SEJournal Online

SEJournal Online is the weekly digital news magazine of the Society of Environmental Journalists. Subscribe to the e-newsletter here. Send questions, comments, story ideas, articles, news briefs and tips to sejournaleditor@sej.org. Learn more about SEJournal Online.

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Latest SEJournal Issues

SEJ Initiatives Help Freelancers Survive, Thrive

With the continued decline in staff jobs at U.S. newspapers and other media across the country, freelancers are hitting the streets in growing numbers. The latest Freelance Files takes a closer look at how membership in the Society of Environmental Journalists can benefit journalists who freelance.

Greenhouse Gas Inventory Key Source for Local Climate Change Stories

A long-standing EPA inventory of greenhouse gasses has been gussied up of late, making it easier than ever to comb the data for global warming stories in your community. The latest Reporter’s Toolbox continues its new data journalism focus with a look at this resource, and how to use the info in it smartly.

Big Environmental Impacts on Small Communities Is Story That Must Be Told

While environmental journalists often focus on regulatory wrestling matches in Washington, D.C., a seasoned New York Times investigative reporter argues the most important stories are those in the real communities where bureaucratic impacts are felt. Three-time Pulitzer winner Eric Lipton makes the case for public service in journalism that tells the environment story from the outside in.
Air Needs Freshening in Most U.S. National Park Units

The nation’s parks are generally thought to be pristine natural havens. But a recent study finds the overwhelming majority suffer from air pollution problems like smog and ozone. That makes for important local and regional news stories, per the latest biweekly TipSheet. Get background, story ideas, resources and more.

Database Helps Track PFAS Drinking Water Contamination

Millions of people across the United States are believed to be drinking PFAS-contaminated water. And a growing database could prove an invaluable resource for environmental journalists trying to get a handle on that public health risk. Our latest biweekly Reporter’s Toolbox, recently refocused on data journalism tools and techniques, explains how to tap the expanding PFAS data.
Primer Helps To Prep for Reporting on PFAS

It’s a category of more than 4,000 industrial chemicals that affect our lives nearly every day — and many of which are toxic. So what do journalists need to know to report on the emerging contaminants known as PFAS? Our most recent Issue Backgrounder offers a detailed primer on what PFAS are, where they come from, what their health effects are and how they might be cleaned up.

Sifting Through 'Toxic Secrets' To Nail Polluter

A lengthy investigation yielded one small-market environmental reporting team an award-winning project examining the adequacy of a toxic solvent cleanup in a polluted community. Our latest “Inside Story” talks with a team member behind the project to learn about the challenges, the lessons learned and advice for others tracking similar problems.
Closure of Civilian Conservation Centers Ignites Controversy

A decades-old environmental jobs program that provided work for thousands of disadvantaged young people across more than a dozen states has been hit with one of the largest federal downsizings in a decade. Find out how the closing of some Civilian Conservation Centers may be a story near you, from the latest TipSheet.

FED Tool Tracks Pollution on Federal Lands

A revamped Reporter’s Toolbox begins today with a new focus on data resources for environmental journalists. The now biweekly column starts with a look at a massive database designed for federal land managers that reporters can use to scan dozens of pollution data sets about air quality and more in parks, forests and other federal lands.
“Ocean Outbreak: Confronting the Rising Tide of Marine Disease”

Marine ecologist Drew Harvell’s new book makes the case that the world’s oceans are sick and that few are paying enough attention. According to our latest BookShelf review, her “Ocean Outbreak” takes readers on a panoramic journey through the deep, while equipping reporters to better report problems that go well beyond climate change.