Climate Solutions Journalism

As part of this year's Climate Solutions Cohort, Taylor Haelterman, Assistant Editor at TriplePundit, traveled to the Outer Banks in North Carolina to cover climate solutions at the intersection of the tourism industry. She wrote about how one resort has implemented sustainable practices since 1985 (https://lnkd.in/gEm3xP4C) and how jurisdictions in the chain of barrier islands are moving away from destination marketing and toward destination management as the coast line continues to change with the variable climate (https://lnkd.in/gjFQ6Q3D) She also wrote about how one Denver nonprofit is tackling food waste and hunger at the same time (https://lnkd.in/gu2kR4TT) As an accredited climate solutions trainer as well, we know Taylor will continue to be a solutions journalism champion wherever her career takes her. Great work Taylor!

Join us TOMORROW, Dec. 12 at noon Eastern for a discussion of climate journalism and mental health led by Yessenia Funes and Rebecca Weston at our monthly Climate Peer Network meeting. They will be specifically speaking about the C.A.R.E.S. Media Initiative and a current research study to understand environmental and climate journalists' challenges and needs. Find out more about how to join the meeting: https://lnkd.in/gD6bUh3R

Announcing the five CBNI awardees!

SJN climate fellow Elijah de Castro has done some remarkable climate solutions reporting this year. As part of his role with Report for America at The People Sentinel in South Carolina, he wrote about precision agriculture: the use of technology like artificial intelligence, satellite imagery, and soil probes to collect and analyze data so farmers know how to manage specific parts of their fields. (https://lnkd.in/gAujcCem) Then, he took a position The Keene Sentinel in New Hampshire as health solutions reporting, where he recently published two Sunday front page climate solutions stories: How Keene’s community air monitoring project could be a national climate solution (https://lnkd.in/gTYqVQJv) Are high efficiency stoves the solution to Keene’s wood smoke pollution? (https://lnkd.in/gpMpS7DQ) Well done Elijah!

Examining local government responses to the climate crisis is increasingly essential as cities and their residents continue to feel the impacts of more extreme weather. Just ask local government reporter Maria Ramos Pacheco from The Dallas Morning News. As an SJN climate fellow, this year Maria has looked at tree planting efforts to curb the heat island effect, cool pavement projects to combat extreme summer heat and heat pump programs to make sure tenants stay warm during colder months. She's also an accredited bilingual solutions trainer! If you're part of the Dallas-Fort Worth Chapter of?NAHJ (National Association of Hispanic Journalists), join Maria for a virtual Climate Solutions 101 training December 10! Register here: https://hcdfw.org/events/

For El Paso Matters, SJN climate fellow Diego Mendoza-Moyers covered a wide-range of local climate solutions this year. He reported about: ?? How a local solar cooperative helps homeowners save thousands on rooftop solar (https://lnkd.in/gQ3Z-8Kq) ?? The future of the city's Climate Action Plan (https://lnkd.in/g-QpFDvD) ?? How the water utility plans to keep providing drinking water amid drought and climate change (https://lnkd.in/gCSbMQjK) ?? Different proposals for reducing air pollution from commercial trucks crossing the border and the impacts it has on residents and businesses (https://lnkd.in/gnRkJeFu) Great work Diego! We look forward to following your climate solutions reporting in the future!

Are you curious about how federal funding from the Inflation Reduction Act is being spent on community climate solutions? That was the question independent journalist Yessenia Funes sought to answer through her reporting for the Climate Solutions Cohort this year. For Atmos Magazine, she covered how Native Renewables Inc is bringing off-grid solar to Navajo and Hopi homes that have gone generations without power. https://lnkd.in/gbpKF5EK She also followed the implementation of the American Climate Corps, President Joe Biden’s initiative to train and deploy a diverse workforce for the clean energy transition. https://lnkd.in/gFfSse3F And she explored how a Black church in Atlanta has become a solar-powered emergency hub to serve the community during the next climate disaster for Next City and Yale Climate Connections https://lnkd.in/ggfXbYKK In addition to her robust reporting, Yessenia became and accredited Solutions Journalism Network trainer and contributed the section on Mental Health and Climate Trauma to the Climate Blueprint for Media Transformation. Great work Yessenia! https://lnkd.in/gV3X-Fzb

Want to know how deep-dwelling mesopelagic fish?are key to carbon sequestration? Or how scientists in Brazil are working to restore native biodiversity in disaster-prone areas? Or about how a fungi may be the key to saving an endangered Hawaiian tree? Science reporter and SJN Climate Solutions Fellow Shi En Kim has you covered. Publishing these stories with Sentient, Mongabay News, and Smithsonian Magazine, Kim applies her deep knowledge of science writing to climate solutions. Plus, she's an accredited solutions trainer and co-founder of Sequencer Magazine,?a new writer-owned, subscriber-supported independent science news website. Give them a follow! https://lnkd.in/gke8WxVY

As editor and climate reporter at Smart Cities Dive, SJN climate solutions fellow Ysabelle Kempe has published a wide variety of stories about how cities and local jurisdictions are tackling the climate crisis. She's covered cool pavement pilots in Phoenix and Los Angeles, the right to cooling for tenants in Montgomery County, Maryland, and funding urban forestry in Philadelphia. Her piece "Carbon removal: What’s the local government’s role?" looks at publicly funded carbon removal projects, which could help bring down the cost of the technology to make it more widely accessible. A coalition of governments in Colorado, Arizona, Utah, and New Mexico, for example, awarded grants to projects that store carbon dioxide in concrete. Take a look. https://lnkd.in/e7uX3bqp

This week's Climate Solutions Cohort Spotlight: Sarah Sax, MESc! During her time in the fellowship, Sarah has covered a range of climate solutions for TIME including sustainable textiles, micromobility and carbon-negative building materials. In this story for Mongabay News, she took a look at Canadian policy initiatives like the feed-in tariff program in Ontario province that have encouraged Indigenous participation in renewable energy by providing incentives for Indigenous ownership in projects, making them a growing shareholder in Canada’s clean energy transition. Great work Sarah! https://lnkd.in/eKzHzQDV