TipSheet

TipSheet banner

 

TipSheet is a biweekly source for story ideas, background, interview leads and reporting tools for journalists who cover news of the environment.

For questions and comments, or to suggest future TipSheets, email the TipSheet Editor Joseph A. Davis at sejournaleditor@sej.org.

Journalists can receive TipSheet free by subscribing to the SEJournal Online, the digital news magazine of the Society of Environmental Journalists. Subscribe to the e-newsletter here. TipSheet is also available through the searchable archive below and via RSS feed.


Latest TipSheet Items

March 24, 2021

  • An invasive species of mussel — no, not zebra mussels, but quagga mussels — are wreaking havoc not just in the Great Lakes, but have now spread through the Mississippi and Colorado basins, as far west as Lake Mead. The latest TipSheet runs down the extent of the problem, how quaggas may be even worse than zebra mussels, and ideas for reporting on your local waterways.

March 3, 2021

  • From cardigans to orange tans, the history of presidential politics around energy efficiency has been an odd one. But the story of so-called nega-watts is actually a compelling one. And with new efficiency rules being eyed by the Biden administration, it’s also time for reporters to explore the local angle to energy savings. Our latest TipSheet explains how.

February 17, 2021

  • A computer hacker nearly succeeded recently in rendering a local Florida facility a source of poisonous drinking water. And the risk of other such hacks is real, even as the vulnerabilities are hidden behind stringent U.S. secrecy laws. The latest TipSheet explores dangers to our drinking water supply — which go well beyond future hacking.

January 13, 2021

January 6, 2021

December 16, 2020

  • The surging racial justice movement has reenergized aspirations to correct the environmental injustices that blemish countless underprivileged U.S. communities. The new TipSheet, another part of our 2021 Guide, scans the landscape of trouble spots, from urban to rural, industrial zones to Superfund sites. Plus, story ideas and reporting resources.

December 9, 2020

  • What will climate change policy look like under a Biden administration? If nothing else, it appears it will be broadly based across a wide range of executive branch operations. This week’s TipSheet walks you through the top 10 federal departments, agencies and spending centers and how they will pivot to focus on global warming. 

November 25, 2020

  • A rush of last-minute regulatory (and deregulatory) actions are underway in the waning days of the Trump administration. And the latest TipSheet has suggestions not only for how to keep track, but also how to bird-dog the numerous ways the incoming Biden administration might try to reverse Trump’s course.

November 11, 2020

  • With wildfire exploding across the West this season, it may not be long before insurance companies worried about houses built along the wildland-urban interface try to raise premiums or drop policies altogether. It’s already happening in California, which is pushing back. Will it happen in your region as well? TipSheet has the backstory, plus a range of reporting resources.

October 28, 2020

  • Amy Coney Barrett’s swearing-in as associate justice this week brings a solidifying conservative majority to the Supreme Court. That likely means environmental issues coming before the justices will face new legal tests. The latest TipSheet explores four prominent cases coming to the high court this term that will help shed light on its evolving views on climate, water and public information.

Pages