It may be time to dive into the deep end of the ocean for environmental stories, where big vessels and small are often involved in spills, illegal fishing or more. The latest Reporter’s Toolbox looks into emerging ship-tracker services that offer data to help trace the source of environmental damage, and that can help create some eye-popping visuals.
The Mekong River is a lifeline for millions and a biodiversity hotspot. But massive hydropower projects have put the Southeast Asian body of water, as well as the lives of the people and natural world around it, in serious jeopardy. In the latest BookShelf, writer Melody Kemp, who lives alongside the legendary river, reviews two volumes that help explain what’s killing the Mekong.
"The Guardian newspaper said it would stop accepting advertisements from oil and gas companies, making it the latest institution to limit financial ties to fossil fuel businesses."
"Scientists in Antarctica have recorded, for the first time, unusually warm water beneath a glacier the size of Florida that is already melting and contributing to a rise in sea levels."
"The World Health Organization declared the outbreak sparked by a new virus in China that has spread to more than a dozen countries a global emergency after the number of cases spiked more than tenfold in a week, including the highest death toll in a 24-hour period reported Friday."
"There’s a lot of ocean out there, and boats engaging in illegal fishing or human trafficking have good reason to hide." "Researchers outfitted 169 seabirds with radar detectors to pinpoint vessels that had turned off their transponders."
"Climate change has already been blamed for deadly bush fires in Australia, withering coral reefs, rising sea levels and ever more cataclysmic storms. Could it also cause the next financial crisis?"
An overflow crowd of environmental reporters and others gathered in Washington, D.C., last week at the Society of Environmental Journalists’ annual look-ahead on environment and energy news to hear what speakers like the former United Nations head and top journalists see as the news to watch for. Find out what one story dominated. Plus, watch video of the full program.
What better New Year’s resolution for freelance environmental journalists than putting their work on a sounder financial basis. In the latest Freelance Files column, journalism veteran Julie Halpert (pictured, left) offers 10 tips for financial stability. Among them: Side gigs, grants and relationship building, plus crafting the perfect pitch, spinning several stories from one and thinking big picture.
"An outbreak of a new coronavirus that began in the Chinese city of Wuhan has already killed 80 people in China. Infections have been confirmed in many other countries. But of the nearly 3,000 people who have so far contracted the virus, the vast majority live in China."
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