"Roger Houser's ranching business was getting squeezed. The calves he raises in Virginia's Shenandoah Valley were selling for about the same price they had a few years earlier, while costs for essentials like fuel and fertilizer kept going up. But Houser found another use for his 500 acres."
With a new Congress in place and the seemingly never-ending political races to track, reporters can often learn a good deal about how environmental policy is influenced by looking into campaign and lobbying donations. Backgrounder takes a deep dive into the topic, pointing to important sources of information and data … and their limitations.
In the wake of the train derailment and toxic spill in Ohio, now is a good time for environmental journalists to be ready for the next such accident. The latest Reporter’s Toolbox offers up a data source for another transportation risk — hazardous materials transported via highway. Plus, why rail hazmat data can be trickier to access.
Non-Indigenous journalists may think they’re doing “marginalized” Indigenous communities a favor by covering them, but their coverage is too often extractive and riddled with racist tropes. Contributor Valerie Vande Panne offers insights and advice for avoiding these pitfalls. Seeking permission, listening, sharing and respecting are all critical tools for the job.
"Greenwashing challenges in courts and at the SEC continue to pour in from advocates and investors targeting what they claim are false representations of corporate commitments to environmentalism and climate-friendly practices."
Meet SEJ member Bobby Magill! Bobby is a journalist covering water, public lands and the Interior Department for Bloomberg Law in Washington, D.C. His work focuses on climate change and legal battles over the Clean Water Act, Safe Drinking Water Act, water supplies, oil and gas leasing, endangered species and other federal lands issues.
"Many of you may remember the moment: it was a chilly winter day in November 2021 when news broke that photojournalist Amber Bracken had been arrested by the RCMP while reporting for The Narwhal from Wet’suwet’en territory in northwestern B.C."
Freelancers looking to explore complex environmental issues may want to consider magazines published by … environmental organizations. Despite the caveats, like ensuring a publication’s editorial independence and guarding against organizational self-promotion, long-time environmental writer Francesca Lyman makes the case in the latest Freelance Files that the pros of such gigs outweigh the cons. Plus a sampler of pubs to approach.
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