Health

From under a blanket of dense smog that hung over the southern Polish town hosting a recent United Nations climate change conference, the president of the Society of Environmental Journalists, Bobby Magill, had a moment of clarity for the profession and the organization. His insights, and how they will affect the future of SEJ as it begins a new strategic planning process, in Magill’s latest SEJ President’s Report. Plus, a special honor for a “tireless” SEJ leader.

SEJournal looks ahead to key issues in the coming year with this "2019 Journalists’ Guide to Energy & Environment" special report. Stay tuned as we continue to add elements to the report up through and beyond its formal launch Jan. 25 at an annual roundtable, organized by the Society of Environmental Journalists with the Wilson Center in Washington, D.C.

Environmental justice-related stories are expected to get more attention in the news media in 2019. But that’s not because the challenge of protecting marginalized communities from lopsided environmental impacts is being met. This week’s TipSheet explains, in a look-ahead to environmental justice stories making the news, the many forms the problem takes, the many communities affected and the emerging notion of “climate justice.”

The vast and widely used PFAS family of chemicals is causing serious worries across the country, as it turns up in more and more drinking water systems. Pressure to regulate it is also growing, but with mixed results. This week’s TipSheet offers a detailed look-ahead on this big, developing story, with a walk-through of the context, what the EPA is (and isn’t) doing, and why states are stepping up.

Incinerators — there may be fewer of them these days, but it’s likely there’s still one near you and it’s probably polluting the air. How a cheap method to make garbage go away now has become a problem of its own, one that often sparks debates over environmental justice. This week’s Tipsheet has a quick rundown on incinerator regulation, outlines key problem areas and offers resources for reporting your own local incinerator story.

Millions of Americans are served by private rather than public water systems. And while that may be helpful in the case of the tens of thousands of smaller systems that lack key resources, it also raises controversial questions about privatization, as well as about what’s best to insure drinking water safety in a post-Flint era. The latest Backgrounder explains this complex issue, considers the most critical issues and offers resources to report the story in your area.

Hog waste washing into the environment in the wake of flooding is not just a worry in the Carolinas after Hurricane Florence. Potential pollution from animal feed operations is a widespread risk around the United States — and climate change-induced extreme weather means that risk is rising. The latest TipSheet has resources and ideas for covering the story in your area.

​Local pesticide bans that go beyond federal restrictions may be a growing trend, but it’s one that has brought on a backlash by GOP politicians and farmers. The conflict may soon be resolved — or not — by Congress, as it closes in on a new U.S. Farm Bill. Meanwhile, this week’s TipSheet helps explain the dispute and provides resources and signs to watch.