- Making the Science Sing: A Multimedia Workshop for Journalists, Communicators and Researchers
This session took a close-up look at a recent piece of environmental research that got heavy coverage in the press. What happened? What are the proper roles of journalists, public-relations practitioners and scientists in translating the rarified language of peer-reviewed science for mass audiences? How are those roles changing with the rise of the Internet?
Moderator: Dan Fagin, Director, Science, Health and Environmental Reporting Program, New York University
Speakers:
Sandy Bauers, Environment Reporter, The Philadelphia Inquirer
Ben Halpern, Project Coordinator, Ecosystem-based Management Program, National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis, University of California, Santa Barbara
John Nielsen, former Environment Correspondent, National Public Radio, and Author, Condor: To the Brink and Back — The Life and Times of One Giant Bird
- Covering Tragedies and Disasters: Trauma on Both Sides of the Pen, Computer and Camera
Moderator Mark Schleifstein of The Times-Picayune in New Orleans, Donna Alvis-Banks of The Roanoke Times, and Lawrence “Larry” Hincker, Public Relations Director at Virginia Tech, spoke on covering tragedies and disasters. Schleifstein, a Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter, covered Hurricane Katrina. The hurricane ravaged New Orleans, destroying thousands of homes, including Schleifstein’s as well as the homes of 40 percent of The Times-Picayune’s staff.
Alvis-Banks, a lifelong resident of Southwest Virginia, worked as a reporter for The Roanoke Times during the April 2007 shootings at Virginia Tech. Alvis-Banks’ philosophy on covering tragedies is that a reporter should “be a person first, and a reporter second.”
Hincker, who had to handle the droves of press members that came through Virginia Tech in the days and weeks following April 16, 2007, described the “split-second decisions” he had to make the day of the tragedy, and the “unending sadness” he experienced in the months following.
- How to Be Your Own FOIA Lawyer
Never filed a public records request and want to learn how? Filed one and decided it took too long to get a response? Been turned down and want to know how to fight for the records you want? This session is a tradition for SEJ conferences.
Moderator: Rebecca Daugherty, former Director, FOI Service Center, Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, and Board Liaison, SEJ First Amendment Task Force
Speakers:
Richard Huff, former Co-Director, Office of Information and Privacy, U.S. Department of Justice
Patrick McGinley, Judge Charles H. Haden Professor of Law, West Virginia University College of Law
- Newsmaker Breakfast: 2009 Energy Policy Legislation
U.S. Congressman Rick Boucher, chair of the House Energy and Air Quality Subcommittee, discusses climate change, carbon capture, and clean air legislation pending before his subcommittee and the full House Energy and Commerce Committee in the 110th Congress starting January 2009. Seating limited. SEJ members only.
Moderator: Darren Samuelsohn, Senior Reporter, Greenwire
Speakers:
Congressman Rick Boucher, Chair, Energy and Air Quality Subcommittee, U.S. House of Representatives
Eugene Trisko, Counsel, United Mine Workers of America
Welcoming Remarks
Emcees: SEJ's 2008 Conference Co-Chairs Bill Kovarik, Professor, School of Communication, Radford University and Ken Ward Jr., Reporter, The Charleston Gazette
Welcome: Charles Steger, President, Virginia Tech, and U.S. Congressman Rick Boucher of Virginia
Opening Plenary - Old King Coal
Coal provides half of America's electricity and is the nation's most abundant domestic fuel source. But burning coal is a major source of greenhouse gases. And mining coal takes a toll on workers, mountains, streams, and forests. What role can — and should — coal have in the nation's future energy diet? Experts on all sides will debate the issue.
Moderator: Bob Edwards, Host, The Bob Edwards Show, XM Satellite Radio
Speakers:
Nick Akins, Executive Vice President for Generation, American Electric Power
Jeff Goodell, Journalist and Author, Big Coal: The Dirty Secret Behind America's Energy Future
Fredrick Palmer, Senior Vice President of Government Relations, Peabody Energy
Cindy Rank, Mining Committee Chair, West Virginia Highlands Conservancy
Concurrent Sessions 1
COAL
Almost Level: Mountaintop Removal Overview
Over the past 20 years, coal operators have blasted the tops off countless Appalachian mountains, and buried more than 700 miles of streams with the leftover rock and dirt. Environmental groups and many scientists say the practice is destroying sensitive mountain streams and diverse forests. Coal industry officials and most regional politicians say mountaintop removal provides much needed jobs, flattens the land for future development and really isn't that bad on the environment. Hear from all sides in this lively overview of the most controversial environmental issue in the region.
Moderator: Greg Collard, News Director, WFAE, Charlotte, NC
Panelists:
Steven Gardner, President, Engineering Consulting Services
Wade Gilley, former Chairman, West Virginia Governor's Task Force on Mountaintop Removal
Jack Spadaro, Mining Engineer, Government Whistleblower and Activist
ENERGY
Must We Grow? The Tensions Between Consumerism and Saving the Planet
As hybrid SUVs and carbon-neutral air travel flood the marketplace, it's not clear if we are getting enough environmental good out of all the greenness we are buying. Can a consumer by definition even be considered green? Is a shopping-oriented society environmentally sustainable? We'll explore what going green means and what needs to happen to get the global economy in step with the environment.
Moderator: Beth Daley, Staff Reporter, The Boston Globe
James Barrett, Executive Director, Redefining Progress
Scot Case, Vice President, TerraChoice Environmental Marketing Inc.
Brian Czech, President, Center for the Advancement of the Steady State Economy
THE CLIMATE (coverage and related links)
Climate Change and Agriculture
Global warming is already having a significant impact on how we produce our food worldwide. Regions that currently face the most difficult challenges feeding their populations are most likely to be hit hardest as the planet heats up. Some agriculture and development experts say the answer lies in more Green Revolution-type technology, while others argue for a more whole-systems approach that addresses long-term sustainability. Does the answer lie in biotechnology? Precision farming? Eschewing petroleum-based chemicals for a more biological approach? Embracing indigenous knowledge? Come help us find the answers.
Moderator: Dennis Dimick, Executive Editor, National Geographic Magazine
Panelists: Theo Dillaha, Professor of Biological Systems Engineering, Virginia Tech, and Program Director, Sustainable Agriculture and Natural Resource Management Collaborative Research Support Program
William Hohenstien, Director, Global Climate Change Program, U.S. Department of Agriculture
Jeffery Moyer, Farm Director, Rodale Institute and Vice Chair, Crops Committee, National Organic Standards Board, U.S. Department of Agriculture
Can This Bay Be Saved?
Billions of taxpayer dollars have been spent on cleaning up the Chesapeake Bay, North America's largest and historically most productive estuary. The compact between the federal government and the states bordering the bay is often held up as a model of regional collaboration to correct environmental problems. Yet the Chesapeake's water quality today is little better than it was when the effort began 25 years ago. Why not?
Moderator: Tim Wheeler, Reporter, The Baltimore Sun
Richard Batiuk, Associate Director for Science, Chesapeake Bay Program, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Bill Street, Executive Director, James River Association
Ann Swanson, Executive Director, Chesapeake Bay Commission
Joy Ride or Ecocide? ORVs on Public Lands
The panel will discuss the growing use of Off-Road Vehicles on public lands and the issues related to this use. ORVs include everything from four-wheelers and snowmobiles to jet skis. Problems created by ORVs include water, noise and air pollution, disruption of wildlife, and the spread of weeds. Currently federal and state agencies are grappling with restricting and/or banning these machines from many parts of the public land.
Moderator: George Wuerthner, Freelance Writer and Author, Thrillcraft: The Environmental Consequences of Motorized Recreation
Panelists:
Derb Carter, Director, Chapel Hill Office, Southern Environmental Law Center
Jim Furnish, former Deputy Chief, U.S. Forest Service
Brian Hawthorne, Public Lands Policy Director, BlueRibbon Coalition
Jeff Ruch, Executive Director, Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility
Toying with Toxics: Childhood Exposure to Chemicals
Phthalates in rubber duckies. Bisphenol A in baby bottles. Lead in toys. Flame retardants in furniture. Fetuses and young children are the most sensitive of all to the effects of toxic substances, and consumers are beginning to take action on their own in the absence of regulations.
Moderator: Marla Cone, Editor in Chief, Environmental Health News, former Environmental Writer, Los Angeles Times and Author, Silent Snow
Panelists:
Marc Edwards, Charles Lunsford Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Virginia Tech
Philip Landrigan, Professor and Chairman, Department of Community & Preventive Medicine, and Professor of Pediatrics and Director, Children's Environmental Health Center, Mount Sinai School of Medicine
Phil Shabecoff, Author, Poisoned Profits
Broken Bridges, Straight Pipes: The Environmental Impacts of an Aging Infrastructure
Antiquated city sewer systems are releasing human waste into rivers and streams. Past-their-prime power stations are spewing greenhouse gases. Crumbling highways and railroads, and inadequate public transportation, mean even more pollution. How is our nation's aging infrastructure harming the environment? And, if we don't invest in upgrades now, are we dangerously close to disaster?
Moderator: Kristin Espeland, Environmental Reporter, Public Radio Partnership, WFPL (Louisville, KY)
Panelists:
Katherine Baer, Senior Director of Clean Water, American Rivers
Andrew Herrmann, District 1 Director, American Society of Civil Engineers, and Partner, Hardesty & Hanover, LLP
Jack Schenendorf, Vice Chair of the National Surface Transportation Policy and Revenue Study Commission, and Of Counsel, Covington & Burling LLP
Environment Reporters of the 21st Century
Who are the environment reporters who provide the general public with most of its information about the environment? Where do they work? Do environmental journalists differ due to regional influences? From what sources do environment reporters get their information? Do environmental journalists in different regions rely on similar news sources? These are just a few of the questions answered by more than six hundred environment reporters in a nationwide series of telephone interviews. Two of the researchers, David Sachsman and James Simon, will present the results of the study and will be joined by SEJ members Bud Ward and Mike Mansur, who will comment on the findings.
Moderator: David Sachsman, West Chair of Excellence, Department of Communication, University of Tennessee
Panelists:
Mike Mansur, SEJournal Editor, and Reporter, The Kansas City Star
James Simon, Professor and Chair, Department of English, Fairfield University
Bud Ward, President, Morris A. Ward, Inc., and Founding Member, SEJ
Keynote Address: RK Pachauri, Chair, Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
IPCC's Chair, Dr. Rajendra Pachauri,assesses the political will to address our greatest environmental challenge, and how the world's governments, and the world's media, are responding. Moderator: Peter Dykstra, Executive Producer, CNN Science, Technology, Environment & Weather. Here's the video (59:46). (For audio, click on the session title.)
Network Lunch and Breakout Lunch Session
Emerging Career Options: Digital Media and Your Future
Where can environmental journalists go from here? What opportunities do we have to keep covering the environment, fostering community conversations, and telling great stories — while making a living, and regardless of the fate of traditional news organizations? Which skills (technical, business, networking) can help us, and which are less important? Which mindsets, attitudes, and assumptions will help us move forward? What are we excited about, and scared about? What are the risks and rewards?
Moderator: Amy Gahran, Freelance Journalist
Speakers:
Adam Glenn, Independent News Consultant
Dale Willman, Executive Editor, Field Notes Productions
Leonard Witt, Robert D. Fowler Distinguished Chair in Communication, Kennesaw State University
Concurrent Sessions 2
Carbon Sequestration: Silver Bullet or Black Hole?Half of U.S. electricity and more than a third of the nation's CO2 emissions come from coal-fired power plants. If coal is to remain part of our energy future in a carbon-constrained world, a new system of technologies must be developed to capture and sequester CO2. However, research is just now getting under way. What is the status of R&D? What works? Who is doing what, how much will it cost and when will technologies be ready? In the meantime, do we continue to build new coal-fired power plants?
Moderator: Jeff Johnson, Senior Correspondent, Chemical & Engineering News
Panelists:
Bruce Braine, Vice President, Strategic Policy Analysis, American Electric Power
Thomas Feeley, Technology Manager, National Energy Technology Lab, U.S. Department of Energy
Sarah Forbes, Senior Associate and CCS Specialist, World Resources Institute
Energy 101: A Primer for Reporters
The environment beat and the energy beat these days are inextricably linked. If you are new to covering energy, have trouble finding energy angles to pitch to your editors, or are just interested in the topic — this how-to session is for you. You will learn how to mine federal databases to find out where your state or region's energy comes from, what sources generate its electricity, and how much energy it consumes. You will learn how to trove legislation and campaign finance databases to find energy stories with a political slant. And then you will look at examples from reporters who cover energy regionally to see how it is done.
Moderator: Dina Cappiello, Environment/Energy Reporter, The Associated Press
Panelists:
Jonathan Cogan, Press Officer, Energy Information Administration
Catharine Richert, Senate Reporter, Congressional QuarterlyTHE CLIMATE
Close Quarters: Could an End to Population Growth Help Stabilize the Climate?
Moderator: Constance Holden, Staff Writer, Science Magazine
Panelists:
Steve Curwood, Host and Executive Producer, "Living On Earth," Public Radio International
Robert Engelman, Vice President for Programs, Worldwatch Institute
Tom Horton, Freelance Writer
Hydropower: Past, Present & Future
The old questions about the environmental costs of building big dams haven't gone away — they've just turned up in new places like Asia and South America. We'll talk about the latest news on those projects. In the United States, different questions dominate, such as: Is aging dam infrastructure still safe? Is the boom in "second generation" hydropower — mainly wave and tidal energy projects — a solid green alternative or will these projects create serious environmental problems, too? In light of rising energy prices, what are the prospects of decommissioning more controversial conventional dams? Where in the U.S. are conventional dams still in development?
Moderator: Elizabeth Bluemink, Reporter, Anchorage Daily News
Panelists:
Andrew Fahlund, Vice President for Conservation, American Rivers
Jacques Leslie, Author, Deep Water: The Epic Struggle Over Dams, Displaced People, and the Environment
Julie Smith-Galvin, Director of Communications, U.S. Operations, Brookfield Renewable Power
Biodiversity, People, and the Planet: An Appalachian Lesson
An endangered Appalachian salamander and a resident of American suburbia have something in common: Each stays alive by the grace of a functioning ecosystem. However, pollution, population growth, land-use changes and climate change are eroding the integrity of the natural world to a point where many experts believe we are approaching — or perhaps have passed — a tipping point. Appalachia, home to some of the Earth's oldest mountains, is the setting for a dramatic story about the challenges of maintaining biodiversity. Critically endangered aquatic life, smog, agriculture, and urban pressures all combine to make Appalachia a perfect case study whose lessons journalists can carry home and apply anywhere.
Moderator: Randy Loftis, Environmental Writer, The Dallas Morning News
Panelists:
Paul Angermeier, Professor, Department of Fisheries and Wildlife Sciences, Virginia Tech
Roberta Hylton, Project Leader, Southwestern Virginia Field Office, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
John Kunich, Professor, Charlotte School of Law
Jerry Moles, Consulting Director of Land Stewardship, New River Land TrustENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH
"Where There's Smoke..." : Job Hazards as Forerunners of Public Hazards
Industries with high worker injury and death rates often — and not coincidentally — turn out to be major polluters or producers of hazardous materials that endanger the public at large. Beyond the well-documented asbestos casualties among workers, for example, lies a largely untold story of developers churning up a far more dangerous form of the mineral fibers in cities — especially in the East. Learn of other examples and reporting tips from the experts.
Moderator: Chris Bowman, Environment and Energy Reporter, The Sacramento Bee
Panelists:
David Egilman, Principal, Never Again Consulting
Celeste Monforton, Researcher, School of Public Health and Health Services, George Washington University
John Yetman, Environmental Health Specialist, Fairfax County Health Department, Virginia
Environmental Policy, Public Opinion, and the Election
There will be a new occupant in the White House come January, which will undoubtedly shape environmental issues in the coming years, but how will the 2008 congressional election and other races around the nation impact those issues? We'll discuss that and talk about congressional races with major environmental stakes.
Moderator: Dan Radmacher, Editorial Page Editor, The Roanoke Times
Panelists:
David Jenkins, Government Affairs Director, Republicans for Environmental Protection
William Kovacs, Vice President, Environment, Technology and Public Affairs, U.S. Chamber of Commerce
David Sandretti, Communications Director, League of Conservation Voters
Freelance Pitch-Slam
Below L-R: Moderator Sharon Guynup, Freelance Journalist and Editor, State of the Wild: A Global Portrait of Wildlife, Wildlands, and Oceans; Peter Aldhous, San Francisco Bureau Chief, New Scientist; Nicole Dyer, Senior Editor, Popular Science; Dennis Dimick, Executive Editor, National Geographic Magazine; Ted Chamberlain, Managing Editor, National Geographic News; Louise Lief, Deputy Director, International Reporting Project; Tara Rae Miner, Managing Editor, Orion; and Mark Spellun, Editor, Plenty.
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