Climate change is fueling the frequency and severity of wildfires, but a little-known Clean Air Act rule lets environmental agencies downplay the impacts of wildfire smoke. A collaborative investigation into this loophole connected dots that even the experts didn’t know about. Journalists Dillon Bergin and Molly Peterson explain their reporting process and offer advice for following your own local leads.

Health and environmental concerns about some beauty items — like the use of formaldehyde in certain hair straighteners — have started to emerge as a focus for federal regulation. But as the latest TipSheet points out, the response has been slow and fitful. Meanwhile, here are story ideas and resources to help reporters find local angles for this environmental and public health hazard.

As part of its periodic survey of the compelling work by digital journalists using data and multimedia, Reporter’s Toolbox looks at some favorite projects in the last year or so. On the list are granular maps and spinning globes, compelling photo essays and clickable storytelling. But the heart of the best digital journalism, Toolbox reminds us, is that it matters. And these do.

The connection between global warming and human health is worrying many public health experts, as some climate change-induced ecological shifts have worsened the potential spread of infectious diseases, including in North America. The latest TipSheet takes a closer look at a half-dozen climate-related diseases that environmental journalists might watch for local and regional stories. Plus, resources to report on the issue.

If extreme heat seems an unusual subject for December, the new EJ InSight column reminds us that among the natural disasters sweeping 2023 were waves of devastating global highs. Yet telling that story visually is an enormous challenge, acknowledges former LA Times photo editor Silvia Rázgová, who shares insights into how to portray the seriousness of extreme heat, getting beyond the cliches and connecting (safely) with its dangerous reality.

To make climate change less abstract and more direct, writer Madeline Ostrander traveled the country to speak to those living with its impacts in the places they call home. In a BookShelf “Between the Lines” Q&A, Ostrander discusses her resulting book, “At Home on an Unruly Planet: Finding Refuge on a Changed Earth,” and addresses the lenses she used, the characters she portrayed and the surprises she encountered.

Top environmental journalists and others at the Society of Environmental Journalists annual “Journalists’ Guide to Environment and Energy” program foresee some challenging realities to cover in 2024, most notably with the ongoing impacts of climate change. Bright signs emerged as well. Read our take, watch the event video [58] and visit our full “2024 Journalists’ Guide to Environment + Energy [59]” special report.

In our annual look-ahead on the environment and energy beat in 2024, we see a bumpy ride on global climate change talks coupled with more climate-driven disasters, even amid the evolving energy transition. And we see possible risks to ocean life from deep sea mining and continuing risks to human life from pollution of air, water and land. Insights in our overview [66] and our full “2024 Journalists’ Guide to Environment & Energy [59]” special report.

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.