In his more than a decade at the helm of the Food & Environment Reporting Network, Samuel Fromartz was instrumental in shaping a new way of covering food, agriculture and environmental issues. As he prepares to turn over the top editor’s job to his successor, Fromartz talks about FERN’s innovative business model and the power of narrative.
"In 2021, the Biden administration told federal agencies to stop funding many new fossil fuel projects abroad..... But now, leaders of America's Export-Import Bank have decided to lend nearly $100 million for the expansion of an oil refinery in Indonesia."
"Workers at a rural Georgia factory that builds electric school buses under generous federal subsidies voted to unionize on Friday, handing organized labor and Democrats a surprise victory in their hopes to turn huge new infusions of money from Washington into a union beachhead in the Deep South."
"A federal flood insurance overhaul to adjust for rising climate change risks has left Americans facing eye-popping bills".
"The Biden administration plans to require new homes to be constructed to the nation’s greenest, most energy-efficient building codes to qualify for the federal loans that finance more than one-sixth of new houses sold in the United States."
"Some products with PFAS — a common treatment for water and stain resistant outdoor apparel — will soon be illegal to sell in many states."
Not only did the huge legal settlement in the Dominion Voting Systems libel suit against Fox Corp. help reinforce media libel protections set out decades ago in New York Times v. Sullivan. It also served as a reminder for environmental journalists that the “actual malice” standard is a bulwark for their own (often negative) reporting on big corporations. WatchDog Opinion explains.
"Craig Schaunaman, who farms thousands of acres, has been invested in the ethanol industry since its early days and even served on the board of an ethanol plant. But a carbon-capture pipeline supported by dozens of ethanol plants would cross his land, and he’s against it, even though ethanol officials say the pipeline is crucial to the future viability of the industry.
"ANN’S GROVE, Guyana — Villagers in this tiny coastal community lined up on the soggy grass, leaned into the microphone and shared their grievances as someone in the crowd yelled, “Speak the truth!”"
"Federal pipeline regulators Friday formally proposed their first regulations to crack down on natural gas leaks from pipelines to reduce pollution and the effects of climate change."
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