Planning & Growth

Reporting on interconnected ecosystems lends itself to better environmental stories, and so tracing how water moves across landscapes, communities, industries and regulatory schemes can help the public connect the dots. That’s how Annie Ropeik, who helps run the Mississippi River Basin Ag & Water Desk, sees the watershed beat. She shares expert views and offers insights for environment journalists to use in their reporting.

Leading water expert Peter Gleick’s new book on water’s past, present and future is an ambitious volume that offers a panoramic look at this essential resource — and hope for living in harmony with it in the future. BookShelf Editor Tom Henry calls “The Three Ages of Water” a rare book of breadth and depth, part history and part sustainable remedy. Read his review.

In the second of a two-parter for our 2024 Journalists’ Guide to Environment + Energy, the latest TipSheet considers how local environmental journalists can make news out of the state-by-state patchwork of flood risk disclosure laws amid rising climate extremes. A dozen-and-a-half story ideas and reporting resources on the topic. Plus, see part one on climate and insurance.

In the first of a two-parter for our 2024 Journalists’ Guide to Environment & Energy, TipSheet looks at what climate-driven disasters mean for the home insurance market. Storms, floods and fire rip through communities, yet a federal insurance program falls short, lawmakers shy away from real reform and insurers grow hesitant to cover the risks, while homeowners often attempt to rebuild in the same problematic locales. Plus, see part two on extreme weather and insurance.