"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."
"The symbolic doomsday clock moved closer to midnight than it has ever been, just 100 seconds away, because of the urgent threats of nuclear warfare and climate change, the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists announced today, 23 January."
"Overharvesting and habitat loss endanger most of the world’s freshwater “megafauna.” But many species may yet be saved." "Some of the most astonishing creatures on Earth hide deep in rivers and lakes: giant catfish weighing over 600 pounds, stingrays the length of Volkswagen Beetles, six-foot-long trout that can swallow a mouse whole."
The Society of Environmental Journalists condemned Indonesia’s arrest and imprisonment of Philip Jacobson, an editor for the environmental news site Mongabay. In a Jan. 22 letter to the ambassador of the Republic of Indonesia and to officials with the U.S. Department of State, SEJ President Meera Subramanian called for Jacobson’s prompt release, for charges against him to be dropped and for his passport to be returned. Full text of letter.
"From sermons about climate justice to carbon-neutral church halls and eco-friendly initiatives like recycling candles, a growing number of churches are going green."
"As the world’s forests come under increasing threat from fires, agriculture and logging, the World Economic Forum-led initiative to ensure 1tn trees are restored, saved from loss or better protected by 2050 has gathered international support. Now Donald Trump is onboard too, he told Davos."
"The world needs to prepare for millions of people being driven from their homes by the impact of climate change, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees said on Tuesday."
