CEJ in Focus

Five Questions for the Fellows: Taylor Dolven

Erin Ashbaugh — Sun, 29 Dec 2024 22:54:49 +0000

Five Questions for the Fellows: Taylor Dolven Erin Ashbaugh Sun, 12/29/2024 - 15:54

Isabella Escobedo

Your project focuses on how U.S. car dependence is impacting lithium-rich communities in South America as we move towards electric vehicles. Can you tell me what led you to pursue this topic?

In my role at The Boston Globe, I cover transportation, so transportation policy in the U.S.—how car focused it is—is a really big component of the transportation beat. If you're covering the sector in the U.S., you inevitably end up realizing just how car-heavy our investments have been. They’ve brought us to this point where we're kind of stuck in a situation where most of our urban areas are made for cars and not for people. A lot of the mining for minerals for electric vehicle batteries occur in communities that have contributed least to climate change and are having to bear the brunt of that extraction and the environmental damage that comes with it, especially in South America. I'm really interested in looking at other pathways and more just pathways for how we can do this.

How is the fellowship helping you put together this particular story?

I'm taking a law class with Kristen Carpenter, called Indigenous Peoples in International Law, where we're focused on some cases of mining. It’s exactly what I'm interested in, where indigenous peoples are trying to defend their rights to religion, to culture, to resources, up against some really challenging odds when it comes to states and corporations who have interests in extraction. Looking at ways that indigenous peoples are using mostly U.N. mechanisms and different legal forms there to assert their rights and push back and come together globally has been super interesting to learn about.

And then the other class that has been really helpful is my Spanish Literature class. We've read a lot of books focused exclusively on gothic literature from the 21st century, from Argentina and almost exclusively women authors. Two, maybe three, of the books that we've read are what is called “eco-terror” or “eco-horror,” having to do with extraction, climate change, things like that. Just thinking about challenges we're facing, creative ways to deal with them, and showing that other ways are possible, has been really eye-opening and interesting.

What is your favorite part of the fellowship so far?

My favorite part of the fellowship is getting the much-needed time to step away from daily deadlines. I've been in daily journalism for 12 years without a break, and so this opportunity to really just pause and read books, several a week, and spend time with these other journalists who are in different fields and focus on different things and learn from them. The camaraderie with other fellows and a break for my brain to be curious and learn, just for learning’s sake, is really unique and special.

What do you do for fun in Boulder, outside the fellowship?

Boulder is such a unique place. I feel so lucky to live somewhere where I can walk out my front door and go and hike. My class schedule definitely allows me to spend a morning climbing up a mountain, which is such a such a joy, and something I never thought I'd be able to do. That's a really special part of living here. I went to more films than I can even keep straight at the Denver Film Festival, that was really fun. The fellowship has allowed me to have the time to be able to do things like that, where, if I'm at my job, I can't really do as much.

How have the other fellows impacted your experience and even your project?

I think the other fellows really are the best part of this experience. It would be so different to do something like this alone. They come from very different backgrounds from me, and also very different journalism mediums than I do, so their perspective is so, so, so valuable. I'm still defining what my end product is going to be, and they've all been so helpful in trying to help me figure that out. And they are always there to bounce ideas around with me, and they're super supportive.

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Five Questions for the Fellows: Leah Varjacques

Erin Ashbaugh — Sun, 29 Dec 2024 22:38:50 +0000

Five Questions for the Fellows: Leah Varjacques Erin Ashbaugh Sun, 12/29/2024 - 15:38

Isabella Escobedo

Your project focuses on the impact of Indonesia's future capital city on East Borneo’s Indigenous people. Can you elaborate on how you are putting together the story?

I’m focusing on this scientist group that is monitoring how the sound is changing in the forest. They use bioacoustics to monitor how the ecosystem is changing. They kind of wanted to record a baseline of what the biodiversity is like there, and then over time, see how that changes based on how the construction impacts different species that you can hear. This Indigenous group, the Balik, have lived there for generations and have a way of life and have used the forest. They're forest-dependent people. They source livelihood from the forest, historically, and they have some cultural markers--for example, when this type of monkey calls at whatever time, we know that it's dawn, or we know that it's going to rain. If the monkey is calling at a time of day that it doesn't usually call, then that means a death will occur in the village. It's kind of cultural and traditional ecological knowledge that this group has, and they are at risk of losing a lot of that heritage because of the construction. I'm hoping that my film is able to talk about the impact of this capital city on them through this sound science project.

What led you to pursue this story?

I was really interested in climate relocation stories and climate adaptation stories, so I just started reading academic articles. I read about how Indonesia is moving its capital city, because Jakarta is going to be underwater very soon. It's like 40% below sea level, and with sea level rise and flooding issues and all these issues that Jakarta has, the capital is already compromised, so they are building this whole new city, and that was crazy to me. I was like, “Why haven't I read about this?” Because just building a whole new city out of nowhere in Borneo, that seems crazy. Also, the fact that it was specifically framed as “this is a climate adaptation project,” because we know this existing capital city is doomed, so we're just going to build another city over here. That was crazy to me. And then I later learned that, internally in Indonesia, it's not really viewed as a climate-related project. It's really viewed as a nation-building project. A lot of people there don't see the relationship to climate change, which was very surprising to me. And so that is why I got interested in the story.

What is your favorite part of the fellowship so far?

I would say getting to know the fellows and building a little community in the CEJ is my favorite part so far. I've really enjoyed some of my classes and getting to learn new things. I've been taking two kinds of more arty-focused classes, and so I feel like that's helping inform my creative practice.

What are your favorite classes this semester?

I am really liking Environmental Cinema with Erin Espelie. I didn't think about how cinema has treated the environment, environmental issues, nature, and climate change. So that's been interesting, and it's been cool to get exposure to different kinds of films and see how that sparks new ideas for me.

I've also enjoyed my sound class Sound Practices with Betsey Biggs, because as a filmmaker, I have always focused more on the image side of the equation, but film is very much also about sound. And because my project is also focused on sound, I wanted to bring that more to the front of my mind and see how sound can be prioritized. And if I prioritize sound, how that might change the creative process? Hopefully it's planted a bunch of seeds that I will see sprout eventually.

What do you do for fun in Boulder, outside the fellowship?

I like to hike, and I like to go skiing, and I like to make art and go dancing and just get together with friends and go see concerts.

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Five Questions for the Fellows: Neeta Satam

Erin Ashbaugh — Sun, 29 Dec 2024 22:30:20 +0000

Five Questions for the Fellows: Neeta Satam Erin Ashbaugh Sun, 12/29/2024 - 15:30

Isabella Escobedo

The Ted Scripps Fellowships have been bringing award-winning environmental journalists to ��Ҵ�ý�ƽ�� for 28 years. Fellows embark on a year of courses, projects, field trips, seminars and more— taking advantage of everything university life has to offer. This series is a chance to get to know this year’s cohort of talented journalists beyond what a typical bio page will tell you.

How are you enjoying the fellowship thus far?

I am having a wonderful time both professionally and personally. The fellowship has given me the much-needed break from the day-to-day grind, so I really appreciate this opportunity to take classes, attend seminars, and work on my project. I am particularly enjoying engaging with my cohort, students, and faculty.

It’s been an incredible experience so far, and I’m excited for what the next semester will bring.

How have you found the transition from working as a freelance journalist to becoming a fellow?

When I was moving to Boulder, I was a little nervous about how it was all going to work out. But the transition was seamless. The CEJ staff provided the incoming fellows with all the resources and support to make the transition easy. Being a freelance photojournalist is somewhat of a solitary pursuit, so I have enjoyed being surrounded by a community of like-minded people. I have lived and freelanced out of the Midwest for the past 10 years. I’m absolutely thrilled to be in Boulder, amidst a breathtaking landscape and wonderful community.

What has been your favorite part of the fellowship?

That’s a tough question because there’s so much I’m enjoying. One thing I love is auditing classes, as I’m gaining new knowledge and skills in areas outside my core expertise. Some of the courses are reading-intensive, which gives me the chance to slow down and read—something I couldn’t do enough when I was working full-time as a freelancer.

Two of my classes focus on decolonization and indigenous rights, which directly connects to the documentary work I’ve been doing. The insights I’m gaining are shaping my thinking and deeply informing my projects.

If you had to pick one, what is your favorite class this semester?

I’m enjoying all the classes I’m auditing, so it’s tough to choose a favorite. Some are reading-focused, while others are more skills-based. In terms of theory, I’m really enjoying a class called Arctic Society and Culture. It’s been fascinating. For skills, I’m taking two filmmaking classes—Short Documentary and Environmental Cinema—and both are challenging me to think creatively and push the boundaries of storytelling.

What do you like to do with your newfound free time?

I've been hiking a lot in my free time. Living in Boulder comes with the perk of easy access to beautiful trails in the Rockies.

I have hiked 27 trails since moving to Boulder. I started with easier trails, and I am now gradually tackling moderate ones—something I never would have imagined five years ago, when I injured my back and hip. Before that, I have hiked in the Sahyadri mountains (Western Ghats) of India and the Himalayas, but I had to stop after my injury.

Another thing I have been focusing on in my free time is getting back into my pranayama and meditation practice every morning. Having a set routine has really helped me carve out time for it. As a freelance photojournalist, my schedule was often unpredictable, especially with the travel and long hours, so having a structure during the fellowship has been a welcome balance.

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Accomplished journalists join newest class of Scripps Fellows

Anonymous — Mon, 29 Jul 2024 04:02:53 +0000

Accomplished journalists join newest class of Scripps Fellows Anonymous (not verified) Sun, 07/28/2024 - 22:02

Iris Serrano

The Center for Environmental Journalism at the University of Colorado Boulder has named five exceptional journalists to its 2024-25 class of Ted Scripps Fellows in Environmental Journalism.

“This year’s terrific incoming class of Ted Scripps Fellows hails from around the country and works across multiple platforms, including photography, podcasts, documentary, long-form narrative and daily news,” said Hillary Rosner, assistant director of the Center for Environmental Journalism—which oversees the Scripps Fellows program—and a teaching assistant professor at CMCI. “Together, they bring decades of experience and expertise to ��Ҵ�ý�ƽ��, where they will learn from university researchers and share their knowledge with the community.”

Established in 1993, the Ted Scripps Fellowship has been based at the University of Colorado Boulder since 1997. The program, which is supported by a grant from the Scripps Howard Fund, aims to give full-time journalists working in any medium the knowledge and tools to report on today’s pressing environmental issues in ways that resonate with diverse audiences. Over a nine-month period, fellows attend classes at the University of Colorado Boulder, participate in weekly seminars and field trips, and pursue their own journalistic projects on a wide range of environmental topics.

The incoming class includes:

Steven Bedard, co-founder and editor, BioGraphic. Bedard has spent the last 25 years writing and producing science stories on everything from archaeology to evolution. During the fellowship, he will explore how species are responding to global change, looking at the intersection between systems-scale events and the individual organisms’ biology.

Taylor Dolven, reporter, The Boston Globe. Dolven focuses on how transportation intersects with climate change and economic inequality. Previously, as a reporter at the Miami Herald, she exposed how cruise companies kept workers at sea without pay during the pandemic. As a fellow, Dolven will research how Americans’ reliance on cars and the transition to electric vehicles impacts lithium-rich communities in South America.

Catherine (Cat) Jaffee, founder and audio producer, House of Pod. Jaffee will spend her fellowship developing an audio series that explores how both ecosystems and human bodies repair themselves, and how overlapping biomedical and bioengineered solutions apply to both. Jaffee has produced more than 1,000 podcast episodes for outlets such as PBS and National Geographic.

Neeta Satam, independent photojournalist. Satam is an Indian photojournalist and National Geographic explorer whose work has appeared in The New York Times, The Guardian, The Washington Post and elsewhere. As a fellow, she will expand a long-term project that documents the impact of climate change on a community in the Himalayas, with an emphasis on gender inequity.

Leah Varjacques, visual journalist and documentary producer. Varjacques has produced and edited digital and television documentaries for The New York Times, The Atlantic and Vice News, where she won an Emmy in 2021. She plans to study climate adaptation and human geography to produce a short documentary about the impacts of Indonesia's future capital city on East Borneo's Indigenous people.

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Former Fellow Documents Environmental Crimes in Brazil

Anonymous — Mon, 18 Mar 2024 21:32:53 +0000

Former Fellow Documents Environmental Crimes in Brazil Anonymous (not verified) Mon, 03/18/2024 - 15:32

Devin Farmiloe

When Sasha Chavkin came to the Ted Scripps Fellowship in 2021, he was interested in exploring how crime and corruption is fueling climate change. After constructing an independent study that included a rigorous amount of reading and research, Chavkin came to a conclusion: illegal deforestation is the largest contributor to climate change among criminal activities. In addition, Chavkin found that the majority of products obtained from illegal deforestation were going to China. “As of about five years ago, there was more deforestation embodied in international trade going to China than to the United States and European Union combined,” Chavkin said.

This led Chavkin to produce two articles. One covered PMI food systems, an American meat trader that primarily ships beef from Brazil to China and had links to illegal deforestation in its supply chain. The other was about a Chinese state-owned food importer, Cofco, and its link to illegal deforestation through soy and palm oil imports.

During his field reporting, Chavkin found that some sources had such a drastically different worldview that they didn’t bother trying to hide their role in illegal deforestation. One plantation owner who sold soy to Cofco was criminally deforesting, and Cofco continued to purchase soy from him. This violates the soy moratorium, which is a promise by companies to not buy soy from farmers that illegally clear forest.

When Chavkin visited the plantation, he expected the owner to put up some resistance. “I was worried he was going to kick me off his property,” Chavkin said. “I just started talking to him and hadn't even brought up the question of the soy moratorium violation. I just asked him about Cofco, and he volunteered that he was working with Cofco. Like, ‘They're great. They're still buying from me, even though these other companies stopped buying from me because I violated the soybean moratorium.’” In the end, the plantation owner said he would only abide by Brazilian law, and the soy moratorium was separate from Brazilian law.

In some cases, such as the article about PMI Foods, Chavkin’s investigations pave the way for meaningful change. The article uncovers how an American meat trader that has shipped massive quantities of Brazilian beef to China has avoided scrutiny for enabling Amazon deforestation. After the story was published by the Associated Press, PMI Foods joined industry working groups on sustainability, promised to plant a million trees, and said it would consider a pledge against rainforest destruction.

“PMI admitted that it needed to change its practices,” Chavkin said “I don't think it has gotten very far in actually making those changes yet. But I think it was important to draw attention to PMI’s role, because it's a major American company that completely avoided scrutiny.”

Despite PMI dragging its feet, Chavkin’s goal in his reporting was clear from the start: He wants to hold companies accountable. “I want to make corporate practices better,” Chavkin said. “I want to help communities that are harmed by abuses and environmental harms. I think the way we do that is by putting the truth out there.”

*Photo credit: Giovanny Vera/Pulitzer Center

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Five Questions for the Fellows: Clifton Wiens

Anonymous — Mon, 18 Mar 2024 19:43:10 +0000

Five Questions for the Fellows: Clifton Wiens Anonymous (not verified) Mon, 03/18/2024 - 13:43

Devin Farmiloe

The Ted Scripps Fellowships have been bringing award-winning environmental journalists to ��Ҵ�ý�ƽ�� for 27 years. Fellows embark on a year of courses, projects, field trips, seminars and more— taking advantage of everything university life has to offer. This series is a chance to get to know this year’s cohort of talented journalists beyond what a typical bio page will tell you.

Prior to being a Scripps Fellow, Clifton Wiens was a writer and filmmaker with National Geographic, where he worked on documentaries such as “Strange Days on Planet Earth,” which focuses on the climate crisis around the globe, as well as Jared Diamond’s “Guns, Germs, and Steel.” During the fellowship, Wiens is developing a documentary film exploring the apocalyptic impulse in American culture and how such beliefs and attitudes influence the politics and policy related to climate change and other environmental issues.

Could you tell me a little bit about your fellowship project?

The elevator pitch for my project is Mad Max meets Billy Graham: The film is an archival project that examines American religious and secular culture over the last one hundred years through the lens of the apocalyptic strain in both of these worlds, and how this apocalyptic impulse is particularly dangerous right now at this time in U.S. history. It leads to apathy, to fatalism, or for some to escapist expectations.

By apocalyptic I mean an expectation that the world’s end is coming soon, whether through natural or supernatural means.

So I’m going through enormous amounts of film footage from really the beginning of film as a medium until now. It’s quite a range of material, from tent meeting evangelists to secular apocalyptic mainstream films.

I’m interested, in part, in how the apocalyptic style in American life and politics has now become dominant within at least one of America's major political parties, and how this cultural strand is becoming more overt in national politics, but perhaps more importantly, how the apocalyptic tradition manifests in voters’ attitudes across the political spectrum.

What led you to this line of research?

A couple of factors, at least. I grew up in a culture where, as a kid, I was surrounded by this idea that the world was going to end soon. And then when the pandemic began, the uncertainty surrounding a vaccine at first made for a lot of television and radio chatter that related sometimes tangentially, sometimes specifically to apocalyptic expectations. These expectations can be positive or negative, depending on a person’s beliefs and culture.

If you think that you're either going to escape through some supernatural means or the world's going to end and we are all doomed, your concern for the world beyond your own small world tends to be very limited. Fatalistic beliefs and escapist beliefs are equally dangerous.

Part of my objective with this archival film is to make a broader audience aware of this apocalyptic strand in American culture which is sometimes subtle. We don’t need a Mad Max scenario for society to collapse.

Switching gears, how has your time in the fellowship been so far?

It's been great. It took a bit of time to adjust to being around others after being solitary in the mountains or other lonely landscapes during the peak pandemic years.

My fellow fellows and everyone that is part of the CEJ, including the fellowship’s directors, have made that transition from solitude to society beautiful.

The field trips and the seminars are always a highlight of the week, such as the first field trip in the fall semester, when we trekked through Boulder cemeteries, creeks, and the town’s century-plus old ditches with legendary western water expert Bob Crifasi. It’s a different water world in the West than east of the Mississippi River in ways I never understood until Bob’s walking seminar.

I love being on a campus, wandering the corridors of the Norlin Library at random, and pulling books off a shelf that catch my eye.

You took a little bit of a different approach from most fellows and designed your own syllabus the first semester. Could you tell me how that is going?

For me, developing my own syllabus for one of my courses was freeing and enlightening. I wanted to do an independent study that examines the monotheistic world’s concepts of linear time, utopias, and apocalypses from the era of Alexander the Great until the present. Alexander and the Hellenistic era still influence our worldviews in the West more than most people realize. So my self-designed course is entitled “Time, Utopia, and Apocalypse in the Monotheistic World from Alexander the Great to The Anthropocene.” I’m happy to supply the syllabus to anyone who is interested.

Lastly, what do you like to do outside of journalism?

I absolutely love the mountains, long treks, and the occasional summit of a Fourteener. Backpacking, bicycling, anything that can take me out of myself and into nature is what inspires me. And Colorado, of course, is one of the great places in the world for that. I love music from classical to alt-country to punk. One day it’s Bach, the next it’s Iggy Pop.The next Max Richter and Maria Callas. The next day Patti Smith. And Dylan. Always Bob Dylan. I love dogs and during the pandemic I spent many weeks caring for other people’s pets and dogs in whatever state I happened to be in. I still do that occasionally and have a few favorite animals and people I’ve come to know around Boulder, though I won’t mention any names.

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Five Questions for the Fellows: Ishan Thakore

Anonymous — Sat, 17 Feb 2024 15:31:14 +0000

Five Questions for the Fellows: Ishan Thakore Anonymous (not verified) Sat, 02/17/2024 - 08:31

Devin Farmiloe

Before becoming a Ted Scripps Fellow, Ishan Thakore worked as a multimedia producer and investigative journalist. During his career, Thakore has been the recipient of IRE’s Journalist of Color Fellowship, a Fulbright-National Geographic Digital Storytelling Fellowship, and a BBC/Sundance Institute Fellowship. Thakore’s work can be seen in THE CITY, Full Frontal with Samantha Bee, Netflix, the BBC, National Geographic blogs, and Al Jazeera.

During the fellowship, you’re reporting on the Army Corps of Engineers’ plan to protect New York from storm surges. Could you tell me a little bit more about that?

In 2012, Superstorm Sandy took this pretty gnarly left turn into the city and knocked out a lot of neighborhoods for a while, and flooded a bunch of subway tunnels. That was 11 years ago, and it's not clear that the city has made enough progress to prevent a freak storm like that from happening again. And in the 11 years since Superstorm Sandy, there have been what the city calls “significant rainfall events,” where we've gotten a ton of rain in four hours, and a lot of homes and basement apartments get flooded. There are all these weather challenges that we're facing in New York, and the city has this unique kind of topography also–it's like a series of islands and has these protected bays, and the Hudson runs through it. But that also means there's a lot of water that can quickly rush into the city and a lot of people want to live on the water because it's beautiful. But as New York looks to the future, there's this sense that if it doesn't prepare now, what's going to happen?

The Army Corps is the premier U.S. institution that builds large infrastructure projects. There are all these laws that dictate why the Army Corps can dam rivers and build levees and stuff. At the same time, there's a lot of criticism towards the Corps because historically, they've been very much a gray infrastructure agency, like, “Let's pour some concrete,” “Let's build a seawall,” “Let's engineer our way out of nature's periodic problems,” and that's proven to be really challenging. The reason I'm fascinated by this story is that New York combines all these elements: it's the future-looking strategy of the Corps as climate change becomes more prevalent, the historical past of how the Corps has built things, and also, how the richest, biggest city in America, has a choice to make on how it'll protect itself. People have a lot of opinions about this because everyone agrees that the city shouldn’t flood, but there's not that much agreement about what can be done.

When the Army Corps released its plan last year, there was a lot of criticism about how it was short-sighted and how it didn't account for different types of storms. You know, one source told me, when the project is done in 2045, it “would be horrible to get a screwdriver when we really needed a wrench.” What she meant was that, if we're going to spend all this time building something, it should work for the myriad problems that are going to exist in New York.

What led you to this line of research?

I was having a beer with a friend and he was telling me about his friend who was advocating against a huge wall in the Hudson River to protect the city from storm surges. I just laughed. If you look at Jersey City from Battery Park, it's not that far, you know, and we're gonna build this vertical wall, how is that even gonna work? I thought it was one of the craziest things I've ever heard. Then I talked to his friend later, and this isn’t just one wall, it is actually a series of walls and gates and some of the most intense engineering that would be done around a coastal city in the U.S. That just kind of captivated me because I’ve always been interested in this idea of how we try to tame nature and how it goes poorly.

It is very clear that you love New York. How are you enjoying Boulder and your time in the fellowship so far?

It's such a nice change of pace to do weekend trips. It’s so much harder in New York to go anywhere. I've really been enjoying the outdoors. I've been to Rocky Mountain National Park and Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park and it's been fantastic. It was a bit of an adjustment to settle back into being a student again because it's such a different schedule. I felt a little unmoored with all this free time, like, what am I supposed to do? Or how am I supposed to best use it? And now I feel much more settled.

What is your favorite class so far?

I've been taking French, which has been really fun. And oceanography, which is getting me to appreciate the ocean much more. And then two law classes that are much more technical, but they complement each other quite well.

What do you like to do outside of journalism?

I love to go hiking, so moving to Boulder has been a great boost for the hobbies that I've been able to only sporadically indulge in when I was in New York. I really like playing sports. I've been able to play tennis here a couple of times, which is nice. In New York, I would have to wake up at six am and sign my name onto a clipboard, so that I could come back seven hours later to play. It was absolutely insane. Here I can just roll up to a court and play with a friend.

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Five Questions for the Fellows: Rebecca Halleck

Anonymous — Thu, 28 Dec 2023 21:28:32 +0000

Five Questions for the Fellows: Rebecca Halleck Anonymous (not verified) Thu, 12/28/2023 - 14:28

Devin Farmiloe

As a senior editor for The New York Times, Rebecca Halleck contributed to coverage of COVID-19, extreme weather events, policing, and racial justice protests. Prior to her work with The Times, she was a digital editor at the Chicago Tribune. During her fellowship year, Halleck will examine the legal and policy frameworks surrounding climate change and climate action.

Halleck sat down with CEJ graduate assistant Devin Farmiloe to talk about her work and experience as a fellow.

Could you tell me a bit more about your fellowship project?

When I came into the fellowship, I was really focused on climate litigation, specifically the case Held v. Montana. The premise of that case is that children are suing the government on the basis that they will not have the constitutional right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness because of climate change. I was also interested in the political momentum behind states passing environmental rights amendments or adding similar language to their constitutions.

But the two law classes I’m taking made me realize that the outcome of the Montana case, while positive for the youth plaintiffs, is actually quite limited in scope. It was a state case, so it only applies within the state of Montana and it doesn’t have any direct impact on emissions. It merely allows state entities to consider climate change when making policy decisions.

So since arriving at CU, I’ve become much more interested in examining the full legal landscape – policy, market-based solutions, litigation – surrounding climate change and related environmental concerns.

What led you to this line of research?

I think I’ve always been interested in how laws and the legal system intersect with the real-life problems they seek to fix. For better or worse, I think there are infinite stories — both good and bad — to be told about how public policy reacts to and shapes society. And when you combine that with something as complex and pressing as the climate crisis, as a reporter it just felt like the most important topic at the most important time. Like we’re on a precipice and the way our legal system responds, the way our policies are written, will create new winners and losers. As journalists, how we cover that in real-time as it unfolds is absolutely vital.

That sounds like a lot of heavy knowledge to grapple with. Are you enjoying your time in the fellowship so far?

I'm loving it. I really like all the activities; the guest speakers and field trips are really fun. The crew we have here is really nice too. I was afraid that I wouldn't have any friends and that I would be really lonely here, but we are like a family. That's been really great. I've also been really excited about the number of experts and professors on campus who are willing to give their time. The classes that I get to take are great too. I've been telling people this is the most fun version of school I've ever gotten to do because I don't have to do the assignments, but I get to do the learning.

What are your two favorite classes?

I am taking environmental law as well as climate change law and policy and I like both of them for different reasons. Environmental law has done a really good job of explaining how we got to this moment, especially in terms of climate legislation and litigation. But then climate change law and policy are more future-focused. It's like, what's coming up? What are the avenues still available for reducing emissions? What kind of policies are actually working? They're very different.

The interesting thing that I wasn't expecting is that in these law classes, there are actually a fair number of students who aren't law students at all. They come in with a scientific or engineering background, so they can kind of explain that half of it. And then there are law students that are actually already interning really interesting places like the EPA, and so they can add some additional backstory. The other students have been kind of a big surprise like I expected to really be interested in what the professors had to say. But the other students have been a resource as well.

What do you like to do outside journalism?

I love hiking. That's one of the best things about being here in Boulderyou just walk out your door and there's a trail. I love reading. So having some time to read fiction and nonfiction that's not related to any work I'm doing has been really nice. When you're working in a newsroom, you feel like all you have time to do is read the news. When you're a little bit separated from that news cycle, you actually have time to read for learning's sake, which has been really nice.

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Five Questions for the Fellows: Kara Fox

Anonymous — Fri, 17 Nov 2023 20:46:22 +0000

Five Questions for the Fellows: Kara Fox Anonymous (not verified) Fri, 11/17/2023 - 13:46

Devin Farmiloe

Kara Fox is a visual journalist and digital producer whose work has taken her across the globe. Fox has reported on women's issues, geopolitics, culture and corruption from Bhutan, Cambodia, Myanmar, Haiti and most recently the UK. As a digital producer with CNN International, Fox crafted features about alternative youth movements in Putin's Russia, LGBTQ+ people in Turkey, and the plight of Rwandan dissidents. During her fellowship year Fox plans to explore how the climate crisis disproportionately impacts women.

Fox sat down with CEJ graduate assistant Devin Farmiloe to talk about her work and experience as a fellow.

Your fellowship project is covering how climate change disproportionately impacts women. Could you tell me a little bit more about that line of inquiry?

We know that women and girls disproportionately bear the brunt of the climate emergency, and research shows that reproductive justice is a key element of climate change mitigation and adaptation. But international and national frameworks on climate change are failing to take adequate action, with few stories dedicated to the gendered impact of climate change. So, I’d like to be a part of that change. My research is focused on three broad categories so far: how climate change affects maternal mortality, reproductive justice and how it affects gender-based violence. I’m also looking into how extractive industries fuel gender based violence, and querying whether the green transition will also present those same problems. While we know anecdotally that climate change is drastically affecting these aspects of women's lives globally, with some new research emerging in this space, especially in the Global South. However, there’s not nearly enough comprehensive studies into just how badly things like the rise of sea levels or the warming of our Earth are really affecting women in every aspect of their lives. I'm finding many researchers that say that there's this study and that study, but that there’s just not enough data available quite yet, or that they haven’t necessarily placed a gendered lens on their research. My hope is that I'm going to be able to partner with academics and scientists that are interested in further looking into the intersectionality of climate and gender and to harness the data that is available into a body of work that helps folks connect the dots on these issues, especially here in the United States.

What was your inspiration behind this topic?

A lot of my reporting in the geopolitical space focuses on women’s issues and movements around gender equity. It seemed like a natural progression for me to apply an intersectional feminist framework in writing or researching stories around climate change and environmental justice. Women are often an afterthought in a lot of scientific circles and still in a lot of journalism circles. We are not at the forefront of research, even though we are often leaders of initiatives aimed at transforming societies. It is a complete disservice to women and other minority populations if we don't put them at the forefront of this conversation around climate change. We live in this world, and our right to self-determination and empowerment is crucial for the sustainability of our planet. It's imperative to study how climate change is affecting women - and if those studies don't exist then to put it to scientists and to put it to researchers to start making this a priority. I'm hopeful that dialogue during this fellowship will do that.

How has your fellowship been so far?

It has been extraordinary. In all of my years reporting, being out in the field, or being in an office, I've never felt so excited or engaged as I have in these last six weeks. I can say that with all honesty. I've been able to take time away from the daily pressure of a newsroom job, which is wonderful, but not just because there's no pressure here that's imposed by someone else but because the pressure is on myself to explore a topic that interests and engages me and, to hopefully create work that sparks change. It’s a gift to be able to explore things that I’m interested in but wouldn’t have an opportunity to delve into deeply. Right now I'm taking five classes, which is a little oversubscribed, but I like that three of the classes are directly complementing each other in terms of climate science and environmental science. I'm really enjoying the overlap. It's really nice to be able to take time to really ingest these big-picture ideas so as to get better at articulating them to the wider public in the future. It feels really empowering. It's also really exciting to be able to work among and collaborate with the other fellows -- we all come from such disparate backgrounds, but we complement each other so well. I think that's part of the strength of the program, to be able to share ideas and develop concepts for your project, but also to talk about the things that you're learning. I can physically feel an expansion of my brain right now in a way that I haven't before.

What is your favorite class, or maybe top two if you cannot choose?

My Ancient Astronomies of the World class is fantastic. More than half of the lectures are taught in the planetarium, which is just neat, overall, but the reason that I love it is because it's not just a class about looking at the stars or examining the stars, the planets, and how the stars and the planets affect what's happening here on Earth, but shows us the historical context for why cultures and people did things that they did. This allows me to reflect on how light pollution is not allowing people today to enjoy the night sky - and why that matters. Because of light pollution, people today are not engaging with the stars, because we can't see them, we can't see what's happening. So things that our ancestors did, anything from creating sundials, to calendars to Polynesian navigation, those sorts of things that they did because they had this big, bright sky, were so extraordinary. I feel that we're missing out on learning about how that part of our world affects us and what we could do with it. I've also really been enjoying my Introduction to Oceanography class that I'm taking, which just spells out everything from how we began our first life on Earth, to how the oceans are carbon sinks and how adding CO2 to our atmosphere is affecting our oceans and therefore our world. It's been really cool.

What do you enjoy doing outside of journalism?

Being in the ocean, swimming and diving. We're in a landlocked place though, so I love climbing and I love being in the mountains. It's great to be able to explore some of these mountains while I'm here -- (even if it's just at the foothills with my kids). Especially in the context of studying about how these mountains were formed, which is what I'm doing in some of my other classes.

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Five Questions for the Fellows: Elliot Ross

Anonymous — Mon, 23 Oct 2023 19:55:28 +0000

Five Questions for the Fellows: Elliot Ross Anonymous (not verified) Mon, 10/23/2023 - 13:55

Devin Farmiloe

Elliot Ross is an American photojournalist who tells stories of the American West through long-term projects that follow the individual threads that make up the tapestry of our communities, landscapes, and cultures. During his fellowship, Ross plans to investigate the water crisis unfolding across the Western United States. Ross’s work can be seen in National Geographic, The New York Times, and The New Yorker.

Ross sat down with CEJ graduate assistant Devin Farmiloe to talk about his work and experience as a fellow.

Your photo journalism has focused primarily on the cultural geography of the American West. Could you tell me a bit about how you see the climate crisis impacting this landscape?

It's impacting every level of society. I think there are two important considerations that have driven my practice and I feel I have a responsibility to contribute. I see climate change impacting Western America through equity issues: Who has the ability to thrive, and who is being more disenfranchised than ever? I see that the gap is widening between those who have and those who don't. And the other way, which is related and they inform one another, is access to resources and specifically how climate change impacts hydrology and where water goes and where it does not go, and who within our legal and societal framework has access to that water. I’m interested in reexamining institutions that have led to the paradigm in which we exist today. I think climate change doesn't necessarily change social order, but rather it exacerbates and heightens the divisions and issues that we have already.

What is a photo story that has informed your reporting on this topic?

One project that has had an outsized influence on my relationship to photography is an ongoing project in the Inupiat village of Shishmaref located in Northwest Alaska, above the Bering Strait. This indigenous community is facing an existential threat as the waters of one of the world’s most violent stretches of ocean rise around their quarter-mile-wide barrier island. In the 1930’s, indigenous across the American West, Canada and Alaska were forcibly settled through a brutal campaign of cultural genocide by their respective governments. Prior to that, this area was Inupiat hunting ground for millennia, but due to its exposure, never a place to live year-round. With warming, rising oceans and a lack of protection by pack ice that no longer forms in time for October’s storm season, this island with a high point of just 14 feet above sea level, places Shishmaref in a very precarious position. All it would take is one significant storm event to completely inundate this community that has no means of escape.

For the last four years, I've been traveling back and forth, living with one family. Over time, I’ve witnessed the physical disintegration of the community–buildings, homes and roads succumbing to the ocean. I’ve also seen the strength and character of community leaders, and the incredible resilience born from their culture and the tightness of village life. When thinking about my practice, this experience has given me so much humility. Humility born from the experience of living in someone's home, and the generosity my hosts extend to me despite the small mistakes I make and the imposition of my presence. My hope is that my photography exudes the grace, dignity and humanity that has been given to me by the people of Shishmaref. I’ve learned that it’s through these human qualities that I have the best chance of connecting with a broader, global audience on this difficult and remote issue. Shishmaref has allowed me to grow in a safe space both as a journalist and a human.

Speaking of a safe space to learn, how have you been enjoying your time in the fellowship so far?

It's been such a gift. While at times I do feel adrift in the hormonal sea that is campus life, mostly I'm feeling invigorated by the amount of energy here; a frequency of energy that only comes from an inspired learning environment. It's really incredible sinking into this place as I never had a true collegiate experience at art school. The amount of support that we have through CEJ and CU faculty has been so helpful and inspiring. Sharing this time with my four fellow fellows, all going through these new experiences together, has been such a joy. You should see our WhatsApp thread… it bubbles with the enthusiasm of a new crush.

What is your favorite class so far?

My favorite class, hands down, is called Colorado River Water Crisis, which is right up my alley. The educator, Martin Hoerling, recently retired from an illustrious career at NOAA brings that deep experience into the classroom. Hoerling is able to convey difficult concepts and articulate nuance within contentious issues through his deep well of knowledge. But also, again, it comes down to my peers. Within this small class, there are a handful of subject experts from institutions like the Bureau of Reclamation, Denver Water as well as other professors. So the conversation that happens on an organic level is really interesting too.

What do you do outside of journalism?

As cliche as it sounds, I love to explore. I love diving into my physical surroundings. Every evening here in Boulder, you’ll find me walking around eyes wide, following my curiosity and engaging with random people. Just last night, I shared supper with a man who sat across from me at the Bavarian beer hall, as I was eating my schnitzel. He was also alone, here for work, as he built a quantum computing lab for Google. We had a really interesting conversation surrounding AI and the ceiling of the technology that he believes we’ve already hit. The same curiosity goes for when I'm in the wilderness. I love spending time in my beloved canyon country of the Southwest. Each mile spent walking through these landscapes is like reading the most illuminating chapter you've ever read. There's so much to learn, from the ecology, to the geomorphology, to the atmosphere overhead, and the artifacts underfoot that reveal a deep lineage of humanity.

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