天美传媒app

The biggest news story of our lifetimes may very well be the climate crisis. People around the world are losing their loved ones, their homes, and their neighborhoods to deadly wildfires and disastrous floods. ( after such catastrophes are climbing as well.) Killer heat waves are on the rise, too鈥攃ausing more deaths, , than any other weather-related catastrophe. Here in New England, are also becoming more frequent, making our winters wetter and icier. This region is also warming faster than the rest of the world, which is .听

Yet even as the problem intensifies鈥攁ffecting all of us in ways big and small, public and private, micro and macro鈥攖he media鈥檚 coverage of climate change has become compromised due to funding cuts, shrinking budgets, and the widespread shuttering of serious news outlets. All of that means fewer people and fewer papers have the resources to provide serious environmental reporting: found that 76 percent of environmental journalists reported that their work was hindered by lack of funding and training.听

In an effort to bridge the gap, the Schiller Institute recently launched a series鈥攊n partnership with the Environmental Studies and Journalism programs at 天美传媒app and funded by an Institute for the Liberal Arts grant 鈥攖o help climate change experts on the 天美传媒app faculty build relationships with journalists. Reporters-in-training are included in the effort: The initiative is supporting a microsite that features articles and photography by 天美传媒app students鈥攍ike Genevieve Morrison 鈥�27, Madeleine Mulligan 鈥�27, Antoni Ba艅kowski 鈥�26, and Jordan Minev-Jones 鈥�27.

The yearlong program, "Climate Is Every Story,鈥� was also created to emphasize how much climate change is now a factor in every major category of news, including business, national security, health and healthcare. 鈥淭his is exactly the kind of important interdisciplinary conversation that the institute and this space was created to explore,鈥� Schiller Institute Executive Director Laura Steinberg said, while introducing . 鈥淭he Schiller Institute is also deeply interested in connecting the research work of our faculty and students to public discussions and to connect the research results of our faculty and students with policy. We are particularly interested in doing this in the areas of climate change mitigation impacts and adaptation.鈥澛�

For the launch, The New York Times Economy Editor Patrick McGroarty, 天美传媒app 鈥�06, moderated a panel about how climate change increasingly affects health and well-being鈥攊ncluding mental health. One of the discussants, Praveen Kumar, from 天美传媒app's School of Social Work, talked about his work looking at how communities in South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa are affected both mentally and physically by warming weather, and how they respond. Another panelist, Summer Hawkins, a social epidemiologist at the School of Social Work, discussed her research about how extreme heat affects pregnant women. The final panelist was the seasoned National Public Radio (NPR) correspondent Jason Beaubien鈥攁 Peabody Award-winner who has reported from 60 countries around the world.听

The next panel鈥�the climate crisis is local news鈥攚ill be moderated by New York Times Senior Editor Amber Williams, 天美传媒app 鈥�10鈥攚ho works at the center of The Times newsroom called the News Desk, helping to set coverage priorities and vet stories. Coverage of the event and its participants by 天美传媒app student journalists will be added to the program鈥檚 microsite.

Beyond being part of every story these days, climate change is also the most urgent story of this moment in time. That鈥檚 only because global warming is already so broad and devastating in its impact. It鈥檚 also because all that we do and don鈥檛 do right now to curb emissions will dictate the severity of our future weather emergencies.听

I feel so strongly about this, personally, that in recent years, I鈥檝e begun to spend more time as a journalist reporting on the environment鈥攂oth through my work for SchillerNow and by way of freelance . This summer, my interest in climate helped me win acceptance to an intensive 鈥渃ommunication laboratory鈥� for journalists and scientists in Berlin. The program, called The Communication Lab (ComLab), brought together twenty scientific researchers and twenty journalists, representing countries around the world, to participate in three days of intense workshops, break-out sessions, and lectures. Similar to 鈥淐limate Is Every Story,鈥� ComLab鈥檚 aim was to help the selected journalists develop a stronger list of scientific contacts and story ideas, and the selected researchers develop a better understanding of what news editors look for, and better ways to talk to non-specialists about their work. Germany鈥檚 Humboldt University, a world-class research institute, runs the program鈥攏ow celebrating its tenth year鈥攊n cooperation with International Journalists鈥� Programmes (IJP), a non-profit organization that sponsors journalism exchange programs around the world.听

鈥淎t the heart of the exchange is the transfer of skills for both sides,鈥� says Dr. Stephanie Siewert, Programme Director of The Communication Lab and Team Lead for Communications at the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation. 鈥淪cientists receive training in storytelling techniques and media literacy; journalists are provided opportunities to expand their scientific knowledge and to engage with experts from science.鈥� As she points out, the work 鈥渁lso entails an honest dialogue about different working styles, principles, and use of language.鈥� Dr. Siewert鈥檚 co-host for ComLab, Martina Johns, Head of Science Projects and Advisory Board Member for IJP, would agree. 鈥淔act-based journalism brings science closer to people,鈥� she points out. 鈥淚t transforms data and discoveries into stories.鈥� What鈥檚 more, as she says, better dialogue between scientists and journalists make 鈥渟ocieties feel more secure.鈥澛�

The theme of this year鈥檚 was longevity鈥攊n terms of not only the human lifespan but the future of the planet. During my trip, I learned about some remarkable ongoing research鈥攍ike , work led by , a researcher in the Plant Biogeochemistry working group at Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research (UFZ) in Leipzig, Germany. Thanks to Dr. Sharma鈥檚 experiments, sunflowers might one day become common tools for drawing metals like cadmium out of soil鈥攁nd beyond that, may also become sources of the valuable elements that they extract.听

Another ComLab #10 scientist, 鈥攁 Humboldt Postdoctoral Researcher at the Sustainable Packaging Institute of Albstadt-Sigmaringen University, in southern Germany鈥攈as developed a process for turning coconut husks that would otherwise be discarded into a so-called 鈥渂ioplastic,鈥� a material similar to Saran Wrap. Another participant, , studies peatlands in the Indian Himalayan region to develop policy recommendations related to how peatland conservation can help India achieve its Sustainable Development Goals. 鈥攁n industrial engineer, currently a German Chancellor Fellow at University of Erlangen-Nuremberg鈥攊s looking at how innovative European companies are making solar energy even cleaner; at least one is beginning to use AI robots to sort recyclable trash, while another is developing high-tech treatments (that rely on laser ablation and thermal and chemical processing) to make the separation of silicon, metal, and glass easier and cheaper.

ComLab was invaluable to me, as a journalist, not only because I learned about so much compelling research. I also received exceptional mentoring and encouragement from the trio of senior journalists who helped lead ComLab#10鈥擠amian Carrington, Environment Editor for The Guardian; Jens Rad眉, head of multimedia productions for DER SPIEGEL; and Gemma Ter茅s Arilla, the director of the taz Panter Foundation. Another mentor, Australian journalist Carl Elliot Smith, of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, also addressed the group, discussing how his participation in ComLab #8, in 2023, helped him build an about climate resilience in both Scotland and the U.S. My interactions with this generous, inspiring group helped me to re-charge鈥攑roviding me with a great source of sustainable energy during a challenging time for journalists. It also reminded me that not only Schiller鈥檚 faculty but hard-working brilliant people are racing against the clock to solve the climate problem.听聽