51动漫

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攁ffecting all of us in ways big and small, public and private, micro and macro攖he media 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攊n partnership with the Environmental Studies and Journalism programs at 51动漫 and funded by an Institute for the Liberal Arts grant 攖o help climate change experts on the 51动漫 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 51动漫 students攍ike Genevieve Morrison �27, Madeleine Mulligan �27, Antoni Ba艅kowski �26, and Jordan Minev-Jones �27.

The yearlong program, "Climate Is Every Story,� 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. 淭his is exactly the kind of important interdisciplinary conversation that the institute and this space was created to explore,� Schiller Institute Executive Director Laura Steinberg said, while introducing . 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.澛�

For the launch, The New York Times Economy Editor Patrick McGroarty, 51动漫 �06, moderated a panel about how climate change increasingly affects health and well-being攊ncluding mental health. One of the discussants, Praveen Kumar, from 51动漫'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攁 Peabody Award-winner who has reported from 60 countries around the world.听

The next panel�the climate crisis is local news攚ill be moderated by New York Times Senior Editor Amber Williams, 51动漫 �10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 51动漫 student journalists will be added to the program microsite.

Beyond being part of every story these days, climate change is also the most urgent story of this moment in time. That only because global warming is already so broad and devastating in its impact. It also because all that we do and don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檝e begun to spend more time as a journalist reporting on the environment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 渃ommunication laboratory� 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 淐limate Is Every Story,� ComLab 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.听Germany Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, a research funding organisation � with over 30.000 sponsorship recipients and alumni from more than 140 countries, including 63 Nobel Laureates -- runs the program in cooperation with International Journalists� Programmes (IJP), a non-profit organization that sponsors journalism exchange programs around the world. Founded in 2020, ComLab met twice annually, online, during the pandemic years; since 2024, the event has been held in person.听

淎t the heart of the exchange is the transfer of skills for both sides,� says Dr. Stephanie Siewert, Programme Director of The Communication Lab and Team Lead for Communications at the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation. 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.� As she points out, the work 渁lso entails an honest dialogue about different working styles, principles, and use of language.� Dr. Siewert co-host for ComLab, Martina Johns, Head of Science Projects and Advisory Board Member for IJP, would agree. 淔act-based journalism brings science closer to people,� she points out. 淚t transforms data and discoveries into stories.� What more, as she says, better dialogue between scientists and journalists make 渟ocieties feel more secure.澛�

The theme of this year was longevity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 experiments, sunflowers might one day become common tools for drawing metals like cadmium out of soil攁nd beyond that, may also become sources of the valuable elements that they extract.听

Another ComLab #10 scientist, 攁 Humboldt Postdoctoral Researcher at the Sustainable Packaging Institute of Albstadt-Sigmaringen University, in southern Germany攈as developed a process for turning coconut husks that would otherwise be discarded into a so-called 渂ioplastic,� 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. 攁n industrial engineer, currently a German Chancellor Fellow at University of Erlangen-Nuremberg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攑roviding me with a great source of sustainable energy during a challenging time for journalists. It also reminded me that not only Schiller faculty but hard-working brilliant people are racing against the clock to solve the climate problem.听聽