Health

Whether marginalized communities suffering from asthma or cities cloaked in smoke from far-away wildfires, journalists looking to connect public health and environmental concerns around air pollution will find much of the data they need via the Centers for Disease Control’s asthma surveillance data. The latest Reporter’s Toolbox outlines the source and smart ways to use it.

The U.S. air quality alert scale is showing a lot of unhealthy colors this season, from oranges up to unhealthy reds and purples or worse, as smoke from wildfires in Canada periodically drifts across various U.S. regions. The latest Reporter’s Toolbox explores a key database and other resources to help journalists report on the spread of smoky air.

Veteran environmental justice reporter Yessenia Funes this week launches “Voices of Environmental Justice,” her new SEJournal column. Each quarterly commentary will focus on spotlighting the perspectives of affected communities that environmental and climate journalists often ignore. For her inaugural entry, with Pride month nearing its end, a look at how climate change and environmental pollution exacerbate the already elevated health risks of LGBTQIA+ people.

The harms of air pollutants created by wildfires are clear. What’s lost in the haze, though, is that wildfire smoke can carry those pollutants vast distances, threatening communities that are unfamiliar with the risks. The latest TipSheet explains the dangers and how far-flung wildfire smoke travels, then offers a dozen story ideas plus reporting resources.