The energy transition imperative to move from fossil fuels toward renewable energies could leave out individual homeowners unable to install rooftop solar. But as the latest TipSheet points out, there’s an alternative: community solar. Good local reporting is needed to demystify it though. The backstory, plus more than a dozen story ideas and reporting resources.
As part of a new initiative for the Society of Environmental Journalists' 2024 annual conference in Philadelphia, PA, from April 3-7, the SEJ Publications team has organized an inaugural student newsroom to provide running coverage throughout the conference and beyond.
Numerous sessions and workshops touched on issues ranging from climate, war and migration to sustainable foods, just transitions and watershed solutions, with viewpoints from luminary scientists and top government officials, plus experts, activists and leading environment reporters. Explore on-the-spot writeups and images from our student reporters.
SEJ Sessions and Workshops: Climate Disinformation | Environmental Consequences of War | Climate Migration Reporting | Rural Reporting | Sustainable Food Systems | Whistleblower Stories | Just Transition for Oil Towns | Watersheds | More
Plus, hundreds of attendees crisscrossed the region on a series of day-long tours, with our student reporters going along for the ride. On-the-scene reporting and images from our student newsroom:
SEJ Tours: From Farmbelt to Pinelands | Revolutionary Raptors | Climate Challenges on Delaware Bayshore | Gap Over Future of Delaware Water Gap | Delaware's ‘Holy Trinity’
Also see SEJ.org’s multimedia coverage, including audio recordings of most conference sessions and videos of the plenary sessions. And view other #SEJ2024 resources, like Instagram highlights and coverage stories.
"The oil and gas company-owned Richmond Standard tells mostly positive stories about the major industry that dominates this California city and its skyline."
"Ocean Conservation Namibia is disentangling a record number of seals, while broadcasting the perils of marine debris in a largely feel good way."
Top-flight regional reporting (and data analysis) that explored inequities between Black and white communities around Baltimore, Maryland, yielded journalist Scott Dance a wide range of stories — and a first-place prize in the most recent awards from the Society of Environmental Journalists. Dance, now on the climate desk for The Washington Post shares insights from the beat in the new Inside Story.
"A recent study revealed just how much fishing activity is slipping under the radar, finding that roughly three-quarters of the world’s industrial fishing ships are not publicly tracked."
"Because of lax rules, national inventories reported to the United Nations grossly underestimate many countries’ greenhouse gas emissions. The result, analysts say, is that the world can not verify compliance with agreed emissions targets, jeopardizing global climate agreements."
Forests are full of environmental stories, from timber sales and wildlife habitat to climate change and hunting. And for reporters in search of resources to report them, the U.S. Forest Service offers an immense array of datasets to match the hundreds of millions of acres of land under its domain. The latest Reporter’s Toolbox gets you started on using the vast Forest Service data collection.
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