Want a glimpse at what issues are on top environmental journalists minds as we head into 2018? The Society of Environmental Journalists convenes an annual roundtable discussing key events shaping the energy and environment beats. You don't want to miss it.

We'll be in front of our computers at 3p EST as speakers Jeff Burnside, a Ted Scripps journalism fellow at the University of Colorado, Thomas Lovejoy and Ed Maibach, both experts in climate science and communications at George Mason University, kick off the event.

Matthew Daley of the Associated Press, Brady Dennis of The Washington Post, Nirmal Ghosh of The Straits Times, Pat Rizzuto of Bloomberg Environment, Valerie Volcovici of Reuters and Ariel Wittenberg of E&E News round out the panel. Scott Tong, from Marketplace's Sustainability Desk, will moderate.

Full disclosure: I've been a member of SEJ since 2001, helped shape the roundtable while on the SEJ board and even moderated it one year. But as director of an online newsroom covering environmental health and climate change, I've found the event invaluable for fresh insights on how to cover - and what likely will influence - our beat.

So if you're in Washington, D.C., reserve a spot at the Wilson Center and enjoy the reception. It's all free. If, like me, you're miles away (snowy Bozeman, in my case), catch the live stream instead.

And if you're a reporter with a beat that intersects the environment even slightly, check out the Society - and this handy backgrounder by veteran SEJer and reporter Joe Davis that accompanies Friday's look ahead.