SEJ News

New thinking and narratives are needed to solve complex environmental challenges like the climate crisis. But for journalists, the ongoing split between religion and environment beats hampers that effort. It’s a reality environmental journalist Meera Subramanian knows from conversations at her own kitchen table. So she helped organize a recent Society of Environmental Journalists’ webinar to explore closing the gap.

Long overlooked or misunderstood outside of the communities they affected, issues of environmental equity are now increasingly the focus of both government action and journalistic digging. A recent webinar from the Society of Environmental Journalists explored new developments with this many-layered challenge and offered advice on how it can be better covered. Webinar moderator and reporter Perla Trevizo has a rundown.

President Biden’s national climate advisor Gina McCarthy joined an outspoken U.S. senator and a roundtable of elite journalists last week to preview dramatic changes possibly ahead in U.S. and international climate policy, environmental justice, clean energy and more. Get the upshot from the Society of Environmental Journalists’ 2021 Guide to Energy & Environment event. Plus, watch video of the full program.

Society of Environmental Journalists' members lamented the Dec. 25 death of renowned nature writer Barry Lopez, whose writings included "Arctic Dreams," "Of Wolves and Men" and more. Lopez gave SEJers a much-remembered address about writing, environmental journalism and more at the Barbra Streisand ranch in Malibu during the organization's 1999 annual conference in Los Angeles.

SEJournal looks ahead to key issues in the coming year with the launch of its annual "Journalists’ Guide to Energy & Environment." Check out year-ahead Backgrounders, TipSheets and a WatchDog, and stay tuned as we add to the special report in early 2021. Plus, watch for more on the guide at the annual roundtable organized by the Society of Environmental Journalists, hosted (this year virtually, on Jan 27) by National Geographic Society and co-sponsored by the Wilson Center.

The narrative around the ocean should become a more hopeful one, argues former NOAA administrator Jane Lubchenco. As evidence at the Society of Environmental Journalists’ recent virtual conference, Lubchenco cites a top-level international analysis that suggests the ocean can play a positive role in everything from reducing climate change to securing the future of food. Find out more.

Regulations that sprang from cornerstone environmental laws in place for decades are now under attack by the Trump administration, per legal experts in a recent webinar co-sponsored by the Society of Environmental Journalists and Columbia University’s Earth Institute. Get key takeaways and resources from the event from SEJ’s Dale Willman. Plus, watch the full webinar video.

The coronavirus pandemic has pushed climate change out of the headlines. But the two stories have much in common if journalists look beneath the surface. That was the consensus of expert panelists at an April 2 webinar organized by the Society of Environmental Journalists, who also had suggestions on how to cover both beats better. Read more, or check out video or audio.

SEJournal looks ahead to key issues in the coming year with the launch of its annual "Journalists’ Guide to Energy & Environment." Check out year-ahead Backgrounders, TipSheets and a WatchDog, and stay tuned as we add to the special report in early 2020. Plus, watch for the guide's formal presentation Jan. 24 at an annual roundtable organized by the Society of Environmental Journalists and hosted by National Geographic Society in Washington, D.C.

It’s a “make or break” year for a range of environmental and energy issues, advise leading journalists at the Society of Environmental Journalists’ annual “2019 Journalists’ Guide to Energy & Environment” event in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 25. The gathering also featured a surprise appearance by a top EPA official, who was questioned about administration policy on climate change. Read our coverage of the forum in this SEJ News report.