Veteran climate and environmental news reporter advances to ‘online strike force’ and White House beat. It’s generally considered one of the premium news beats in journalism, the pinnacle of a reporter’s career — covering the White House for The Washington Post, and advancing to that assignment can only be good for one’s resume.
Posted inPolicy & Politics
A Flawed Riddle: Choose between Obama and Gore?
A conservative organization’s either/or framing on statements by President Obama and Al Gore poses a phony choice. It’s entirely responsible to accept both … or, for that matter, to accept neither. They’re not mutually inconsistent. Which do you believe?
Posted inSnow & Ice
Snowfall, winter sports concludes PBS ‘NewsHour’ climate series
A year-long PBS ‘NewsHour’ series on climate change comes to a smooth landing in a piece dealing with issues facing winter sports interests. PBS says coverage of climate change won’t end here. PBS’s flagship nightly ‘NewsHour’ concluded its year-long “Coping with Climate Change” project February 27 with a final installment dealing with how a nationwide […]
Posted inClimate Science
‘Frozen dirt’ and methane … ‘We cannot go there’
Concerns about escape of CO2 and methane from Arctic permafrost revolve around whether, how much, and how fast emissions could be released. But a new Yale Forum video cautions that a warmer atmosphere poses real risks and, once started, such a release ‘will just go by itself.’ “Frozen dirt.”
Posted inFood & Agriculture
Gold Turning to Brown in ‘Golden State’ Ag Fields?
The nation’s food shoppers and dining tables could be facing soaring prices and increasing scarcities from California’s leading agricultural suppliers in the warmer atmosphere they likely are facing. If humans got unchanging weather patterns from year-to-year, the snow storms that have pummeled the Midwest in recent weeks would have released their wintry precipitation on soils […]
Posted inFeature Article, Policy & Politics
A Glimpse at the Washington ‘Forward on Climate’ Rally
Thousands gathered in Washington February 17 to urge the President to move on climate change and to protest the Keystone XL pipeline.
Posted inCommunicating Climate
AAAS panelists: Sandy a ‘game-changer’ for public perceptions
Journalists and climate scientists at AAAS panel see ‘Superstorm Sandy’ as game-changer on public attitudes. Next step involves finding the right words. BOSTON, MA, FEBRUARY 16, 2013 — Climate scientists and communicators addressing an American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) annual meeting session say they agree that in the wake of last October’s […]
Posted inFeature Article
New Online Discussions on Good and Not-So-Good Climate Reporting
New ways of reporting on climate — and concerns over most current climate reporting (and lack of same) — are aired in recent panel discussions. Two recent discussions of media coverage of climate change can now, or soon, be accessed on the Web.
Posted inFeature Article, Policy & Politics
Opinion Round-Up: The President’s ‘SOTU’ Call for Climate Action
Most opinion writers back President Obama’s State of the Union remarks on climate change, but many point to a dysfunctional Congress as major impediment. In his State of the Union (SOTU) address earlier this month, President Obama issued a full-throated threat to lawmakers: Take action on climate change, or I will.
Posted inWeather Extremes
AP’s Explanatory Journalism Trumps ‘Brazen Contradiction’
AP science reporter Seth Borenstein sets a high bar for explanatory journalism with piece on how declining snowfall and a heavy blizzard can both be linked to a warmer climate. “Scant snowfall and barren ski slopes.”
Posted inAnalysis
The President’s Climate Pledge
President Obama in State of the Union Address places climate change adaptation and sustainable energy on heels of economic growth. The nimble oratory of President Barack Obama at second-term initial State of the Union (SOTU) address — pressing climate change action to new heights in his presidency — provides pointed clarity to his vision of […]
Posted inAnalysis
‘Artificial trees’ as a carbon capture alternative to geoengineering
Evolving technology could make cleaning the air more profitable than fouling it, say Columbia University Earth Institute scientists and a University carbon markets expert. Many environmental journalists don’t relish their seeming role as this century’s counterpart to the Old Testament prophets proclaiming “the end is nigh.” But after hurricane Sandy, increasing numbers of Americans appear […]