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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

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.

October 14, 2020

  • If oddsmakers are right and the Dems sweep the White House and both houses of Congress next month, one significant outcome could be the rollback of prominent Trump administration deregulatory moves. The latest TipSheet explains how an arcane law might make such reversals possible, and then spotlights half-a-dozen potentially vulnerable Trump regulatory actions.

September 30, 2020

  • Climate change may have made an unexpected appearance at the raucous 2020 presidential debate last night, but it's equally important to quiz state and local candidates on the topic too. The latest TipSheet offers environment and energy journalists a list of 10 key climate change questions to ask in reporting elections in your coverage area.

September 16, 2020

  • A Trump administration push to allow trains to carry liquified natural gas raises larger concerns about allowing hazardous materials to be carried around the United States by rail, per the latest TipSheet. Get the latest on the LNG transport plan, along with the backstory about the risks of numerous other rail hazmat, plus story ideas and reporting resources.

July 29, 2020

  • As hurricane season gets into full swing, a perpetual paradox reemerges — does disaster aid  help or harm? Government financial assistance in a disaster’s wake may seem a boon, but could it just encourage communities to repeat the mistakes of the past? The latest TipSheet explores the question and provides context, reporting resources and story ideas.

July 8, 2020

  • Emergency evacuations are hard to plan under normal circumstances. Now the coronavirus pandemic makes them even more complicated and risky. With the summer disaster season upon us, the latest TipSheet explores how environmental journalists can report on emergency planning under COVID-19, with suggested questions to help you dig up stories.

June 24, 2020

  • The indoor air in offices was already a potential health risk even before COVID-19. But now amid the pandemic coronavirus, not to mention other ever-present biological threats, indoor environmental hazards make it more likely than ever that offices will look and function differently in coming days. TipSheet takes a look and offers more than a dozen story ideas and resources.

June 10, 2020

  • Commuters seeking social distancing want them. City dwellers drawn to nearly car-free streets want them too. But the boom in bikes long pre-dates the COVID-19 outbreak, and their eco-friendly reputation offers environment reporters numerous smart local story angles, per the latest TipSheet. Get context, plus numerous story ideas and resources.

May 27, 2020

  • As the United States restarts fitfully following the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic, one source of controversy — and of numerous local or regional environmental stories — is what to do at the nation’s park system. The latest TipSheet explains why public access to these national treasures is so contentious, then provides numerous story ideas and reporting resources.

May 13, 2020

  • For reporters investigating the coronavirus-environment connection, you might look to the untreated sewage that can sometimes overflow municipal systems during wet weather, possibly bringing the novel pathogen to beaches and other places where people can get sick from it. The latest TipSheet takes a look at the reality, plus provides story ideas and reporter resources.

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