Monday, May 01, 2023
Newswise at the Society of Environmental Journalists Meeting
Idaho is on the front lines of environmental management. The state’s history of logging, ranching and mining has left a complicated legacy on its awe-inspiring, mountainous landscape. Despite its breathtaking scenery and numerous efforts, Idaho has no national park of its own, as Nicole Blanchard writes in the Idaho Statesmen. Much of the population there identifies as right-leaning conservative. Still, there is common ground between both sides of the political spectrum regarding environmental conservation and sustainable development. According to the U.S. News and World Report, Boise is the 5th fastest-growing city in the U.S. How to manage the urban sprawl, limited resources, and conserve wildlife habitats were prominent subjects for this conference. Naturally, these questions apply to emerging cities all over the world. How journalists write about these issues matters a great deal.
On my first full day at the conference, I participated in a day-long session focused on Biodiversity. I learned the strengths and weaknesses of the U.S. Environmental Species Act, passed nearly 50 years ago. Mainly I learned how critics claim it is the “institutionalization of caution.” What they mean is that it forbids the harm of species categorized as critically endangered yet does not mandate any practical actions for landowners and the public to take. It fails to offer guidelines on removing a species from the endangered species list. Attempts have been made to alter the legislation by various lawmakers by either weakening the enforcement of protections (such as we saw during the Trump Administration) or strengthening the protections (proposed under the Biden Administration). One thing is for certain, biodiversity is in trouble. Variables such as climate change and emerging “clean” energy resources are poised to shape the outcome for our most imperiled species. For example, wind turbines could negatively impact bird migration, or the mining of minerals used in batteries for electric vehicles can significantly affect the habitats of wildlife and the people in the surrounding areas. How do we fix the climate crisis without negatively impacting the wildlife crisis? Environment journalists must show the details of what’s going on with the inherent trade-offs of energy resources and wildlife conservation. Over lunch, we watched an eye-opening presentation on Gorongosa National Park’s restoration. Gorongosa in Mozambique is truly a success story in many ways. It enlists the help and feedback of the local people. It provides educational programs, health care, and agricultural support to local families, improving the well-being of local communities. By developing sustainable tourism, Gorongosa has created employment for the local people and generated sustainable revenue for the Park.
People are becoming numb to the environmental narrative. Too much of the narrative focuses on the drama of extinction. Journalists were urged to focus more on what happens when a species is in trouble and provide a framework to explain species’ relationship to the local people and global consumers. In other words, journalists need to make connections. How does the loss of biodiversity affect their readers?
The following day, I went on a day-long organized tour I will never forget, It involved saving the world’s raptors and their habitats. Our first stop was right outside Boise, along a side channel of the Boise River, where the Golden Eagle Audobon Society works diligently to “rewild” an area important for the birds of southwestern Idaho, planting indigenous plants and fauna such as sage and cottonwood trees. The next stop was the incredible Morley Nelson Snake River Birds of Prey National Conservation Area, with its breathtaking landscape of a 700-foot deep canyon used as a mating ground for hawks, owls, eagles, and falcons. In this beautiful and remote area of southwest Idaho, we were treated with up-close interactions with rescued birds of prey, including an adorable female golden eagle named “Slim.” We finished up the tour with a stop at The Peregrine Fund’s World Center for Birds of Prey. There we talked to biologists who work to protect raptors from lead ammunition, such as the very endangered California Condor. We also discussed the relatively new and alarming impact of avian flu on the world’s birds of prey.
The third day provided me with new opportunities to connect with environmental journalists, including sessions on how to connect extreme weather events with human-caused climate change. The folks at Climate Central demonstrated how to use its Climate Shift Index to enable reporters to make specific and direct attribution between weather and climate. Television meteorologists spoke on how they use their very public role as “trusted messengers” in making climate connections with local extreme weather events.
The world is in peril with the drastic effects of a warming climate and the sharp decrease of biodiversity on this planet. A movement is growing for journalists to not only cover what is happening to the Earth’s environment as it relates to climate change and biodiversity but to offer solutions to these issues. Newswise is here as a resource for research organizations to share their science, and we’re here to help journalists not only receive the message from the scientists, but we’re committed to helping deliver the solutions to these problems.
To keep up with the latest news and commentary, follow these channels related to the environment on Newswise.
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