"The president, still angry about the pandemic response, may be cutting into the country’s fundamental ability to identify emerging diseases and head them off."
A coming lithium rush in Arkansas drew the notice of journalist Katie Myers, who used a grant from the Fund for Environmental Journalism to explore whether extraction activities near once-booming energy communities could avoid the economic and environmental impacts of another boom-and-bust cycle for a largely Black region with histories of land dispossession, plantation slavery and Jim Crow segregation. Lessons learned in the latest FEJ StoryLog.
Environmental journalists aiming to report local or regional stories on real estate climate risk should explore an impressive bit of data journalism on the subject; Reporter’s Toolbox lauds it not just for the exemplary work, but also because the project, from The Washington Post, allows them to look up a variety of risks in their own locales.
Whether fires in California or flooding in North Carolina, climate disasters are revealing a major fault line in U.S. emergency response — a serious insurance shortfall that may lead to financial catastrophe. The new Issue Backgrounder explores the risks of underinsured disasters, the limits to the national flood insurance programs and FEMA aid, and the predictable scapegoating that has created solution gridlock.
Feb. 14, 2025 — Here at SEJ, we celebrate both Valentine’s Day and our 35th anniversary on February 14, a tribute to our love for the planet and recognition of the enduring friendships and mutual support within our tight-knit community of environmental journalists. Today, as our field and membership have expanded across the world and into every form of news media, the need for environmental journalism has never been more urgent: SEJ’s role is even more vital, and the support our community offers is more relevant than ever. Read more from SEJ executive director Aparna Mukherjee (pictured, left).
"A Florida appeals court Wednesday cleared the way for President Donald Trump to pursue a defamation lawsuit against Pulitzer Prize board members in a dispute rooted in the organization awarding a prize to The New York Times and The Washington Post for reporting about alleged Russian interference in the 2016 election."
"The world’s peatlands are “dangerously underprotected” despite the colossal amount of climate-heating carbon dioxide already being emitted due to their destruction, a study has warned."
"Mexican environmental regulators say they have discovered 30,000 tons of improperly stored material with “hazardous characteristics” in the yard of a Mexican plant that is recycling toxic waste shipped from the US."
"In the aftermath of the devastating wildfires that tore through Los Angeles last month, undocumented day laborers will likely make up a significant portion of the workforce tasked with clearing debris and rebuilding homes. As they navigate the environmental hazards of this work, they’re also facing the Trump administration’s escalating crackdown on immigrants."
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