orders from President Donald Trump aimed at fast-tracking mining permits. But panelists warned that even with those orders, companies must still fully build an administrative record that can hold up in court.
"No executive order can erase those laws," Cabrera said. "And companies know if they cut corners, they’ll be challenged in court."
There are concerns from local communities, tribes and conservation groups regarding new mining projects. Water use, endangered species and tribal sovereignty remain big issues.
Can U.S. mining keep up with China's production?
China controls much of the mineral processing needed for clean energy and advanced technologies, panelists said.
Melissa Sanderson, director at American Rare Earths, an international mining company, warned that even if the U.S. government tried to fast-track mining through emergency powers, new mines would still take years to build.
"Even with all the necessary resources, you don't get a mine overnight," she said, noting that new projects may not be ready until 2029.
She called the current situation a "huge window of vulnerability" for the U.S., especially if it fails to coordinate efforts with international partners.
She added that the U.S. needs to work with allies like the European Union and Canada to build independent processing capacity.
"We can't go it alone, but we can go together with allies and friends," she said.
Tufan Neupane is a graduate student of journalism at Arizona State University and a fellow of the SEJ student newsroom led by The Arizona Republic.
SEJ Session: Renewable Energy, Electric Cars Have Become Politicized Under Trump, Advocates Say
Published April 25, 2025
By Bella Mazzilli
Renewable energy sources have become politicized, especially in light of President Donald Trump’s second inauguration earlier this year, advocates say, and electric vehicles have become symbols of the climate crisis in general.
Trump's first 95 days were the focus of a panel at the 2025 Society of Environmental Journalists conference on April 25 in Tempe.
Trisha DelloIacono, head of policy at CALSTART, said that there have been landmark, immediate changes as a result of Trump’s second administration.
“We’ve seen dramatic federal shifts in these first 95 days,” DelloIacono said.
She also shared a quote she found inspiring, which she said summarizes the mission of environmentalists in the fight against the climate crisis through electric and zero-emission vehicles. According to Maryland Gov. Wes Moore, quoted by DelloIacono, environmentalists “need to meet the (climate) crisis and chaos with courage.”
DelloIacono said the Trump administration is actively fighting against legislation such as the California Clean Air Act waiver, which allows California to pursue car emissions standards that are stricter than federal standards.
Emily Wirzba, the director of federal affairs at the Environmental Defense Fund, agreed that the rapid and ever-changing landscape of the climate crisis can be summarized by the dichotomy surrounding electric vehicles. Wirzba said the tax credits associated with electric vehicles are one of the main aspects of the changes.
“The next couple weeks are the most important time to watch these credits,” she said.
Wirzba was referring to the upcoming congressional reconciliation process.
Zack Ruderman, vice president of sales and marketing at Orange EV, and Asaf Nagler, vice president of external affairs at ABB E-mobility North America, represented the production side of the electric vehicle industry.
Ruderman said he was frustrated with the way Orange EV has had to adapt to the changing landscape of the industry.
“It’s been paralyzing, because of how dynamic things have been (during the Biden administration),” he said. “It changes, and changes again. You come up with a new plan, … at that point you’re just dizzy.”
Ruderman said the Orange EV engineering team has had to devote time to trying out new production pieces to reduce the internal impact of Trump’s proposed tariffs. Orange EV, alongside its customers, has spent “a lot of time planning, and replanning and replanning” their production and acquisition strategies in the wake of the new administration.
“Tariffs are stifling the ability to bring over these important parts we need for these (electric) vehicles,” DelloIacono said.
Nagler, part of an electric-charging manufacturing conglomerate, said that uncertainty has been “very much the case” in the electric vehicle and renewable energy industries.
He argued that electrification, when it comes to vehicles and beyond, is not a partisan issue, but one of financial acumen.
But, Wirzba said the outlook on the electric vehicle market and renewable energy in general is not completely dim.
“I’m not going say it’s going to be easy,” she said. “There’s a lot more work that needs to be done.”
Bella Mazzilli is a reporter at State News Magazine at Arizona State University and a fellow of the SEJ student newsroom led by The Arizona Republic.
SEJ Session: How Journalists Can Cover Science at a Time When Readers Sometimes Don’t Trust the Experts
Published April 26, 2025
By Naomi DuBovis
Science isn’t perfect, and reporters who cover the issue say the public has a right to know when high-profile research contains mistakes — or worse, fudged results. But at a time when research is subject to funding cuts and mistrust for institutions and experts abound, journalists and science communicators are tackling difficult editorial decisions.
Science reporters on a panel at the Society for Environmental Journalists conference on April 25 discussed why people don’t trust scientists and how mass communicators can navigate the unprecedented landscape of scientific research.
Here are a few of the biggest takeaways:
Science communication, especially scientific controversies, is difficult
Stephanie Lee, a senior writer for The Chronicle of Higher Education who covers the impact of research on society, said there were two issues at the center of the public’s distrust of scientists and government agencies at the height of COVID-19: masks and the origins of the virus.
When it came to masks, Lee said that agencies like the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the World Health Organization took a more lenient stance, but as mask supply changed and more information emerged about how the virus spread, mandates took effect.
She said limited knowledge about the virus in the pandemic’s early stages, on top of challenges with public health communication, led to widespread frustration about the messaging surrounding masks.
According to a FactCheck.org report, most scientists and U.S. intelligence agencies lean toward a zoonotic origin for the COVID-19 virus, but where the virus emerged exactly has not yet been confirmed definitively. Lee said the confusion and complexities surrounding the issue made it difficult for journalists to cover.
The lab leak hypothesis was initially framed as an impossibility, Lee said, and “some media outlets were using terms like ‘conspiracy theory’ and ‘debunked’ and ‘false’ — just putting very definitive labels on the clinical lab leak theory.”
Multiple outlets have since adjusted their language through corrections, retractions and other changes, she said, to reflect the current understanding of the COVID-19 virus’ origins.
Science is about people
Science magazine staff writer Rodrigo Pérez Ortega said that while science is certainly a coverage area for journalists, what they’re really covering are scientists — people who have their own opinions, ideas and flaws just like any other human being.
And just like any other human being, scientists are also influenced by certain demands and incentives like the pressure to get published regularly (known in academic circles as “publish or perish”), which is why Pérez Ortega advised against treating science as a broad concept.
“I hate those headlines that say, ‘Science says this’ or ‘You should do this according to science.’ It’s like, no! (It’s) according to some scientists who did a study that might be wrong,” he said.
Pérez Ortega said that because scientists aren’t immune to error, talking through published studies with other experts and weighing them against other sources is all the more important.
Funding matters
Amy Westervelt, executive editor of climate accountability outlet Drilled, said the government funding cuts by President Donald Trump’s administration will force researchers to turn to private sources to fund their work, which has important implications for the biases and influences behind knowledge generation.
That’s why she said that “with more and more dependence on corporate funding, there’s an even bigger need for transparency, conflict of interest guidelines, all of that stuff.”
Westervelt said this does not mean corporate funding always leads to bad research but did explain how certain funding mechanisms can fulfill corporate interests.
“It’s not that some executive from BP is showing up in a lab and saying, ‘Cook the numbers, kid!’ That’s not how it works,” she said. “It works by them choosing the things that they’re going to invest research money in, and then the solutions that they don’t like are just not being funded. So, of course it’s going to tip the scales towards what industry wants.”
Naomi DuBovis is a journalism student at Arizona State University and a fellow of the SEJ student newsroom led by The Arizona Republic.
SEJ Session: For Journalists Who Cover Natural Disasters, Here Are Three Key Things To Consider
Published April 25, 2025
By Nikki Shaw
Disaster reporting is crucial for people affected by hurricanes, tornadoes, wildfires and other events.
Being on the front lines, sharing real-life stories and engaging with a community after disasters ― as well as keeping an eye on the mental health of the reporters ― was the main topic of discussion at a panel at the Society of Environmental Journalists conference in Tempe on April 25.
These are three key takeaways:
Connecting with the people and maintaining those relationships in communities after a disaster is one of the best ways a journalist can tell a story. Yessenia Funes, editor-at-large for Atmos, said sources have repeatedly told her that gathering at community buildings after a disaster and having listening sessions helped those who were affected. Leaning into the emotion of the interviewee and sharing their story will enhance how that story is told.
The enhanced access reporters have at some disaster scenes can give people affected by a disaster more information than they have. That can look like driving down the road with houses burned by a wildfire and sharing pictures or videos with people who live on that street. Doing so can help people plan their next steps after a disaster sooner than they would have.
Prioritizing a journalist's mental health also is key in disaster reporting, both while the event is occurring and after. Journalists hear real-time stories and hardships of what people have gone through on the worst day of their lives and that can harm their own mental health. Talking to another person ― be it a colleague, family or friend ― about the experience and taking time to prioritize one's mental health and needs can help journalists.
Nikki Shaw is a junior at Alaska Pacific University and a fellow of the SEJ student newsroom led by The Arizona Republic.
SEJ Session: Why Navajo Activists Oppose a Proposed Hydrogen Pipeline That Could Be the World’s Longest
Published April 26, 2025
By Natasha Cortinovis
Activist Jessica Keetso voiced strong opposition to a proposed hydrogen pipeline through her Navajo Nation homeland during a discussion on energy development and environmental justice at the Society of Environmental Journalists’ 34th Annual Conference in Tempe.
Keetso, of environmental advocacy organization Tó Nizhóní Ání, and Capital & Main reporter Jerry Redfern emphasized the historical exploitation of Navajo resources. Redfern said: “In the last 100 years, there’s been near-constant mineral extraction of all types on Navajo lands: coal, uranium, vanadium, oil, gas. And it has never brought a great deal of prosperity.”
Tallgrass Energy’s proposed hydrogen pipeline could potentially be the world’s longest. It would stretch over 200 miles from Shiprock, New Mexico, to north of Flagstaff, following an existing Navajo-owned natural gas pipeline that runs along 13 inhabited communities.
The company in 2020 bought a shuttered coal power plant located just slightly south of the Navajo Nation. It wants to transform the structure into a hydrogen power plant, where it either makes the hydrogen or transports it. It also planned the construction of another factory in Farmington, New Mexico, solely to sequester CO2, Redfern explained.
The project aligns with the Western Interstate Hydrogen Hub, backed by New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham. It is seeking $1.25 billion in federal funds to develop hydrogen from natural gas in the Four Corners region.
But while Tallgrass Energy promoted it as a clean energy solution, the pipeline aims to leverage the Navajo Nation’s natural resources. Tallgrass has been engaging tribal leaders since 2021, Keetso said.
Keetso and Redfern argued that hydrogen production from natural gas perpetuates the same century-old harms, consuming scarce water resources and risking further ecological damage.
“More roads that go into building gas or oil operations tear up and divide the landscape,” Redfern said.
There’s also the problem of fuels leaking into the surrounding environment, the panelists explain.
Hydrogen also requires special pipelines. It can't be run in the same pipelines of natural gas.
Keetso said “none of those concerns have been addressed.”
“There’s a lot of people living along that pipeline route,” she said. “There’s three chapters that don’t have internet, so how are you going to monitor these in case of an accident?”
In the crowd, researcher Joe Romm, author of the book “The Hype About Hydrogen,” supported the panelists’ concerns.
“It's ridiculous to take natural gas, split out the hydrogen and then burn the hydrogen atoms,” Romm said. “World’s projects have all ended up being scrapped in the last six to nine months for green hydrogen.”
The discussion underscored distrust in Tallgrass Energy’s corporate promises of economic benefits, given past unfulfilled commitments. It also highlighted a demand for sovereignty, sustainability and accountability in energy projects.
“We don't want this in our community. It’s not welcome,” Keetso said.
But she said tribal leadership has the ability to disregard the public.
“But our leadership should rather be protecting our land and our water,” Keetso said.
Natasha Cortinovis is a master's student at the University of Arizona and a fellow of the SEJ student newsroom led by The Arizona Republic.
SEJ Session: How Journalists Help Readers Understand Climate Change’s Local Effects
Published April 26, 2025
By Sedona Hartley
Climate change affects the entire world, but its impacts vary widely from region to region.
In Arizona, rising temperatures are among the top concerns for residents.
Joan Meiners, a climate reporter for The Arizona Republic, said she connects national headlines about heat waves to her local readers by highlighting the experiences of individuals — people who work outside, for instance, or who succumb to the heat and have to be cooled with ice bags.
“When there is a climate report, I am breaking it down for our readers and seeing what it might mean for Phoenix,” Meiners said.
In a candid panel at the Society of Environmental Journalists conference in Tempe, four journalists on April 25 described how they localize climate stories so they resonate with their audiences.
Madeline Heim, a reporter with the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, said that even though heat isn't as obvious in Wisconsin, global rising temperatures are still affecting local activities.
“There are effects of climate change happening in Wisconsin," Heim said. "I try to focus on traditions that we have that might be affected by climate change, specifically in the wintertime. The winter in Wisconsin is warming faster than any other season. There are lots of things that folks in cold-weather states like to do: ice fishing, skiing, ice skating. Those are all being affected by warming winters.”
Denise Hruby, a climate reporter with the Miami Herald, said her South Florida readers were facing some very different effects of climate change. Some of the top concerns along the coast are hurricanes and property damage, she said.
“There's more stories than we can possibly cover," Hruby said. "I often say it's the front lines of climate change. I feel like you can have so much impact when you report on climate change in a community that's already affected.”
Hruby said she works to bring home the threat of climate change to her readers by highlighting its potential effects on their biggest investments — real estate, especially properties along the coast.
“Trying to look at climate change stories really from the perspective of real estate and property is something that really resonates with people," Hruby said. "I can tell you a hurricane story all through the lens of how it affects people's properties, whether that's their houses or their condos. And the good/bad thing for Florida is also that there's no income tax, which means the state relies a lot on property taxes.”
Another way journalists can help people understand climate change is by using "attribution science," said Abbie Veitch, a weather and climate media specialist with Climate Central, a nonprofit that reports on Earth's changing climate.
“At its core, attribution science is about using data and statistical methods to quantify if, how, and to what extent climate change has impacted weather events," Veitch said.
Attribution science can help demonstrate that a particular weather event would have been virtually impossible in a world without climate change, she said.
“Attribution science and studies are evolving as we speak. It's getting better and better each day," said Rachel Ramirez, a freelance journalist. "They're not done for every extreme weather event, but they help bring home the realities of the direct and immediate damage of the climate crisis, and what they are doing to people's lives.”
Sedona Hartley is a senior at the University of Arizona and a fellow of the SEJ student newsroom led by The Arizona Republic.
SEJ Session: How Controversial Mine Proposal for Oak Flat in Arizona Got Its Start and What’s Next
Published April 26, 2025
By Katarzyna Michalik
Imagine a hole in the earth deeper than the height of the Eiffel Tower, just over 1,000 feet, and wider than the length of the Golden Gate Bridge at 1.7 miles. That is what the Apache peoples and some in Arizona are fighting against: to protect Oak Flat, a sacred ancestral Apache site on U.S. Forest Service land.
Today it stands on the brink of destruction by a mining company looking to extract copper through a method that would collapse the land. On April 18, Oak Flat, along with nine other mining projects across the country, were added to the Trump administration's fast-track list for permit approval.
How did the proposed mine at Oak Flat get to this point?
At the Society of Environmental Journalists conference in Tempe on April 25, two opponents of the project spoke with moderator Debra Krol ― a reporter for The Arizona Republic who covers indigenous issues ― about its origins.
In December 2014, the late Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., along with other members of Congress, was a part of “the shadiest event that has taken place in Congress,” said Henry Munoz, chairman of Concerned Citizens Retired Miners Coalition and retired miner.
Krol noted that the initial authorization was a “last-minute” amendment added at midnight on a defense spending bill.
That meant no public hearing, no public comment and no wider discussion by Congress. It was signed into law by then-President Barack Obama.
“So that set the clock ticking,” Krol said.
Lawsuits abound over Oak Flat
The legal battle continues, and is heating up, but it all depends on the price of copper.
“They are going to mine when the price of copper is right, if they have all the approvals that they need to do it,” said Sandy Bahr, director of the Sierra Club’s Grand Canyon Chapter. “The history of mining is all boom and bust and it’s based on the price of copper and whether or not it is economical.”
Three lawsuits challenging the project are moving through the courts: the Apache Stronghold, as a religious group; the San Carlos Apache Tribe, as a sovereign nation; and one by the Center for Biological Diversity and Arizona Mining Reform Coalition, challenging the National Environmental Policy Act process.
“Currently the Apache Stronghold case is pending Supreme Court decision if it will be taken on,” Krol said. “If this happens, it will be argued in the following 2025-2026 term.”
The other cases are awaiting a Supreme Court decision before advancing through the federal court system.
Katarzyna Michalik is a doctoral student at Prescott College and a fellow of the SEJ student newsroom led by The Arizona Republic.
SEJ Session: Climate Misinformation Can Spread Quickly and Slow Efforts To Help People, Advocates Say
Published April 26, 2025
By George Headley
Around 14% of people in Arizona believe climate change is not happening, according to a Yale study conducted in 2024. A new United Nations initiative strives to dismantle what it sees as misinformation about climate change and encourage outreach.
These beliefs can be caused by social media algorithms, family conversations and political beliefs, panelists at the Society of Environmental Journalists 2025 conference in Tempe, Arizona, said on April 25.
Charlotte Scaddan, the senior adviser on information integrity for the United Nations, said the U.N. is assembling a solution to disinformation about extreme weather events and promoting research to combat it, which will be done through the Global Initiative for Information Integrity.
Here are five takeaways from the panel:
What is the UN’s Global Initiative for Information Integrity?
It is a joint effort between countries and advisory groups to dismantle climate-related disinformation through data analysis, advocacy, outreach and diplomacy.
- Scaddan implemented the initiative. “It's to look holistically at the information ecosystem and how we can get to where we want to go,” Scaddan said.
- Amy Westervelt, the executive editor of Drilled, said the initiative was born out of Brazil’s focus on information integrity. Brazil is where the U.N. Climate Change Conference 30 will be held in November.
Why rejecting climate disinformation is important
Thais Lazzeri is the founder and director of FALA, a Brazilian impact studio focused on social change. She said there is a “supply chain of lies” designed to reject climate action. She referenced the May 2024 flood that affected Brazil, and how several people refused help from their government.
- The Brazilian government has tried to bring awareness to this for the past five years and provide solutions to misinformation, she said.
- Kate Cell is the senior climate campaign manager of the Climate and Energy Program at the Union of Concerned Scientists. For journalists, Cell said she wishes to see more framing about individuals’ ability to prepare well, their ability to recover and their ability to be more resilient in coverage on hurricane season in the United States.
How to hold those accountable for spreading disinformation
A goal of the initiative is to identify “bad actors,” individuals who spread misleading rhetoric about climate on social media or other forms of communication. Cell said they identify bad actors through understanding trends or spikes of misinformation, mostly during elections or extreme weather events.
- “(We) try really hard to unmask it, so that it can't do or has less ability to block people's access to what they need in order to make climate progress and to recover climate disaster,” Cell said.
- Cell referenced the Disinformation Playbook on the website of Union of Concerned Scientists.
How social media platforms amplify disinformation
Algorithms and artificial intelligence both prioritize sensational content that can falsify information about climate change and natural disasters, panelists said.
Scaddan said sensationalist content bleeds into advertising companies as well.
- Cell said algorithms tend to favor sensational and polarizing content, often resulting in the mainstream of hateful messaging and false narratives.
- “Why do they want people to keep looking?” Cell said. “It's so that they buy products that are advertised in front of them. It really all comes down to advertising.”
How to break through the disinformation barrier
Understanding that the ideas are wrong and not the people is a mindset that can help reach those who may be affected by climate disinformation, Scaddan said.
- Scaddan said the initiative does outreach for groups such as those in faith-based organizations. A priority for her is to frame accurate climate information to appeal to individuals through methods of communication like community engagement.
- Cell recommended the book “The Quiet Damage: QAnon and the Destruction of the American Family” by Jesselyn Cook when understanding how to navigate speaking to family members who have differing opinions on climate.
George Headley is politics editor at The State Press at Arizona State University and a fellow of the SEJ student newsroom led by The Arizona Republic.
SEJ Session: Three Ways Journalists and Readers Can Overcome Anxiety About Environment
Published April 26, 2025
By Serenity Reynolds
Covering environmental issues can tax a journalist’s mental and emotional resilience, panelists at the Society of Environmental Journalists said at the 2025 conference in Tempe.
Journalists who report on the environment often harbor depression, anger or frustration from their work that is hard to release, the panelists said.
But the high-strung emotions and poor mental health are applicable to the reader, too.
The negative cloud that surrounds environmental journalism can cause a disconnect between the audience and the journalist and build an invisible barrier of emotions, the panelists said.
To tap into their own emotions and connect with the audience, panelists suggested three ways journalists can break the barrier between writer and reader.
Fighting apathy with empathy
Environmental journalism can be exhausting not only for the journalist but the reader, too, said Rebecca Weston, the co-executive director of the Climate Psychology Alliance of North America.
If your message isn’t getting through to your audience, Weston urges journalists to understand that it may not be a lack of interest, as people in the U.S. do, in fact, worry about climate change.
Even as a journalist, if you think you’ve lost a passion for the subject, it could be a sign of burnout or built-up trauma from the constant negativity.
Combat this apathetic feeling from either party with empathy and grace toward yourself and your audience, Weston said.
Weston also said to keep in mind that people tend to stay silent for many unknown reasons, such as fear or anxiety.
Instead of becoming frustrated, understand that silence does not equate to being “not interested” and continue to find new and innovative ways to connect with your audience, Weston said.
Finding the joy within environmental journalism
Ethan Brown, training program coordinator at Metcalf Institute, said stories about the environment often lead to fear and angst among the readers.
To mitigate this, provide a positive aspect to your story, whether it’s adding a humor element or a “solutions story,” even if it’s only speculation, Brown said.
Identify and explore emotions, rather than ignore them
As a human, it’s hard to be emotionally sound and recognize emotions within yourself. As a journalist, it’s more difficult not to mix emotions and work because of that internal negative battle mentioned earlier.
To be an impactful journalist, Atmos editor-at-large Yessenia Funes encourages journalists to ask questions within themselves.
Asking questions, including, “Which emotions that the reader may have about this topic should I address?” or “Which emotions do I still need time to understand?” can help avoid burnout or producing apathetic work, Funes said.
Serenity Reynolds is a junior studying journalism at Arizona State University and a fellow of the SEJ student newsroom led by The Arizona Republic.
SEJ Session: Debunking Three Common Myths About Reader Engagement in Environmental Reporting
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| Justin Worland speaks during an “Engaging Readers on Climate in an Age of Distraction” panel at the SEJ conference in Tempe, Arizona, on April 25. Photo: Mark Henle/The Republic. |
Published April 26, 2025
By Arilynn Hyatt
In a digital age, social media distracts readers by taking their attention away from climate and environmental news, Justin Worland pointed out at the 2025 Society of Environmental Journalists Conference in Tempe.
In the jumble of viral videos and status updates, climate reporting does not show up on people’s feeds, the panelists said. Myths about polarization, optimism vs pessimism and framing have convinced journalists that they can't better engage readers.
Worland, a senior correspondent for Time magazine, recalled visiting a college to speak to a class. Afterward, a student approached him and told him his writing was too long. Since then, he’s been interested in how to keep the reader’s attention for longer.
According to Kirsten Eddy, a senior researcher at the Pew Research Center, attention to news in the U.S. has declined from 27% to 19% in adults ages 18-29.
“We have 27 seconds now as opposed to 1,200 words and so the choice we make in words and ratings matters a huge amount in the world,” said John Marshall, founder and CEO of Potential Energy Coalition, a marketing firm with a goal of educating people on climate change.
Marshall identified the three myths on why readers are not engaged with climate change stories.
U.S. society isn't as polarized on the environment as you think
Potential Energy Coalition has tested 1,200 climate change ads and barely saw backlash, Marshall said.
“You always see backlash with things like gun control or abortion,” Marshall said.
His marketing firm asked a portion of people a set of controversial questions and found a high number of individuals believe some of the rhetoric floating around the media.
Except when it comes to climate change. More people were more interested in supporting climate solutions, Marshall said.
“The issue is not that there’s this fervent opposition out there,” he said. “The issue is nobody is getting the information.”
Readers aren't that afraid to read unpleasant truths about the environment
“We owe people the truth,” Marshall said.
People are more engaged and pay attention when journalists talk about the truth, he said.
While we can’t create panic, when there is a justifiable reason to worry, pointing out the real human consequences works.
His marketing firm found in a focus group that clearly stating bad news gets people’s attention, but the writers are worried that too much bad news will drive readers away.
Framing environmental issues in clear terms matters to keeping readers
Framing is a choice. In climate reporting, the words written can create a narrative. This frame can be reinforced and create damaging viewpoints that affect the environment.
An example Marshall makes of framing in action involves the gas industry. Natural gas ranks at 72% in popularity, while methane gas is 27% in popularity. Natural gas and methane gas are the same, he said.
“You actually made that choice, and in 20 seconds the consequences of that is now everybody thinks natural gas is clean.”
There are subconscious choices people make as writers and the best way to combat this is to take a step back and ask, “What are the frames that are actually persuasive?” Marshall said.
“It’s a narrative war and if we lean into frames and phrases, that causes us to lose the narrative war.”
Marshall is a marketer; however, thinking about framing does not have to border activism, it’s thinking about word choice in a way that readers can absorb, Worland said.
“It’s thinking about how people understand a clear communicator,” he said.
Arilynn Hyatt is a junior studying journalism at the University of Arizona and a fellow of the SEJ student newsroom led by The Arizona Republic.
SEJ Session: Five Things To Know About Infectious Disease and Climate Change
Published April 26, 2025
By Sophia Ramirez
The Society of Environmental Journalists’ annual conference convened a panel of experts April 25 in Tempe to discuss the spread of infectious diseases amid climate change.
Here are five takeaways.
Valley fever cases to increase as Western US gets drier and hotter
The fungus that causes valley fever grows in hot, dry climates. Current models of climate change suggest more parts of the U.S. will have the hot, dry conditions that sustain this fungus.
Bridget Barker, a professor at Northern Arizona University specializing in fungal diseases, including valley fever, predicted that by the end of this century, the entire western U.S. would be amenable to the growth of the valley fever organism.
“Clear up to the Canadian border,” Barker said.
Warmer temperatures could allow fungi to survive at body temperature
Higher average temperatures could act as an evolutionary pressure, allowing fungi to survive at greater temperatures.
Currently, one of the human barriers to fungal infection is a high internal body temperature.
“As we have higher and higher global temperatures, on average, selection will drive those organisms to be able to tolerate higher and higher temperatures,” Barker said.
Heat waves are becoming more frequent and intense
Mona Arora, a professor at the University of Arizona who studies the relationship between public health and heat, said heat waves in Arizona are becoming more frequent and intense, with consistent triple-digit days from April to October.
“When we think of a disaster, we'll probably think of something like a flood or a hurricane or a wildfire. There's a visual star,” Arora said. “For something like heat, what is that trigger?”
Public health data collection infrastructure is extensive but fragile
Public health researchers rely on data collected by a network of public and private entities to track the spread or risk of infectious diseases. Much of this data is organized by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Arora said risk-mapping tools rely on the CDC Social Vulnerability Index. The index is used to identify the communities most at risk during a public health emergency. “If that goes away, I think there's a lot of other tools that will see that domino impact.”
In January and February 2025, several CDC webpages containing publicly available datasets were removed, though most were later put back online.
Science education may help restore trust in public health
Citizen scientists were invaluable in collecting data during the COVID-19 pandemic, gathering information on a wide scale through app-based platforms, Arora said. These platforms were repurposed from earlier efforts to collect disease data and hold promise for democratizing public health.
“We would be blind and tone deaf if we didn't say that public health lost a lot of its trust,” Arora said. “One step in that direction is to help work collaboratively. But I think another step is to really go back to the grassroots level and look at science education.”
Sophia Ramirez is a senior at Arizona State University and a fellow of the SEJ student newsroom led by The Arizona Republic.
* From the weekly news magazine SEJournal Online, Vol. 10, No. 18. Content from each new issue of SEJournal Online is available to the public via the SEJournal Online main page. Subscribe to the e-newsletter here. And see past issues of the SEJournal archived here.
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