The Daily Climate: SEJ08 Award-Winning Reporting on Global Warming Edition

Published October 18, 2008 @ 11:28AM PT

Today's edition of The Daily Climate is devoted to environmental reporting that's been recognized as the best of 2007 by the Society of Environmental Journalists. The awards were handed out this week at SEJ's annual meeting, being hosted by Virginia Tech.

Below I've listed the winners that cover global warming, and linked to the reports which are available online -- but I hope you'll click through to the full list and check out all the amazing environmental reporting that's been honored this year.

[[Ever wondered what a confab of environmental journalists looks like? No?...well, now that I've piqued your curiosity, check out the SEJ08 conference blog and Flickr group, for reports and photos from the many excellent field trips, which have included a rare look inside a nuclear power plant, kayaking through cattle country along the James River, and a tour of Joel Salatin's permacultural farm (made famous by Michael Pollan in his book The Omnivore's Dilemma), as well as the top-notch panels and keynotes happening at the conference.]]

Award-winning reporting on global warming of 2007 after the jump...

Ben Elgin

BusinessWeek, "Greenwashing Coverage"

Little Green Lies

How "Green" is That Water?

Another Inconvenient Truth

"Ben Elgin's Business Week stories, kicked off by his piece 'Another Inconvenient Truth,' look behind the claims that money can wash away the environmental sin of dumping greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. His timely, smart and dogged investigation over a year revealed in plain, straightforward language some flaws in the unregulated practice of buying credits to offset the effects of carbon emissions. He also pierced the bubble of optimism that going green means going cheap, and showed how some corporations wavered when the going got tough."

SEJ Award: 2nd place, Kevin Carmody Award For Outstanding Investigative Reporting, Print

Fiona Harvey, Stephen Fidler, Chris Bryant, Jonathan Wheatley, John Aglionby

The Financial Times, "The Green Gold Rush"

Industry Caught in Carbon 'Smokescreen'

Beware the Carbon Offsetting Cowboys

Offsetting Business Seen as a 'Booming Industry'

CarbonVoucher Has No Contracts In Place

Large Variations in Price of Carbon Dioxide

Financial Gains Raise Questions Over Voluntary Trading

Defra in Storm Over EU Carbon Scheme

Vision of Carbon Rewards Could Prove a Mirage

Producers, Traders Reap Credits Windfall

Seeing the Offsetting Wood From the Trees

"Fiona Harvey's series in The Financial Times, 'The Green Gold Rush,' is globally ambitious in scope and admirably balanced in its view that while problematic, carbon trading can be done according to evidence-based standards, rather than being little more than a feel-good scam. It offers a careful analysis of the inner workings of the carbon trading market, thereby allowing the reader to make an independent assessment."

SEJ Award: 3rd place, Kevin Carmody Award For Outstanding Investigative Reporting, Print

Seth Borenstein

The Associated Press, "Climate Changes"

Draft of New International Climate Report Warns of Droughts, Starvation, Disease

'Desperate' Far-Out Ways to Tackle Global Warming

New Climate Report: "Highway to Extinction"

Blame Coal: Texas Leads Carbon Emissions

Rising Seas Likely to Flood U.S. History

'The Arctic Is Screaming' — Summer Sea Ice Could Be Gone in Five Years

"The mounting scientific consensus on climate change was clearly the environmental story of 2007. Borenstein's beat reporting helped propel it onto front pages. Borenstein shuttled to Paris and Brussels to break news about findings by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. He then translated those findings into clear, compelling stories that brought home how global warming is affecting billions of people across the globe. Finally, he followed his IPCC coverage with enterprising stories on sea level rise, extinctions, state-by-state carbon emissions and the accelerated melting of the Arctic."

SEJ award: 1st place, Outstanding Beat Reporting, Print

Peter Bull

Center for Investigative Reporting

Hot Politics

"This judging panel found 'Hot Politics' to be among the most thoughtful, well researched documentaries broadcast in a long time. Hot Politics examines the politics over three presidential administrations and their failure to act to prevent global warming. The judges couldn't stop watching as Frontline showed how Presidents deceived the public and manipulated the media about the greenhouse effect. Hot Politics is simple and clean, yet thorough and far-reaching; managing to reveal a fascinating power play while our earth's atmosphere warms unchecked by the day."

SEJ award: 1st place, Outstanding Beat/In-Depth Reporting, Television

[[EG note: "Hot Politics" also tops my list of Good Views: 10 Videos About Global Warming]]

Dennis Dimick, Tim Appenzeller, James Balog, Paul Nicklen, Bill McKibben, Joel Bourne, Robert Clark, Jamie Shreeve, Glenn Oeland, Lynn Addison, Kathy Moran, Laura Lakeway, Neil Shea, Karen Lange, Bill Marr, Elaine Bradley, Abby Tipton, Alice Jones, Mary Jennings, Emily Krieger, Juan Velasco.

National Geographic, "Changing Planet: Where Energy and Climate Collide"

June 2007 The Big Thaw, By Tim Appenzeller, Photos by James Balog

June 2007 Vanishing Sea Ice: Life at the Edge, Text and Photos by Paul Nicklen

October 2007 Confronting Carbon: Carbon's New Math, By Bill McKibben

October 2007 Confronting Carbon: How to Cut Emissions

October 2007 Biofuels: Green Dreams, By Joel Bourne, Photos by Robert Clark

October 2007 Biofuels Compared Interactive

October 2007 Map Supplement: Earth's Changing Climate

"An explanatory masterpiece that weaves together many angles on climate-change effects, causes and potential solutions. Excellent and comprehensive reporting with a global perspective gives this topic a breath of fresh air. Most notably in this set of stories, the superlative writing — clear, tight, flowing and authoritative — demonstrates an elegant power rarely reached in explanatory journalism."

SEJ award: 1st place, Outstanding Explanatory Reporting, Print

Beth Daley

The Boston Globe

The 45th Parallel: Warming Where We Live

"A brilliant work of localization by a veteran journalist whose thorough reporting in her own region and broad understanding of global climate change bring home to readers the sometimes difficult-to-comprehend connections of this complex issue. Because of her extensive interviews and storytelling skill, Daley gives readers a sense that they're out there with her, listening to people already affected by climate change."

SEJ award: 2nd place, Outstanding Explanatory Reporting, Print

Mark Neuzil, Ron Way

MinnPost.com

Ethanol in Minnesota

In Neuzil's entry, judges liked that the slide show was edited to tell a story, instead of just offering several slides on a theme. It was the only entry to do so. Of all the entries, they decided this one had the best display of video and the best video, too. From Seth Gitner, "Kudos to this start-up for tackling serious issues in the state. Keep it up. Sites like yours will take down large newspaper conglomerates, cranking their dead wood editions."

SEJ award: 2nd place, Outstanding Online Reporting

Michael P. Burnham

Greenwire, "Everglades: Farms, Fuels and the Future of America's Wetland"

Part 1: Energy by the Acre

Part 2: The Next Frontier

Part 3: Great Expectations: Exotic Reed's Role in Bioenergy Plan Raises Questions in Florida

"Judges liked the video in Michael Burnham's entry. The visuals and narrative were memorable and compelling."

SEJ award: 3rd place, Outstanding Online Reporting

Shawn Allee

Chicago Public Radio

Ethanol: Food Versus Fuel?

"This piece featured a variety of experts and demonstrated great breadth and insight on the wide-reaching implications of corn ethanol. The topic is now widely broadcast. The fact that Shawn Allee reported on it a year back further demonstrates his strong reporting skills."

SEJ award: 1st place, Outstanding Story, Radio

Kerry Sanders

NBC News

Arctic Ice Melt for the North Pole (not available online)

"The Kerry Sanders piece was amazing. Kerry brings us a portrait that is unforgettable."

SEJ award: 2nd place, Outstanding Story, Television

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Comments (2)

thanks for sharing this amazing collection of work! congratulations and respect to all of you - and all you doing this insanely challenging work across the globe.

i have to ask, however, where are the small-market heroes? did i miss it? did sej do away with it?

speaking as a soundly bitten claustraphobe who will likely always be consigned to raising hell in the shallow/rural/southern end of the population pool (*who did not enter any work, btw*), i can tell you that these folks deserve our respect and admiration, too.

i would suggest that small-market reporters (and their editors) who try to do the beat justice are subjected to more direct resistance, intimidation, and, sometimes, abuse, that their major-market counterparts.

respects to all, but please, let the encouragements flow south of the 200,000-circulation line. it's only right - and it's good for enviro journalism as a whole.

Posted by greg harman on 10/18/2008 @ 09:56PM PT
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Glad you enjoyed the links. Great question about small-market reporting. I will put it to a fellow SEJ-er and post here when I know more.

Posted by Emily Gertz on 10/22/2008 @ 09:45AM PT
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