Candidate Barack Obama’s campaign has bragged that running mate Senator Joe Biden is a down-to-earth family man who commutes by Amtrak train from Wilmington to Washington. The Democratic Delaware Senator has been commuting by Amtrak for decades. He has long preferred train travel over driving 109 miles to work, unwittingly also choosing what is universally […]
Posted inClimate Science
‘Bad Air’: Malaria’s Temperate Return
A day without a car would be difficult for many Americans – even the most earnest, intrepid, or eco-conscious. So, how about a day with little food, unsafe water, and polluted air? Add a debilitating vector-borne illness such as malaria to this devil’s brew, and you have a glimpse into the potential impacts of climate […]
Posted inClimate Science
U. of Maryland Extends Climate Resources With Online ‘Toolkit’ for Journalists
A new online reporter’s “toolkit” from the University of Maryland offers journalists a handy tool for studying and keeping abreast of climate change developments in the U.S. and beyond.
Posted inPolicy & Politics
Who, Where, What of This Century’s Environmental Reporters Studied
Scholarly research done by three veteran science journalism professors sheds useful light on the who-what-where-how of environmental reporters in the 21st Century. The academics based their conclusions on interviews done earlier this decade with 652 newspaper and TV reporters saying they regularly cover environmental issues. Internet, web, and journalism students were not included among those […]
Posted inClimate Science
Penguin Classics, UCS Team-Up on Thoreau Climate Book
Writers and photographers hoping to claim some real estate in an upcoming online and hard-cover book celebrating Henry David Thoreau and focusing on climate change have until just November 15 to submit their entry.
Posted inClimate Science
Veteran Writer Cris Russell Reports on Ohio State Workshop
One-time Washington Post (and before that Washington Star) science writer Cristine Russell offers a new-media look at face-to-face journalism training with a useful piece on Ohio State University’s October 12-14 McCormick Specialized Reporting Institute workshop on covering climate change.
Posted inPolicy & Politics
Climate Change Activist’s Voice Stilled: Phil Clapp Dead Suddenly at Age 54
The sudden death of environmentalist Philip E. Clapp at age 54 deprives the climate change activist community one of its most influential and most quotable leaders just at a time when federal legislative efforts could get under way in Washington under a new administration and a concerned Congress.
Posted inSnow & Ice
700,000-Year Old Volcanic Ash Suggests Some Permafrost Permanent
A lot of permafrost may actually be permanent. So suggests a new study in the journal, Science.
Posted inPolicy & Politics
‘Frontline’ to take on Climate Change In Two-Hour ‘Heat’ Campaign Coverage
A two-hour “Frontline” climate change special called “Heat,” part of public broadcasting’s “PBS Vote 2008” election coverage, is set to air two weeks before Americans go to the polls.
Posted inPolicy & Politics
Updates on Municipal Efforts to Reduce CO2 Emissions
Journalists looking for compelling examples of how cities are acting to reduce CO2 emissions have some new resources available to them. The New York Times and other media outlets in late September reported on initiatives in Chicago, Portland, and Berkeley.
Posted inArts & Culture
Braasch’s Earth Under Fire Photos Focus of Upcoming U.N. Postage Stamps
Photojournalist Gary Braasch’s images from his 2007 book Earth Under Fire (see Forum article) is being featured in six postage stamps as part of the United Nations’ “Year of Planet Earth.”
Posted inEnergy
Energy Department Pools Labs to Study Abrupt Climate Change
Rapid shifts in temperatures have altered the global climate repeatedly in Earth history, and some scientists worry that the rapid warming seen in recent decades could trigger such a change now. Still, little is known about what drives these global convulsions in climate, also known as “abrupt climate changes.”