Environmental journalism: coal, coral and climate

What is environmental journalism?

According to Wikipedia, "environmental journalism" is is the collection, verification, production, distribution and exhibition of information regarding current events, trends, issues and people that are associated with the non-human world with which humans interact.

The Society of Environmental Journalists gives support to journalists of all media in their efforts to cover complex issues of the environment responsibly. Their site has tips about covering climate change, promoting diversity in the field and other resources.


This BBC video is an example of compiling video and information to create a piece of environmental journalism.

The Guardian has a section of their website dedicated to environmental journalism, and it's full of colorful, engaging photos along with in-depth, well-researched articles. They have subsections containing articles focused on major trending topics like energy, the Keystone XL Pipeline, and wildlife. This is an effective way of organizing content because it allows readers to easily find the topics they're looking for.

Head of the Environmental Protection Agency Scott Pruitt said just last week that he doesn't believe carbon dioxide emissions from burning fossil fuels contributes to climate change. His statements go against the scientific consensus about the cause and factors of climate change.

We need environmental journalists to point out that human activity, in addition to natural factors, do create climate change. More importantly, though, we need environmental journalism like this story from the Washington Post revealing conflicts of interest and irresponsibility when it comes to the environment.

Objectivity in reporting is essential for all topics like politics and health, but the environment is different because it's hard for a reporter to be impartial about something they care about. The more one learns about earth's environment and what's happening with it, the more passionate they will get.

The Society of Environmental Journalists must reject money from both corporations and even non-profit environmental groups. Their history page says their members are "journalists who produce published environmental work available to general audiences, and who are not paid to engage in lobbying or public relations activities on environmental issues, nor work for organizations that are so engaged."