For there is always light
If only we’re brave enough to see it
If only we’re brave enough to be it.
Those are the closing words of “The Hill We Climb,” the stunning poem Amanda Gorman, the first Youth Poet Laureate of the United States, delivered yesterday at the inauguration of now-president Joe Biden and vice president Kamala Harris. For those worried about climate change, the ever-shining light referenced in Gorman’s poem was perhaps difficult to make out during Donald Trump’s presidency. Now, a new day has dawned that brings great possibilities and equally great challenges.
New and Recent From CCNow
Biden climate officials. To help journalists report on the Biden administration’s climate plans, CCNow has compiled a list of top officials you need to know, with information, where available, for reaching second-tier personnel and aides. We’ll keep this resource updated as more information comes available. Check it out here…
ICYMI, our New Year’s resolution. Earlier this month, our Climate Beat column argued that with real climate action finally on the table in the US, journalists have an even greater responsibility to help the public understand what’s at stake. Read the full column, which is available for republication by CCNow partners, here…
Who else should be getting this newsletter? The climate story is a task for the whole newsroom, so let us know who in your organization should also receive the Climate Beat! We urge you to share this newsletter—folks can sign up for it on our homepage, or you can send a list of email addresses to editors@coveringclimatenow. Thank you!
Some of the Week’s Best Climate Coverage
- Biden’s day-1 executive actions—to rejoin the Paris Agreement, scuttle the Keystone XL pipeline, and consider revisions to Trump-era fuel economy and vehicle emissions standards—are a start, but climate activists have high expectations for the Biden administration. “We are not sitting on our hands waiting for action to be taken,” a Justice Democrats representative told CBS News. “We’re taking action ourselves. We’re not afraid to put public pressure on the administration.” From CBS News…
- With a truly impressive package of graphics and illustrations, titled “The Art of Repeal,” Grist reviews with devastating specificity the Trump administration’s many environmental rollbacks that Grist says will leave a legacy “written in bones.” That is, unless the Biden administration is able to clean up the mess and usher America into a new climate and environmental future. (On “Fresh Air,” CCNow partner WHYY, in Philadelphia, also dove into Trump’s environmental record, with Washington Post national correspondent Juliet Elperin.)
- Of all US states, Arizona and Florida have experienced the sharpest spikes in summertime heat over the past century. Heat-related illnesses are on the rise, and the greatest impacts are on poor communities and ones with a history of racial segregation, according to this in-depth investigation. From The Center for Public Integrity & Columbia Journalism Investigations (published in cooperation with Mother Jones, The Arizona Republic, and the Orlando Sentinel)…
- Some activists might imagine a Green New Deal in the form of a single, sweeping piece of legislation. Experts say that’s unlikely, but a Democratic majority in the Senate (even a slim one) opens the door for a wide array of Green New Deal-like policies. Added up, those could amount to something big. From Vice News…
- The Canadian Press news agency has a complete chronology of the more-than-ten-year history of the controversial Keystone XL pipeline, published here by CCNow partner The Toronto Star. Separately, prior to Biden’s executive order canceling the project for good, Canada’s Max Fawcett piloried leaders in Alberta who threw their lot in with the oil and gas industry. Their aggressive public messaging and an ill-begotten inquiry into alleged foreign funding of “anti-energy” efforts—which itself included a report funded by a foreign organization—made Alberta “the laughing stock of the western world,” Fawcett writes. From Canada’s National Observer…
- Of the 147 lawmakers who, earlier this month, voted to overturn the results of the US presidential election, 90 also deny climate science. “The outcome of this climate disinformation will be far deadlier than the election disinformation-inspired riots at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6,” Emily Atkin writes in her newsletter, Heated.
- About half of US voters in the 2020 election said global warming was an important factor in their vote, with 74% of Democrats and 45% of independent voters calling it a key issue in their decision, according to the December report on Politics & Global Warming from Yale and George Mason universities. Check out the full report…
Republication Recommendations
The following stories deserve special attention and consideration for republication by CCNow partners:
- Dangerous Heat, Unequal Consequences | The Center for Public Integrity & Columbia Journalism Investigations
- Network Connects Indigenous Knowledges in the Arctic and U.S. Southwest | AGU’s Eos Magazine
- UN committee rebukes Canada for failing to get Indigenous Peoples’ consent for industrial projects | The Narwhal (Canada)
- Michigan Pipeline Fight Intensifies as Permit Deadline Nears | Drilled News
For partners, to submit stories for sharing, please use this Google Form. As always, instructions for republishing and the full list of stories available for republication can be found in our Sharing Library.
2020, IN HINDSIGHT:
Colorado University’s Media and Climate Change Observatory has issued its year-end retrospective for 2020. Across the media worldwide, even despite the year’s myriad difficulties, the year saw the second-most climate change and global warming coverage in the observatory’s 17-year history; in Canada and the UK, meanwhile, climate coverage reached new highs. CCNow’s work is cited in the retrospective as a driver for some of this work, including periodic increases in overall coverage. Check out the report…
Media Matters for America, in its year-end report, also cited CCNow’s work as one of 2020’s climate journalism highlights, calling our collaboration “one of the most successful climate projects in recent years, boosting the reach of quality climate and environmental justice stories.” Read Media Matters’s report…
Work Opportunities
Mongabay is soliciting pitches for stories covering the global commons, in their words “shared resources and life-support systems that ensure a habitable planet.” The resulting series of articles will be published as part of a special reporting project called “Covering the Commons.” More on the project and how to pitch here…
Grist, through its Solutions Lab, “Fix,” is launching a climate-fiction short story contest. “We’re embracing the opportunity to look beyond the confines of the present moment and share visions of solutions that haven’t even been dreamt up yet,” the announcement reads. It’s free to enter, and submissions are due April 12. Learn more…
Colorado University’s Center for Environmental Journalism is accepting applications for Scripps Fellowships. The fellowships, which last one academic year, offer journalists a range of resources to deepen their environmental knowledge and execute a major reporting project. Applications are due March 1. Learn more…
Capital & Main, an award-winning investigative outlet, is on the hunt for a new editor in chief. From Publisher Danny Feingold: We are looking for a highly experienced editor with deep knowledge of investigative reporting, strong skills in working with reporters and a commitment to coverage of inequality. The position is in Los Angeles, and the pay and benefits are very good. Women and people of color are strongly encouraged to apply. View the job listing here…