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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.

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Latest TipSheet Items

January 21, 2026

  • Spring Is Coming. How Silent Will It Be?

    Bird populations remain in steep decline, mostly due to human activity. But as the latest TipSheet reports, reporting on the disappearance of our avian residents can lead journalists to some bread-and-butter environmental stories: whether about local ecosystems, climate change, chemicals, land disturbance and more. Read on for more, including nearly a dozen-and-a-half story ideas and reporting resources.

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January 7, 2026

  • Ski Patrol — How Snow Helps Tell Local Climate Story

    Winter weather can reveal a great deal about global warming's impacts on your locale. So for environmental journalists, an outing to nearby slopes could be a smart reporting trip (with or without the ski boots). The latest TipSheet offers up more than a dozen story angles and snow and weather resources for your next climate story.

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December 3, 2025

  • Citizen Pollution Monitors Face Industry Pushback, Legal Threats

    A steep decline in the enforcement of environmental laws means the monitoring of pollution by citizens is more important than ever. But as the latest TipSheet notes, some states have passed laws that severely constrain the use of citizen monitoring or the sharing of findings. Get the backstory, along with top reporting angles and resources for finding monitoring in your area.

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November 19, 2025

  • Data Centers — A Local Drain on Power and Water, Coming to a Community Near You

    Thousands of energy-hungry, water-gulping data centers are helping fuel the artificial intelligence boom in the United States (and elsewhere). The latest TipSheet takes a closer look at this escalating phenomenon and encourages environmental journalists to look into how it may be playing out in their communities. Ten story ideas and reporting resources to cover data centers’ local impact.

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October 29, 2025

  • Will Your Town Pass the Electric School Bus Acid Test?

    A Biden-era plan to put billions into school buses, clean EV-style, could be in the rearview mirror under the Trump administration, reports the latest TipSheet. That’s despite the fume-free, greenhouse gas-scarce qualities that benefit the air and the climate, parents and kids. To get in the driver’s seat on this story, here are a half a dozen local story ideas, plus reporting resources.

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October 15, 2025

  • Coal Ash Is an Issue That Just Won’t Stay Buried

    Even as the number of coal-fired power plants declines in the United States, the dangerous coal ash byproducts they generate are found in dumps in every state, threatening to leach toxins into drinking water supplies. The latest TipSheet examines why the problem won’t seem to go away, and offers 10 top story ideas and resources for reporting on coal ash in your locale.

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October 1, 2025

  • Chronic Wasting Disease May Be Stalking Deer Hunters

    Fall deer hunting season is getting underway across much of North America. And with it, the uncertain risks from chronic wasting disease. Environmental journalists would do well to report the story to help keep safe those who eat the meat of deer and elk they kill. The latest TipSheet has more on the backstory, along with 10 story ideas and reporting resources.

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September 17, 2025

  • Fallen Leaves — Not Just a Chore but a Story

    From a simple autumn leaf can come a legion of local environmental stories, if you sift through the pile thoughtfully. The latest TipSheet ponders the possibilities, from who in your municipality actually gathers them and how they’re used as mulch and (possibly contaminated) compost, where you don’t want them to collect and what people used to do with them that these days is a no-no.

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September 3, 2025

  • The Time To Make Local Stories With GHG Inventory Data Is Now

    If you’re thinking of reporting on major greenhouse gas emitters in your coverage area by using long-standing U.S. government data, better act fast — a key source of that information may soon disappear, warns the latest TipSheet. Find out who’s working to save the numbers, plus get more than a dozen story ideas and reporting resources.

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August 6, 2025

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SEJournal Online is the digital news magazine of the Society of Environmental Journalists. Learn more about SEJournal Online, including submission, subscription and advertising information.