"The Bitter Fight To Stop A 2,000-Mile Carbon Pipeline"
"Three pipeline projects are in early stages of planning in Iowa. An alliance of farmers, Indigenous groups and environmentalists wants to stop them".
Source: Guardian, 07/08/2022
Great Plains (IA KS ND NE MO SD)
"Biden DOI Upholds N. Dakota Tribe's Mineral Rights Beneath Missouri R.
"The Biden administration reversed a Trump administration position and upheld the Mandan, Hidatsa Arikara Nation's claim to mineral rights beneath the Missouri River within the Fort Berthold Indian Reservation."
Source: Native News Online, 02/07/2022
"Nebraska Decarbonization Vote Was Years In The Making"
"Nebraska has become the first Republican-dominated state to commit to a goal of net-zero electricity emissions by 2050."
Source: E&E News, 12/13/2021
"How to Save the Prairie, Acre by Acre"
"The vital Kansas ecosystem is rapidly shrinking. Its future depends on private landowners like Lorna Harder."
Source: Washington Post, 12/08/2021
New Reporting Network Aims To Make Connections in the Mississippi Basin
The Mississippi River and its tributaries drain more than 40% of the continent, but most coverage of environmental stories within the Mississippi Basin is localized and siloed. The recently launched Mississippi River Basin Ag & Water Desk hopes to help news outlets provide region-wide reporting that contextualizes issues like climate change-driven flooding and the Gulf of Mexico dead zone.
SEJ Publication Types:
Topics on the Beat:
Region:
Visibility:
Mo. Health Dept Found Mask Mandates Work, But Didn’t Make Findings Public
"Mask mandates saved lives and prevented COVID-19 infections in Missouri’s biggest cities during the worst part of the delta variant wave, an analysis by the state Department of Health and Senior Services shows. But the analysis, conducted at the request of Gov. Mike Parson’s office in early November, was never made public and was only obtained by The Missouri Independent and the Documenting COVID-19 project after a Sunshine Law request to the department."
Source: Missouri Independent, 12/03/2021
"Climate Change Makes It Harder for Iowa to Provide Clean Drinking Water"
"Janis Elliott started testing the private well water that comes out of the faucets in her home for nitrates after she attended an environmental meeting more than five years ago. Elliott lives in the small unincorporated town of Avon, Iowa not too far south of Des Moines."
Source: NPR, 12/02/2021
Biden Administration To Struggle With Environmental Justice in 2022
The history of environmental racism is a long one in the United States, far longer than the efforts to address the problem. But reporting on environmental justice continues to tick upwards, and an analysis in the latest Backgrounder points to promising progress, explaining why for journalists the year ahead may yield important stories, whether about future footholds or new missteps.
SEJ Publication Types:
Topics on the Beat:
Region:
Visibility:
U.N. Summit Lays the Table for Environmental Reporting on Food Systems
After an 18-month buildup, a one-day U.N. Food Systems Summit earlier this fall generated hundreds of commitments to end global hunger and a dizzying array of alliances dedicated to the cause. Despite controversies surrounding the summit, this groundbreaking event highlighted opportunities for reporting on food and food systems. Award-winning agriculture journalist Chris Clayton shares his insights.
SEJ Publication Types:
Topics on the Beat:
Region:
Visibility:
As Locales Move to Decarbonize Buildings, Will States Ban Gas Bans?
While climate change is certainly a global phenomenon, conflicts over addressing it often turn on local concerns. Case in point: Community bans on the use of the fossil fuel methane (aka natural gas), which has in turn prompted some states to ban the bans themselves. The latest TipSheet explains the bans and how they play into the climate change debate, plus story ideas and resources.
SEJ Publication Types:
Topics on the Beat:
Region:
Visibility:
Pages
Advertisements 
