Weathering the changes
Get ready to counter an 'increasingly hostile global backdrop' to the climate
The phrase ‘think globally, act locally’ has probably been misused in many ways since it was first coined by the Scottish urban planner Patrick Geddes in 1915.
Geddes, who was also a conservationist, biologist and sociologist, is believed to have referred to ‘global’ in terms of environmental inclusiveness rather than the worldwide perspective we understand it to mean today.
But however we choose to interpret his phrase, that pithy form of words has always struck me as a wise idea and it became my guiding principle for founding a news website and newsletter, The Northern Eco.
I’ve a long background in environmental concerns and now the climate crisis is unarguably upon us, it’s the topic I feel an urgency to concentrate on.
What do you think of when someone says ‘climate journalism’?
Major news stories covering continents and oceans? Distant forests, far off mines? There’s so many incredible pieces of journalism out there - scalp-grabbing scoops, investigative work which has taken months, or even years, to compile. All very impressive and providing great reads for those of us singing from that particular hymn sheet. But what about local connections? How can we take environmental concerns to ground level reporting? Where does the climate crisis meet people’s day-to-day concerns?
With this local lens in mind, The Northern Eco started work on Yorkshire Day (August 1) 2023. Since then we’ve published more than 135 stories, mostly distributed via a weekly newsletter on the Substack platform. The format of the Tuesday newsletter is generally one piece of original journalism (from myself or a contributor) followed by a series of well-credited links out to the work of other journalists reporting the region.
The region covered mirrors that of The Northern Echo patch - the daily newspaper I rather cheekily made a pun out of its name. So the core areas of interest are North Yorkshire, Teesside, County Durham and Northumberland.
What’s it all about?
Topics covered have ranged from solar farms to recycled art works, football stadia to communal living, flower farming to pollinator monitoring and then there’s river pollution. The issue of sewage dumping in our rivers and coasts has been the single biggest issue for our readers. We’re attempting to follow every twist and turn of this story and shine a light on the tireless work of the campaigners turned citizen scientists too.
And it’s work that has been recognised more widely - I was named a 2024 Climate Arena Fellow and have also been shortlisted for the UK’s first Tenacious Journalism Award.
But however grounded in our small patch of the UK we attempt to be, there’s no getting away from the fact that all environment journalists are now operating in an increasingly hostile global backdrop.
“Drill, baby drill”
The prospect of a climate denier in the White House has sent a collective shockwave through the eco world.
President Elect Trump’s seeming enthusiasm for all things fossil fuel, fracking and fast food looks like a majorly retrograde step in what was hoped to be a collective worldwide effort towards halting rising temperatures on the planet.
Whether Trump’s actions do eventually match his rhetoric does, of course, remain to be seen. The fact he’s been bankrolled by one of the leading advocates for the Electric Vehicle transition being just one of the many contradictions between what the unpredictable golf enthusiast says and what he does.
To ensure the hot air emitting from Washington doesn’t become the warming vapour of the climate, now is the time for journalists to be equipped to stand up to the well-heeled lobbyists, the corporate greenwashers and the politically motivated disruptors.
And it’s not just the designated environment journalists who need to recognise the threat from the new world order - all journalistic beats are climate beats now. From sport to business, culture to politics - our planet needs better informed commentators and investigators
Knowledge is power
Like many journalists and communicators I’ve met, science was something we did at school with test tubes and funny experiments involving an unexpected loud explosion or having your hair stand on end.
Maybe we can blame the arts versus science education system! But scientist or not, being able to challenge assertions and provide our audiences with reliable information is now everyone’s business.
When I started The Northern Eco I wanted to make sure I understood the main climate issues and couldn’t be responsible for accidentally spreading misinformation in this vitally important area
.
Research led me to the Manchester-based Climate Literacy Project (CLP). It’s a charity with a remit “to advance the education of the public in the conservation, protection and improvement of the physical and natural environment.”
Their training provides an awareness of the carbon costs and impacts of everyday activities, and the ability and motivation to reduce emissions, on an individual, community and organisational basis. CLP has already trained more than 111,000 people from all walks of life - including me.
I also discovered the National Union of Journalists (NUJ) had a foundational role in shaping what is now the Carbon Literacy for Journalists course that I offer. It was originally designed for the NUJ by biologist and documentary filmmaker Susie Arnott. It has since been run dozens of times with in-house and open groups involving media, business and education professionals as well as NUJ members, activists and colleagues.
I’ve made it my mission to pass on that training to as many journalists as I can. I’ve now advanced to become a Carbon Literacy Facilitator and am providing one day’s worth of training in Carbon Literacy for Journalists.
The 8-hour course is split over two half-days of live teaching, plus self-study online. Participants can book to join one of my monthly open-to-all courses advertised at the CLP or workplaces can book a bespoke course for a group of three or more journalists.
Journalists leave the course with the confidence to create a climate action plan and to communicate with others about the climate crisis. After successfully completing the course, participants can also apply to be officially certified as Carbon Literate and be awarded a uniquely-coded Carbon Literacy certificate to reference that achievement.
In this way we can disseminate actionable information about the global issue of our times to local journalists and our communities. I trust Mr Geddes, who was reportedly also a keen advocate for learning by doing, would approve.
The next open course for Climate Literacy for Journalists will start on Wednesday, January 22 or contact sarah@thenortherneco.com to discuss a bespoke course for your workplace.
This article first appeared in News Leeds, the newsletter of the Leeds and West Yorkshire branch of the National Union of Journalists.
