Last week in #ClimateBeat, we wrote about ’s plan to blockade the White House Correspondents’ Dinner & asked: "How will newsrooms cover the activists accusing them of complacency about the #ClimateEmergency?"
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Mark Hertsgaard
@markhertsgaard
Exec Dir , enviro correspondent , author (HOT, Earth Odyssey, On Bended Knee, The Beatles), rock-n-roller and lucky dad.
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Same here, ! My daughter showed me this video years ago to prove that does not only write amazing pop song hooks, she also cares about human rights and standing up against bigotry and hate.
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My daughter's a Swiftie. And so am I. twitter.com/jayfarnold/sta…
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The point of climate denial isn’t to convince us of an alternative fact but to muddy the waters and waste our time so we don’t focus on what’s really important, which is climate solutions (top 5: wind, solar, energy efficiency, stop deforestation, cut CH₄ emissions).
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It is now obvious that eliminating fossil fuels is not only possible but inevitable. If we'd accepted warnings from scientists decades ago, we could have prevented now unavoidable climate impacts. But deniers and fossil-fuel interests hindered this. The worst still do.
#climate
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Desperate times, desperate measures? The author of "How To Blow Up A Pipeline" tells partner Guardian's that the climate movement is and should be shifting from "protest" to "resistance":
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Typically great piece in that may be only time Ferris Bueller is quoted in relation to climate change. The kicker tweaking fans over Max Muncy home runs, however, I hope to see backfire on my esteemed colleague and his beloved Dodgers
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Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while…
I wrote for @latimes about my recent road trip to see California’s record snowpack and abundant wildflowers, and quoted Ferris Bueller in search of some climate wisdom: latimes.com/environment/ne
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Well said, . Amazing what the simple act of reading and critical thinking can do for a person, if they're willing to do the work--as clearly has been. Bravo from and thanks again for helping us launch 4 years ago this month!
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It is hilarious to read some of the tweets directed to @GretaThunberg . A collection of nutty conspiracy theories. She sure sends these folks into orbit! Never heard her make an error in the science though. She reads, and the scandi education system shows how good it really is.
In last week's #ClimateBeat, we featured 's new article that lays out the simple math of climate change. On one side of the equation is humanity's survival and on the other? $100 trillion. We'll help you visualize it in this 🧵 rollingstone.com/politics/polit
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Avoiding climate breakdown means leaving $100 trillion of fossil fuel unburned. Some powerful interests don’t like that. Though largely unmentioned in most reporting, this battle between private wealth and human survival is the essence of the drama we as journalists are covering.
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Such a smart, important piece by for one of 's favorite partner outlets, . Earth Week is an excellent time for great climate solutions reporting--don't miss this one!
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“I think the bus is often overlooked as a climate solution,” Higashide says, “because it is overlooked as a solution, period.”
Me in @sciam on why we need to pay more attention to buses if we want to halt the climate crisis.
scientificamerican.com/article/better
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Exactly right. Which is why these same people--who have been repeatedly wrong for 30 years now--have no business at this point being part of the climate policy debate.
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A new study this week shows that this shift is also happening in the media: arguments that it's not real or not us are being replaced with objections to the solutions. It all accomplishes the same purpose, though: delaying action as long as possible. niemanlab.org/2023/04/on-tv-
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Yes, lied. And not just about the 2020 election and Donald Trump's lies about winning it. Fox also has lied incessantly about climate change--one more reason does not consider them a news organization but a propaganda outlet.
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Democracy dies in the dark. RT far and wide that today @FoxNews admitted to intentionally lying to its viewers and the American people.
@FoxNews lied.
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These observations by some of the world's leading climate scientists are why has urged fellow journalists and news outlets to sign our statement that the media must talk about the #ClimateEmergency facing humanity. Sign it at our website coveringclimatenow.org
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‘If we carry on the way we’re going, I can’t see this civilisation lasting to the end of this century… no chance in my opinion, on this current trajectory’, Scientists on the severity of the global climate and biodiversity crisis #JustStopOil #ExtinctionRebellion
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Quite a thread.
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I'm really surprised that no one is actively talking about what an America run by the GOP looks like. We can see it in deep red states right now, and it's horrifying. 1/n
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For journalists, ’s latest is a #mustRead reminder that all #climateSolutions must be measured against the laws of physics & math. And that our climate coverage should highlight the biggest obstacle to progress: #fossilFuel industry resistance
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“We focus on governments and those are important, but we have to bring this down to the everyday people level. Most folks have not been trained in climate science. I'd like to see the media can highlight these amazing individuals who are contributing to positive steps forward.”… Show more
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🧵Starting Now! Welcome to another Press Briefing from Covering Climate Now. We'll be live-tweeting, but journalists, you can also join us here: us02web.zoom.us/webinar/regist #decarbonization
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Journalists! Learn more about the importance of 1.5 degrees C, the #superSolutions available now, and the political and economic forces standing in the way in our #PressBriefing Thursday 4/13 at 12pm ET. Join us! us02web.zoom.us/webinar/regist2
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Fellow journos - you need to know about 1.5C, obstacles AND solutions.
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Journalists! Learn more about the importance of 1.5 degrees C, the #superSolutions available now, and the political and economic forces standing in the way in our #PressBriefing Thursday 4/13 at 12pm ET. Join us! us02web.zoom.us/webinar/regist1
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📣 Journalists! Great climate coverage doesn’t begin or end with #EarthDay, but the holiday is nevertheless a stellar opportunity to cover #superSolutions, the climate fixes that are likely to make the biggest difference in the least amount of time.
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NEW🚨 #G7 countries used $73bn in public 💵 to prop up fossil fuels from 2020-22 - that's 2.6X more than their clean energy support 🚩 Last year they committed to #StopFundingFossils & now they need to uphold AND strengthen their commitment. wp.me/paO9Ct-aN1
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#MustRead from in 's April issue: “It's our last shot to save the planet, and these are the numbers that could change the end of the story.” #ClimateAction #ClimateEmergency
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What’s most impressive about this piece is how the reporters noticed and then pulled together a number of recent scientific journal articles that point to a powerful conclusion, without waiting for a conventional news peg to run the story.
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Indeed! will be amplifying Bill's piece in this week's Climate Beat newsletter and at our April 13 Press Briefing about what's needed to keep the 1.5C target alive--essentially, keeping fossil fuels in the ground. Which, of course, the ff industry doesn't like.
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Once again, @billmckibben hits the nail on the head. rollingstone.com/politics/polit via @RollingStone
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It finally happened - Australia has a climate policy!
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When I was a young human and civil rights activist coming up I looked for living and breathing examples of leadership in all directions, including from older Black males, since I grew up without a father. RANDALL ROBINSON spoke so clearly, and I listened. MAY HE REST PEACEFULLY.
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"Climate justice is not just a feminist issue, it is an existential one. It is quite literally the fight of our lives. And we are running dangerously out of time." -
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Sorry, dear , but this is just factually wrong. The #IPCCReport was all over the front and home pages of many if not most of the world's biggest news organizations. TV news lagged, as usual, but the rest stepped up. We should applaud that, not deny it.
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Part of it is that the report says nothing new-it’s a “synthesis.” But the bigger part is supply & demand. Media supplies what the American people want: News of division & proof that the “other” really is a menace. Climate action demands a coming together at odds with this story. twitter.com/rachelmusson79…
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Very proud of the work has done this week, translating the #IPCCReport into plain English and helping fellow journalists understand that we must not treat this as a one-day story. Solutions, justice, and speed are key. Also crucial: holding bad actors to account.
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On Monday, the @IPCC released a new report — a “final warning” to the world that it must act now in order to avoid irreversible damage to the planet. 
coveringclimatenow.org/climate-beat-s
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In all the fields I work in, I now see empiricism swamped by wishful thinking, and real scandals drowned out by empty conspiracy theories.
The world is dividing between those who accept evidence and those who reject it. I fear that the first group is becoming a minority.
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Sorry, but then you must not be looking very hard. We have been pressing our fellow journalists for years to do more climate coverage and there's still a long way to go, but the IPCC report was on the front/home pages of major news organizations the world over.
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The silence is deafening.
On Monday the #IPCCReport - the most significant news in human history - is released, sharing how we must do everything, everywhere, all at once if we are to survive the century.
It's now Thursday & I'm struggling to find anything in mainstream news...
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My colleague may be too modest to say so, but his book The Insect Crisis explains WHY there are fewer bugs around these days. Climate change is part of the reason, which is why 's newsletter recommended his book to thousands of fellow journalists
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someone should look into this ahem twitter.com/buttpraxis/sta…
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"Not the odds, but the stakes."
That's my six-word manifesto for better election coverage. Not who has what chances of winning, but the consequences for our democracy. Not the odds, but the stakes.
Here's an example of focusing on the stakes.
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"Many people think, Oh, it’s a shame that journalism is no longer profitable, but we’re just gonna have to let it wither away. But this really should be seen as a political choice, not just an act of nature"
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The editorial board continues to outpace every other major US newspaper in the clarity and urgency it brings to its climate commentaries. urges journalists everywhere to read, study, and emulate.
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"We can’t just stop permitting new oil and gas drilling and coal- and gas-fired power plants, and end production of combustion-engine vehicles. We have to cancel and retire existing fossil fuel projects," @latimes editorial board writes: latimes.com/opinion/story/
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A leading think tank underscores need for ample clean energy investment and foreign aid in India. Nice to see ramping up its climate coverage. Come join us ! sfchronicle.com/news/world/art via
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Hey, fellow climate journalists: this expose is essential context for understanding and reporting on the latest #IPCCReport. Bravo to Earth Negotiations Bulletin for such a scoop. will spread the word.
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the earth negotiations bulletin is allowed into approval sessions of the hotly contested ipcc summaries for policymakers (though, as a couple of scientists have pointed out, they do not have access to the huddles where detailed discussions happen) 2/ enb.iisd.org/58th-session-i
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No one cares? Really? The #IPCC report was front page news in some of the biggest newspapers in the world. always urges our fellow journalists to do more coverage of the biggest story of our time. When they do so, it's reason for cheer, not for blind denial.
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It's quite something that the world's top scientists put out a synthesis report that essentially says civilization as we know it will end unless the world comes together to stop rapidly expanding the fossil fuel industry but to instead rapidly end it, and almost no one cares
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My six word manifesto for better campaign overage:
Not the odds, but the stakes.
The with the odds: "Can Mr. Trump show enough restraint to persuade moderate Republicans and independent swing voters to choose him over President Biden in 2024?"
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A thousand yeses to these tweets by and , two of the very best climate reporters working today. we work with hundreds of fellow journalists covering the biggest story of our time. None fit the cheery-picked caricature presents
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I was also quoted in this article and want to endorse everything in Sarah's thread.
I appreciated @KPaoletta including my perspective and thought he made some thoughtful observations, but also overstated the extent to which climate journalists are hopeful about the future. twitter.com/sarahkaplan48/…
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