On May 3, 2019 at the CSU Denver Center, SEJ hosted a robust journalists' panel and public discussion on Colorado's challenges and opportunities regarding droughts, wildfires, climate change, energy production, decarbonization and more. The event included an interview with Will Toor, executive director of the Colorado Energy Office (pictured).
Drinking water contaminated with PFAS for years has caused worry, even outrage, in local communities affected by the toxic chemicals. Now, a military database may help reporters locate contamination sites. This week’s TipSheet has more on the database, along with tips for evaluating your local PFAS story.
Hundreds of coal ash ponds and landfills around the United States pollute drinking water supplies, and now a newly released report helps localize the problem for environmental reporters. This week’s TipSheet explores the new data source, provides the back story on coal ash regulation (or lack thereof) and the potential health risks, while offering numerous questions to ask and resources to track down.
Jassmine McBride, a speaker on the "Flint: Environmental Injustice in Context" tour during SEJ's 28th annual conference last October, passed away February 12, 2019, at the age of 30. Tour attendees visited her home, where she shared the story of her battle with Legionnaire's disease, contracted in 2014 during the Flint water crisis.
A scientist contracted to report on climate impacts for the National Park Service was caught up in a fracas over attempted censorship of her findings. Now she’s been fired. That, plus a FOIA case before the Supreme Court and an enviro group sues the Army Corps of Engineers over info on a permit for a new plastics plant in Louisiana. Read the latest on freedom-of-information issues in this month’s WatchDog TipSheet.
Our latest Issue Backgrounder looks at the potentially historic impact of the ambitious climate action agenda known as the Green New Deal — not just on this Congress or the next, or even on the race for the White House in 2020, but for the soul of the Democratic Party. An analysis of a public policy program in the making, the political maneuvering it’s engendering and its prospects to sow division or prompt a united front.
If a wood stove seems like a good solution to the winter’s bitter cold, you may want to think again. The unhealthful particulate pollution many such stoves generate has prompted new federal emission standards. But some states are pushing back, and the EPA is now considering a two-year delay in the new regulations. This week’s TipSheet has the latest news and why it matters, plus story ideas and reporting resources.
February 5, 2019 — I'm the grateful recipient of an SEJ Fund for Environmental Journalism travel grant. SEJ's generous support allowed me to go to India to report on air pollution. In addition to the stories it enabled me to write for the New York Times, the Guardian and Smithsonian at the time, that grant was the first step in my work on a book about air pollution — "Choked: Life and Breath in the Age of Air Pollution."
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.
Advertisement 
