With 2019 in full swing, the SEJournal offers an analysis of the year ahead in environment and energy news, with an overview of our full special report, the “2019 Journalists’ Guide to Energy & Environment.” Plus, don’t miss SEJ’s Jan. 25 event with top reporters to help you keep track of the big stories on the beat. RSVP here to attend in-person or online.
From under a blanket of dense smog that hung over the southern Polish town hosting a recent United Nations climate change conference, the president of the Society of Environmental Journalists, Bobby Magill, had a moment of clarity for the profession and the organization. His insights, and how they will affect the future of SEJ as it begins a new strategic planning process, in Magill’s latest SEJ President’s Report. Plus, a special honor for a “tireless” SEJ leader.
Enforcement on the environment front is way down recently, and that may not just be true at the EPA but other federal and state agencies as well. This special edition of TipSheet, part of our 2019 Journalists’ Guide to Energy and Environment, tracks the trend, pointing to some exemplary reporting that’s been covering the issue and showing how to use numerous data sources to investigate it on your own.
"Even though Earth is floating in the void, it does not exist in a vacuum. The planet is constantly bombarded by stuff from space, including a daily deluge of micrometeorites and a shower of radiation from the sun and more-distant stars. Sometimes, things from space can maim or kill us, like the gargantuan asteroid that wiped out the dinosaurs. "
"About a week after the start of the partial government shutdown last month, Dawn Chapman and Karen Nickel emailed Environmental Protection Agency officials about what the lapse in funding meant for them and other residents of Bridgeton, Mo. who live near a nuclear waste dump."
"The clearest picture yet of coal ash contamination in the United States is emerging, with utilities reporting serious groundwater contamination in at least 22 states."
"A new Pentagon report identifies significant risks from climate change at scores of military bases and says the Defense Department is taking protective measures against the looming threat."
"U.S. diplomats used to receive guidance about climate change and migration. The Government Accountability Office is recommending the State Department bring it back."
"The weather clearly does not care that the U.S. government is partially shut down."
"In the summer of 2017, before a series of wildfires ripped across California's wine country, killing 44 people, incinerating thousands of homes and causing $9.4 billion in damage, Pacific Gas and Electric Co. was riding high.... Two years later, PG&E is headed for bankruptcy,
