Green Economy 2010 blog


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Finding stories of sustainability in your inbox

By Kelly Carr on Aug 02, 2010 in Basics, Energy | Utilities | Mining, Green Economy 2010, Green Economy 2010 blog   Back to Green Seminar Blog >> 

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Planet Profit Report from ColoradoBiz magazine strives to cover the new energy economy.

In my ever-jammed inbox last week another e-newsletter lurked. I’ll admit freely that my typical response to these is a quick scan followed by a prompt delete. Unless a headline or snazzy graphic catches my attention fast, those messages usually end up in my trash.

Most journalists, I’m guessing, can relate to this system. But occasionally, there are some messages that would serve us well if we stopped, took a few extra minutes and read them fully.

This newsletter had an item on a renewable energy research project developed at the University of Nevada, Reno and another about an influx of applications to build solar plants in Arizona. Each piece was newsy and got me thinking about the variety of story ideas that could be generated off these topics. The few moments I spent reading was definitely worth it.

This weekly e-newsletter is called “Planet Profit Report” and its mission is to cover the business of sustainability in the West. Initially, it began as a quarterly publication in ColoradoBiz magazine three years ago, but now its striving to cover the “new energy economy” on a more frequent basis. The publication began expanding and has been landing in inboxes since July.

Mike Cote is the editor of ColoradoBiz magazine and Planet Profit Report

Mike Cote, the editor of  ColoradoBiz magazine and “Planet Profit Report,” was a recent fellow during the Reynolds Center’s Covering the Green Economy conference in June. Turns out, he added my name to the mailing list. Works for me. This is one list I’ll happily stay on.

Cote shared a few more details about the publication via e-mail:

“We believe sustainability issues – including the conflict between fossil fuels and renewable energy sources, how corporations are adopting sustainabilty practices, and the growth of the green building movement – will continue to have major impacts on business opportunties and how businesses must conduct themselves. Our mission is to report these changes and show business how they can benefit from them. We’ll do that from correspondents in various Western states as well as from guest contributors from the industry and research universities.”

Intrigued? Learn more about “Planet Profit Report” or sign up and start getting the newsletter delivered to your inbox.

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A quick chat with John Daley on covering the environment and other big stories

By Austen Sherman on Jul 27, 2010 in Basics, Green Economy 2010, Green Economy 2010 blog, Green Economy Fellows, Presenters, Investigation   Back to Green Seminar Blog >> 

John Daley listens to a presentation during the "Covering the Green Economy" seminar in Phoenix

John Daley reports for KSL-TV, the NBC affiliate in Salt Lake City, and has covered everything from mine disasters to the Elizabeth Smart case.

He specializes in political, investigative and environmental reporting and was both a Knight Journalism Fellow and a Western Enterprise Reporting Fellow at Stanford University.

He was also a fellow during the Reynolds Center’s “Covering the Green Economy” seminar in June.

Daley began covering the environment in 1992 when he started working as broadcast journalist.  Since then, he’s worked the general assignment beat while continuing to develop a speciality in environmental reporting.

“Since growing up climbing mountains, hiking and skiing in Colorado, I’ve always had a profound interest in reporting on the natural world and our relationship with it,” he said.

While Daley said he hopes environmental pages will eventually find their way back in to major media outlets, he isn’t sure if the current business model can support a stand-alone section. He’s certain, however, that environmental issues will increasingly “dominate our world.”

When it comes to his overall journalism career, Daley said he’s motivated by uncovering important stories and informing the public  He is currently investigating a story about a board member for the local transit authority in Salt Lake who might have used his position to personally profit.  The story has been unfolding for about two years and Daley said it has the potential to become a significant public-service piece.

One of Daley’s biggest accomplishments was the publication of his essay “Zephyr to Zion.” The essay appeared in a book about climate change in the Rocky Mountains titled, “How the West Was Warmed: Responding to Climate Change in the Rockies.” Daley said the essay was a revelation because it gave him an opportunity to write in an unfamiliar way.

“The essay form is a big change from writing two minute stories for TV news,” he said.  ”It was a challenge, but very satisfying.”

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Erik Ortiz on getting down the basics of covering business

By Austen Sherman on Jul 19, 2010 in Basics, Green Economy 2010, Green Economy 2010 blog, Green Economy Fellows, Presenters   Back to Green Seminar Blog >> 

Erik Ortiz has covered business for the Press of Atlantic City in New Jersey for about three years. It’s a beat that has him diving into stories about the state’s economy, labor, tourism and the gaming industry.

Ortiz was also a fellow during our “Covering the Green Economy” seminar. He chatted with us about his experiences covering the business beat and his thoughts on China’s growing role in the world’s economy.

What aspect of business coverage are you most interested in?

“Energy and unions – two vastly different areas of the business beat, which is probably why I like them. I think energy and the implications of how we procure it will continue to have a huge impact on society and the global economy. It affects everyone because most of use electricity and drive. On the other hand, while not everyone deals with unions, they are collectively a powerful group, and as a reporter, there’s so much to uncover. It never gets stale.”

What’s your greatest accomplishment so far as a business journalist?

“I still have a lot to accomplish, but any day I can get a private business owner to reveal their finances is an accomplishment.”

Does covering the business beat require a special set of skills?

As journalists I think our mindset is to parachute into any story, whether it’s breaking news about a shooting or the local college announcing a new president or a company laying off hundreds of workers. So I don’t think to cover business well you need to have a degree in economics or accounting, you just have to bring that same set of skills you would use to cover any beat to business. But it takes a lot of understanding about how companies operate and the financial aspects of a business to make a business story stand out.”

What will be China’s impact on the world economy as it continue to grow?

“What China does and says will continue to have great implications on the global economy. China’s recent announcement to allow its currency to appreciate and its exchange rate to become more flexible is expected to help bring stability in the global market and increase household incomes in China. Most extraordinary to me has been the growth in Chinese buying power and the possibility of a middle class lifestyle. More foreign companies will certainly want a part of the Chinese consumer market if the value of the currency rises. I remember reading a story about an Ikea in China where people just went to take pictures but didn’t really buy anything. Maybe soon they will.”

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Asher Price shares the inside scoop on the environmental beat

By Austen Sherman on Jul 16, 2010 in Green Economy 2010, Green Economy 2010 blog, Green Economy Fellows, Presenters   Back to Green Seminar Blog >> 

Asher Price writes for his newspaper's green blog, "Salsa Verde"

Asher Price covers the environmental beat for the Austin American-Statesman. He talked to us about the challenges and rewards of reporting on one of the hottest topics around.

How did you get your start on the environmental beat?

“I had been a general assignment reporter at the Austin American-Statesman for a couple of years. It was good, interesting work, but I found myself skating from story to story. I was looking for a beat to develop depth to my reporting, and the environmental beat happened to have opened up at the time.”

Why is it important to have a reporter assigned to the environmental beat in a newsroom?

“It makes for interesting and sometimes important stories – profiles about what crazy things people are doing to get off the grid or stories that explain the intersection of money and politics and energy. By having an environmental beat, the paper is showing that it is serious about engaging in complex issues.

“The environmental beat is especially significant in Austin, which sits by a large underground aquifer and by a region that has numerous endangered species. On an everyday level, environmental issues affect all of us – in terms of air and water quality, say – and our readers are interested in these issues.

With the oil industry so large in Texas, how is the BP spill impacting your coverage?

“In an odd way, the BP oil spill feels a little distant from Austin. Our city is at least a three-hour drive to the Gulf, and then it’s the wrong part of the Gulf from the spill. We’ve been grappling with how to write about it. I’ve written about the state’s spending and response historically to spills in Texas waters.

Asher Price, an environmental reporter for the Austin American-Statesman

How have you seen environmental reporting change as the topic becomes more mainstream?

“I’ve had the environmental beat for four years, and in that time it hasn’t changed much, frankly. It’s possible it’s gotten more attention — especially when the price of oil spiked a couple of years ago — but my sense is that by the beginning of this decade it was already a hot topic.”

What do you hope readers take away from your stories?

“Mostly I hope they’ll be engaged a little more on a topic and see a little more nuance to it. So much information we get is bifurcated into good/bad or yes/no, often promulgated by advocacy groups of one stripe or another. On political stories, I hope they understand there’s invariably a relationship between money, power and policy, and on lighter stories I hope they’re entertained.”

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Keeping up with green auto writer Jim Motavalli

By Kelly Carr on Jul 14, 2010 in Beats, Best Practices, Green Economy 2010, Green Economy 2010 blog, Transportation | Airlines | Travel, Uncategorized   Back to Green Seminar Blog >> 

Jim Motavalli test drives a car for his blog "Driving Directions," which is published in The Daily Green

During the first day of our “Covering the Green Economy” conference, Jim Motavalli led a session to help journalists identify green auto trends. But after he was finished, he jumped right back to work.

Motavalli, a green transportation writer for a variety of publications including The New York Times and Mother Nature Network, stayed for the reminder of the conference, sitting in on sessions to soak up as much as he could. Once he got back from Phoenix, he put those story ideas into action, blogging away on a variety of topics, including this piece on converting delivery trucks to battery power.

Just the other day, Mother Nature Network published Motavalli’s Q&A with the seminar’s featured speaker, Jeff Goodell. Goodell is a contributing editor for Rolling Stone and author of How to Cool the Planet,” which details the emerging science of geoengineering. In this piece, Motavalli asked the investigative journalist to dive deeper into the controversial subject and to give readers a glimpse of how it could someday impact global warming. It’s definitely worth a read.

Also, don’t forget to check out the archive of conference materials, which include Motavalli’s session, “Greening the auto industry: Hype or reality?”  He shares lots of great tips for localizing green auto trends on the biz beat.

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Patrick O’Grady chats about covering the business of the environment

By Austen Sherman on Jul 13, 2010 in Green Economy 2010, Green Economy 2010 blog, Green Economy Fellows, Presenters, TrendingTopic   Back to Green Seminar Blog >> 

Solar panels at Arizona State University's School of Sustainability by Kevin Dooley

Patrick O’Grady has been a reporter in Arizona for nearly 15 years and currently works for the Phoenix Business Journal covering technology, sustainability and manufacturing.  He has recently won awards for his coverage of the solar industry in Arizona.

We spoke with him about his reporting on the green economy and asked his advice for reporters looking to add environmental stories to the biz beat.

What is most exciting  part of  covering the green economy?

“There are too many things from which to choose. It’s a growing sector of the economy, and it’s so diverse and there are tons of new technologies springing up to deal with environmental issues. One day is covering green building, the next solar, and a third working on a new energy system. There’s never a dull moment.”

Should Arizona be playing a bigger role in the development of solar technology?  Is it truly a viable replacement to current methods?

“Yes, Arizona should be playing a bigger role in solar technology development. Arizona came to the party late and is just getting its feet under it in terms of development of the technology. The focus here is primarily on manufacturing and not research and development, with a goal of moving more manufacturing in as well as spurring solar installation as a replacement career for construction. ASU and UofA, however, have several active fields of solar technology development, from concentrated photovoltaics to solar collecting dyes that can be used on fabrics and generate enough electricity to perhaps power an iPod or a laptop.

As far as solar being viable, it depends on what power source you want to replace. Right now, solar could replace natural gas as a peak power source, but it’s still a few years out on replacing base load power sources such as nuclear and coal. The technologies exist to expand solar power beyond when the sun is out, it just needs to be implemented on a large scale. The challenge at this point is somewhat technical, but much more financial in nature as well as having a number of regulatory hurdles.”

What advice do you have for reporters looking to incorporate environmental coverage on the biz beat?

“Environmental concerns are weaving their way more into business. Companies are looking at their carbon footprint and the life cycle of their products, not just in a cradle-to-grave scenario but from cradle to cradle, how those products break down and can be used again.

Patrick O'Grady

Always be skeptical of their claims. Businesses are looking for any way they can to spin their company as green, and in today’s economy they are looking to grab the green niche as a marketing tool. And like any story, watch the money. In Arizona, the stimulus funding has been a boon for the energy-efficiency industry, but so many new people are jumping into the business that it could lead to problems down the line. The same thing is happening in home solar installations as well.”

What is the importance of having an environmental reporter on staff now compared to 10 or 15 years ago?

“The level of environmental awareness is continuing to grow and has either reached the level of tipping point with the mainstream public or is about to. There also are many issues that can be covered from an environmental perspective. Building new freeways, for example, can lead to discussions of clean air and land use issues, as well as the potential of other green transportation methods. Particularly in urban areas, the issues of water, land and sky are becoming increasingly important in the quality of life factor that many businesses use as a determining factor of where they are going to locate and many people use for the same reason.

“There also is a tremendous amount of federal money flowing to green projects that likely will be a springboard for even the non-mainstream ones to become more widely recognized.”

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Covering the Green Economy: Self-guided training

By Robin J Phillips on Jul 07, 2010 in Economy, Green Economy 2010 blog, Green Economy Fellows, Presenters, Self-guided training, Training Archives   Back to Green Seminar Blog >> 
Andrew Leckey Angel Gonzalez

Reynolds Center President Andrew Leckey introduces Angel Gonzalez, Dow Jones Houston bureau chief.


“Covering the Green Economy” seminar on June 28-30, 2010.

This three-day specialized workshop was made possible by a grant from the McCormick Foundation. The program was designed to help journalists spot greenwashing, understand how to track stimulus money earmarked for “green” initiatives and get up to speed on eco-trends in a variety of industries.

The seminar’s jam-packed schedule and a list of top-notch speakers, including best-selling author and coal industry expert Jeff Goodell, ensured that attendees left with a slew of story ideas and a firm grasp on the world of sustainability.

Take a look through the recordings, resources and tools below. At your own pace, you can walk through the self-guided lesson on covering the green economy. This interactive course covers a wide variety of beats that touch on the economics of environmental issues.

STIMULUS: Russ Choma is an investigative reporter who focuses on climate and energy issues, transportation and stimulus spending for the Investigative Reporting Workshop, Nieman Watchdog and Grist.org.

AUTOS: Jim Motavalli, a freelance environmental reporter and author who blogs for a variety of publications including The New York Times. He has a weekly syndicated “Wheels” column and also writes for NPR’s Car Talk.

economy fellows

Jim Motavalli, right, talks with a group of fellows over lunch.

FOOD: Steve Short, CEO of Atlasta Catering and Event Concepts and Colin Tetreault, director of sustainability management for Atlasta, talked about trends in the food industry … including the food we are eating.

BUSINESS, SCIENCE AND HEALTH: Susanne Rust, a Knight Fellow at Stanford University and a former award-winning reporter for the Milwaukee Journal. Sentinel.

BROWN ROOFS, BLUE DORMS and PLATINUM CONDOS: Bryn Nelson is a freelance science writer and editor with a special interest in technology, biomedicine, and ecology. Formerly an award-winning science writer for Newsday and a weekly columnist for MSNBC.com.

THE SHIPBREAKERS: Gary Cohn is a freelance investigative reporter, adjunct journalism professor at University of Southern California’s Annenberg School of Journalism and winner of the 1998 Pulitzer Prize for investigative reporting.

THE ENERGY STORY: Jeff Goodell is a contributing editor at Rolling Stone and a frequent contributor to New York Times Magazine. He is the author of five books, including the New York Times bestseller “Our Story: 77 Hours That Tested Our Friendship and Our Faith.”

WATER: Craig Pittman is an award-winning environmental reporter at the St. Petersburg Times and the author of two books. Pittman also spoke about turning a good story into a book. Shaun McKinnon is an award-winning reporter who writes about climate and environmental issues for The Arizona Republic.

OIL: Angel Gonzalez is Houston Bureau Chief for Dow Jones Newswires, where he helps lead the Newswires’ coverage of the global energy industry.

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Got hold of a good story? Book it!

By Austen Sherman on Jun 30, 2010 in Basics, Career tips, Green Economy 2010, Green Economy 2010 blog   Back to Green Seminar Blog >> 
Craig Pittman Book It!

Craig Pittman shares tips on turning a beat into a book. Photo by Robin J. Phillips

Craig Pittman from the St. Petersburg Times came back for the final presentation during lunch.  Pittman is the author of two books, Paving Paradise and Manatee Insanity. Both books originated from a story that he was working on, making him an ideal person to help teach how to turn story ideas in to a book!

This presentation was full of tips and suggestions on how the creation of a book generally works, from start to finish.  Needless to say it is not the easiest thing to do, as about 190,000 books are published every year in the United States.  However, Pittman was sure to encourage everyone as there are millions of readers waiting, and just one reader’s praise can make it worthwhile.  Below is a summary of his notes and tips for everyone who is interested!

Based on a true story:

  1. Be sure to save all of your notes.
  2. Include all the details you had to leave out of your story.
  3. Build a timeline.
  4. Look for “scenes” as you gather your notes.

New tools for research:

  1. In the old days research was limited to microfilm and library stacks.
  2. Today Google News Archive and Google Books are two great places to start.

Tackling a big job:

  1. Break it in to smaller jobs.
  2. Outline the book in to jobs, then outline each chapter.
  3. Think of each chapter as  story and start plugging away.

Sweat the details:

  1. When writing non-fiction this is particularly important.
  2. Proof your text, preferably with more than one set of eyes.
  3. Footnotes – remember there are a number of different styles.
  4. Remember you have to do the index.
  5. Be sure to get permission for any photos, maps, song lyrics, etc.

Marketing (or what Pittman called “the necessary evil”)

  1. Don’t count on newspaper reviews.
  2. Look to TV and radio who are looking for guests.
  3. Contact book stores, libraries, book clubs, etc.
  4. Make use of the internet (create a website, Facebook, Twitter, Amazon)

Obviously each author will run in to issues of their own along the way, but these tips are a great start for anyone who is looking to turn a headline in to a story book ending.

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Angel Gonzalez speaks about the future of big oil after the spill

By Sarah Macdonald on Jun 30, 2010 in Basics, Green Economy 2010, Green Economy 2010 blog   Back to Green Seminar Blog >> 
Angel Gonzalez

Angel Gonzalez speaks about the complications with the oil and energy industry

Angel Gonzalez, Houston bureau chief for Dow Jones Newswires, is a longtime energy reporter who has covered the oil industry for years. He has made two trips to the Gulf Coast since the explosion of a BP deepwater drill in April 2010. He has seen the crisis unfold from economic and environmental standpoints and talked to reporters about the problems and possible outcomes from the massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

When Gonzalez first saw the oil spill, it wasn’t what he expected.

“It looked like an island of oil, the size of Puerto Rico,” he said.

The spill happened at the worst possible time for the energy industry, Gonzalez said. Not only did the spill bring to a halt any cooperation the industry had gained from the government for offshore drilling, it also shut down the fishing and tourist industries. And with the quickly approaching hurricane season, the spill is at nearly worst-case-scenario.

With all the devastation it has caused, Gonzalez said this spill has the potential to make some change in the industry. It’s possible that the spill will push companies toward renewable energies, particularly natural gas, cellulosic ethanol or algae. The difficulty is that it’s really hard to know what will work, Gonzalez said. In addition, the United States’ demand for oil is gargantuan and renewable energies right now are not on the same scale.

Gonzalez gave a few websites which can be valuable resources for reporters:

  • CERA.com: Cambridge Energy Research Associates for various types of energy research
  • EIA.gov: The US Energy Information Administration has many valuable statistics and analysis
 
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