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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

April 11, 2017

  • With the White House trying to revive coal as a key component of the power grid, environmental reporters can find many stories in what's happening to individual plants in their area. The latest TipSheet walks you through locating local plants, digging deeper with databases and tracing regulation of non-CO2 pollutants.

April 4, 2017

  • The best public database of the risk management plans for many major hazardous sites has now been restored. The latest TipSheet has the backstory on government tracking of hazardous chemical facilities, an example of how the database was mined for some stellar reporting, and ideas for smart use of this powerful tool.

March 28, 2017

  • Rewinding the Clean Power Plan and its planned cuts in U.S. carbon emissions may not have the effect intended, reports this week's TipSheet. Why changes now underway in the electric power industry may have less to do with regulations than with the energy market itself. Plus, covering developments state by state.

March 21, 2017

  • Proposed budget reductions for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration could undermine the work of agencies as varied as National Weather Service and Sea Grant, as well as a satellite network informing much climate research. The latest TipSheet outlines NOAA stories that may emerge ... or vanish.

March 14, 2017

  • As the Trump administration proposes big cuts at environmental agencies like the U.S. EPA, the latest TipSheet explores how to dig up local angles from the budget action. Examples: Tracking changes at EPA regional offices and labs, at Superfund or at state revolving funds for clean water and safe drinking water programs.

March 7, 2017

  • As the Trump administration last week began its rollback of the Clean Water Rule, reporters are likely to see many more stories about wetlands permitting — especially on the local level. The latest TipSheet walks you through the Section 404 permitting maze and helps you find out what's happening in your locale and state.

February 28, 2017

  • As questions arise about how thoroughly the U.S. EPA's new administrator Scott Pruitt (left) will enforce environmental regulations, reporters can get at the story through EPA’s own exhaustive enforcement database. TipSheet provides a step-by-step on how to use data resources to follow trends and find bad actors. 

February 21, 2017

  • California's Oroville Dam has been in the news this month, as it threatened to fail, flooding nearby communities. But worsening dam safety is a national story with local angles throughout the United States. TipSheet runs down the risks and the resources, plus offers upcoming news hooks for dam stories in your community.

February 7, 2017

  • Dozens of renegade government Twitter accounts have sprung up, with claims they're run anonymously by employees of various agencies whose missions appear threatened by the Trump administration. TipSheet has the story, plus a list of more than 40 accounts of interest to environmental reporters. 

January 31, 2017

  • President Trump said on the campaign trail that he would "cancel" the Paris climate agreement. But could he really wreck the treaty? Or are other nations — and our own — already too far down the road to fully undermine the international pact? TipSheet takes a closer look.

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