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TipSheet is a biweekly source for story ideas, background, interview leads and reporting tools for journalists who cover news of the environment.

For questions and comments, or to suggest future TipSheets, email the TipSheet Editor Joseph A. Davis at sejournaleditor@sej.org.

Journalists can receive TipSheet free by subscribing to the SEJournal Online, the digital news magazine of the Society of Environmental Journalists. Subscribe to the e-newsletter here. TipSheet is also available through the searchable archive below and via RSS feed.


Latest TipSheet Items

November 28, 2017

  • Trying to figure out the air quality in your coverage area? The EPA may not be much help. But this week's TipSheet suggests some effective work-arounds for your reporting. Get the backstory on ozone standards, tips on how to track ozone "nonattainment" for your area and learn why smog matters so much to public health.

November 21, 2017

  • President Trump campaigned partly on the promise to abolish an Obama-era program to cut power plant CO2 emissions. But as TipSheet explains in the first in a series of special reports on key issues in the coming year, the program is tied up in complex court proceedings that may, in the end, be moot. Learn why.

November 14, 2017

  • Turkeys are a favorite American food, but also a multi-billion-dollar industry with myriad environment and food safety issues, not to mention confusing consumer labelling. With Thanksgiving approaching, this week's TipSheet helps reporters carve out a bird beat, serving up story ideas, resources and more.

November 7, 2017

  • An EPA program that helps pay for municipal water infrastructure is facing Congressional appropriations scrutiny. But with the program looking like it may escape big cuts, it remains a reservoir of reportable local projects. Find out more in the latest TipSheet, plus get state-by-state resources.

October 31, 2017

  • With ice and snow ahead, it's time to start thinking about road salt — its use may make driving safer, but can also cause real harm to the environment. This week's TipSheet clears the road for your reporting on this potential hazard, detailing its risks, outlining its alternatives and offering story ideas.

October 24, 2017

  • Halloween may remind many of the spookier side of bats. But these unique flying mammals provide important ecosystem services — and that's just one of the many reasons why environmental reporters might want to write about them. This week's TipSheet looks at covering bats, the habitat loss that's leaving many species threatened and the growing fungal plague that's wiping out many colonies. Resources and more.

October 17, 2017

October 10, 2017

October 3, 2017

September 26, 2017

  • Flooding disasters can unleash some nasty substances into the environment, whether from Superfund sites, sewage plants or petrochemical and other industrial facilities handling toxic and hazardous materials.This week's TipSheet identifies some of the biggest risks, and offers starting points for your local reporting.

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