Peter Dykstra: Reporters regroup to refresh and recharge
2016 SEJ Conference in Sacramento, California. (Credit: Dale Willman)

Peter Dykstra: Reporters regroup to refresh and recharge

Top environmental reporters will descend on Flint to both learn and bond over the beat

There's a self-deprecating quote, usually attributed to either Sigmund Freud or Groucho Marx, that I like to pull out for special occasions.


"I don't care to belong to any club that will have me as a member."

One "club" that's had me as a proud member for more than a quarter century is the Society of Environmental Journalists (SEJ). Their annual special occasion is a conference that brings together hundreds of journalists and experts from government, academia, trade associations and advocacy groups.

Host cities for SEJ affairs are usually either big cities: Miami, L.A., St. Louis, Pittsburgh; or high-powered college towns like Cambridge, Palo Alto, Boulder and Ann Arbor.

But the venue for this year's affair, which opens on Wednesday and runs through the weekend, is neither a big metropolis nor an academic Mecca. The reporters will descend upon Flint, Michigan — the reluctant poster child for environmental injustice.

Flint's drinking water crisis and the nearby wonders of the Great Lakes have given this year's SEJ its prom-like theme: "Fresh Water, Fresh Ideas."

Here are the conference highlights:

  • Journalism skills-builders on videography, storytelling, pitching story or book ideas, and more.
  • Extensive guided tours will take conference-goers to Detroit, wilderness in northern Michigan, boat tours on the Great Lakes, and more;
  • Discussions and field trips on environmental racism, blight or hope, with both Detroit and Flint as convenient living examples;
  • The Trump Administration's real impact on environmental policy and regulation.

Despite multiple invites, noticeably absent from the list of speakers and panelists are Trump Administration officials, possibly because they don't wish to be seen in the company of a seething band of Fake Newspeople.

Perhaps the main draw for many—including me—is the schmoozing in between sessions. Environment reporters in larger news organizations have been known to get lonely in their newsrooms, occasionally with an extra dose of grief from readers/viewers thrown in. The conference can serve as a sort of professional Lonely Hearts Club, when all of a sudden you're among a few hundred like-minded reporters.

Regrettably, for health reasons, I'll miss this year's conference, and I'll miss renewing acquaintances with colleagues, story sources, and others. And now, the most ironic full-disclosure note ever: Brian Bienkowski, lifelong Michigander and senior editor of EHN and Daily Climate, is both co-chair of this year's conference and the editor of this piece.

Reporters — both veteran and cub — recharge

The environment beat is now at least 50 years old. Some of its earliest practitioners are still SEJ members. Others who joined a young SEJ are now in their (our) fifties, sixties, and seventies.

This offers younger SEJ members a wealth of experience and institutional memory on a beat where institutional memory is key. The history of environmental journalism also offers a depressingly admirable look at strong reporting: A half-century of warnings on habitat and species loss, pollution and climate change have often been criticized as alarmist, but just as often have been vindicated as prophetic and accurate.

Many of the established beats at daily newspapers were among the first to be jettisoned as papers contracted or disappeared. Many of the early SEJ stalwarts are now in academic or PR jobs. But many others have joined the younger generation of colleagues working at online nonprofit news outlets like ProPublica, the Center for Public Integrity, the Food and Environment Reporting Network, The Conversation, The Intercept and many more.

It's a tribute to SEJ's members and leadership that it's survived – thrived – for long enough to stage the 28th annual conference. Like many/most nonprofits, SEJ often worries about finances. But the organization is at the very least healthier than many of the news institutions it serves. Meaghan Parker, an SEJ stalwart, will attend her first conference as Executive Director.

The chatting, schmoozing, meeting, learning, and, at a few social events, imbibing, will leave attendees with recharged batteries for another year on the beat.

Thanks, SEJ, we need that.

Red car with EV charger hooked up to it.

Trump administration sued by 17 states over frozen funds for electric vehicle charging network

Seventeen states have filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration for halting billions in federal funding intended to expand the national electric vehicle charging infrastructure.

Sophie Austin and Alexa St. John report for The Associated Press.

Keep reading...Show less
White microscopes on top of black table.

Zeldin’s EPA restructuring could curb climate action and strain environmental protections

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, under Administrator Lee Zeldin, is downsizing staff to 1980s levels despite decades of added environmental responsibilities and growing public health challenges.

Sean Reilly, Jean Chemnick, Ellie Borst, and Miranda Willson report for E&E News.

Keep reading...Show less
A space satellite hovering above the coastline.
Credit: SpaceX/Unsplash

Trump moves to end federal studies on rocket and satellite pollution, raising concerns over Musk’s influence

The Trump administration plans to shut down research led by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) into pollution from satellites and rockets that is tied in part to Elon Musk’s expanding space ventures.

Tom Perkins reports for The Guardian.

Keep reading...Show less
a protest sign that says there is no planet b.

Trump’s dismissal of climate scientists threatens U.S. leadership and global research ties

The Trump administration’s removal of nearly 400 scientists from the National Climate Assessment signals escalating cuts to U.S. climate science, raising concerns over national and international research collaborations.

Holly Young reports for Deutsche Welle.

Keep reading...Show less
Icebergs and snow covered mountains facing calm body of water.

Funding cuts for Arctic sea ice monitoring risk key climate data

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has halted support for several key datasets used to monitor Arctic sea ice and snow, undermining efforts to track one of the fastest-warming regions on Earth.

Peter Aldhous reports for Inside Climate News.

Keep reading...Show less
The German Reichstag building on a sunny day.

Germany’s new conservative government shifts focus from climate to economic relief

Voters frustrated by high energy costs and inflation propelled Germany’s conservatives to power, prompting a recalibration of the country’s aggressive climate policies without fully abandoning its clean energy goals.

Saqib Rahim reports for Grist.

Keep reading...Show less
Seattle skyline turned orange with wildfire smoke.

Climate change-linked wildfire smoke blamed for thousands of U.S. deaths and billions in damages

Smoke from wildfires intensified by climate change caused an estimated 15,000 deaths and $160 billion in damages in the U.S. over a 15-year span, according to new research.

Dorany Pineda reports for The Associated Press.

Keep reading...Show less
From our Newsroom
Multiple Houston-area oil and gas facilities that have violated pollution laws are seeking permit renewals

Multiple Houston-area oil and gas facilities that have violated pollution laws are seeking permit renewals

One facility has emitted cancer-causing chemicals into waterways at levels up to 520% higher than legal limits.

Regulators are underestimating health impacts from air pollution: Study

Regulators are underestimating health impacts from air pollution: Study

"The reality is, we are not exposed to one chemical at a time.”

Pennsylvania governor Josh Shapiro speaks with the state flag and American flag behind him.

Two years into his term, has Gov. Shapiro kept his promises to regulate Pennsylvania’s fracking industry?

A new report assesses the administration’s progress and makes new recommendations

silhouette of people holding hands by a lake at sunset

An open letter from EPA staff to the American public

“We cannot stand by and allow this to happen. We need to hold this administration accountable.”

wildfire retardants being sprayed by plane

New evidence links heavy metal pollution with wildfire retardants

“The chemical black box” that blankets wildfire-impacted areas is increasingly under scrutiny.

Stay informed: sign up for The Daily Climate newsletter
Top news on climate impacts, solutions, politics, drivers. Delivered to your inbox week days.