The fossil fuel industry’s outsized climate policy role in the U.S.’s most populous state is the core of award-winning coverage from investigative journalist Aaron Cantú for nonprofit newsroom Capital & Main. In the new Inside Story Q&A, Cantú shares some of what challenged him in his reporting, what surprised him most and a lesson learned.
"If you're stargazing this week, you have a chance to see brilliant streaks across the sky as the Geminid meteor shower peaks."
"A humpback whale has made one of the longest and most unusual migrations ever recorded, possibly driven by climate change, scientists say."
"Floating cages with fish by the thousands may be popping in the Gulf of Mexico under a controversial plan that was backed by President-elect Donald Trump’s administration four years ago and is likely to gain traction again after Trump begins his second term next month."
"The Iowa Department of Natural Resources is monitoring the spread of epizootic hemorrhagic disease and chronic wasting disease in Iowa deer and says Iowa hunters can play an important role."
"The Biden administration’s decision to include restrictions in the auction of oil drilling rights in part of Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge is legally vulnerable as the state looks to the next administration to allow more oil development."
"The extent of the world’s land affected by excess salt is set to increase rapidly with potentially devastating impacts on food production, research has found."
"One of the most visited national parks is also one of the most vulnerable". "Mount Desert Island is a rare place on the Atlantic coast where mountains rise directly above the ocean, their pink granite shoulders studded with glacial kettle ponds."
"The Arctic tundra has shifted from storing carbon in the soil to becoming a carbon dioxide source, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and its partner researchers concluded in their 19th annual Arctic Report Card."
"Chhoeung Chheng, a journalist covering environmental issues for local online news outlet Kampuchea Aphiwat News, has died of his injuries after being shot in Siem Reap province on Dec. 4 by a suspected illegal logger."
