champagne new year

On to 2021. And not a moment too soon.

Here's hoping the new year brings the climate change coverage we need.

Here in Georgia, 2021 begins on January 5, because we won't find out until then who our two U.S. Senators are.


Come to think of it, the U.S. won't know who controls our Senate until then. So America ends the detestable year 2020 by filing an incomplete. Not to mention the quadrennial one-day bonus for leap year.

Here are a few wishes that I'd like to see fulfilled in 2021. I'm not holding my breath. But maybe, just maybe the American media will fully recognize the climate crisis.

Al Roker, who reportedly earns $10 million and has won seven Daytime Emmy Awards for weather casts on NBC networks, to be cut loose to focus more on how climate change will haunt the entire 21st Century the way COVID-19 has for the past year (he does a good job when permitted to do so).

More network correspondents like ABC's Clayton Sandell who report regularly on climate politics and the links between climate change and extreme weather or wildfire events. We have breaking news as we come on the air: ABC laid Sandell off last month. Joyeux Noël, Clayton! And certainly not a good signal that climate change is a good topic to build a network career on.

I'd like to see more of CBS News's Scott Pelley, who did a thorough 60 Minutes segment this year, possibly even better than the one previous he did in 2006. Maybe it becomes a more regular feature.

More superb storytellers like CNN's Bill Weir, whose role as "Chief Climate Correspondent" wrongly suggests he's not the only climate correspondent (pretty much anywhere on US news nets, not just CNN).

And a slightly different wish, have you seen the API ads that flood the Sunday morning cable and broadcast talkshows about all their members doing to lower carbon emissions? That's not the Application Programming Interface(s) that help drive your social media. Rather it's the American Petroleum Institute. I'd love to know more about those ads, and similar ones from API members like ExxonMobil and Shell US. Like how much money do local and national broadcasters and websites make from airing falsehoods like these?

There are scores of journalists at dying newspapers who have been tossed on the layoff wagon because they're on a low priority beat that's often criticized as biased, incorrect, or both. Even if their beat -- climate and environment -- gets vindicated on a daily basis by both predictive science and on-the-ground fact.

Tragically, that beat looks smarter every year. Cheers.

Peter Dykstra is our weekend editor and columnist and can be reached at pdykstra@ehn.org or @pdykstra.

His views do not necessarily represent those of Environmental Health News, The Daily Climate or publisher, Environmental Health Sciences.

Banner photo credit: Al404/flickr

a couple of people standing next to a car in front of a destroyed home

Global insured catastrophe losses set to hit $107 billion in 2025, report shows

Annual global insured losses from natural catastrophes are expected to hit $107 billion in 2025, driven by the Los Angeles wildfires and severe convective storms in parts of the United States.

A row of oil pump jacks at sunset

Petroleum and pragmatism in a state that still dreams green

What does the intended resurgence of America as a petrostate look like from the Golden State, which is politically blue and a green-energy giant?

Offshore wind turbines with the sunset in the background.
Credit: Alexander Mils/Unsplash+

New England eyes Canada for energy as US offshore wind flounders

Nova Scotia has launched an ambitious plan to open its coast to wind development — and send some power south to the U.S.
Electric vehicle plugged into charging station
Photo by Haberdoedas on Unsplash

Gas-loving Trump cedes electric car market to China

Donald Trump is pushing gas guzzlers over EVs — in spite of climate and cost concerns. China is now set to race further ahead into an electrified automotive future.
wind turbines on brown sand under white clouds and blue sky during daytime

Spain's commitment to renewable energy may be in doubt

Spain has rapidly expanded wind and solar power to supply more than half of its electricity, but a recent nationwide blackout and growing political opposition are raising questions about whether its renewable-first energy model can ensure long-term stability.

Crowds on the Buckroe Beach , Hampton, Virginia, during a hot summer day
Photo credit: hairil A Junos/ BigStock Photo ID: 377483713

Can a flood-prone coastal city learn to live with water?

Instead of billion-dollar floodwalls and surge barriers, Hampton, Virginia, is relying on rain gardens, plant-lined storage basins, restored marshes and 3D-printed concrete reefs seeded with oysters.
Waves covering dead trees

At a marine field station, rising seas force an inevitable retreat

The scientists at a New Jersey marine station are conducting a sobering experiment: monitoring the destruction of their facility from rising waters.

From our Newsroom
Multiple Houston-area oil and gas facilities that have violated pollution laws are seeking permit renewals

Multiple Houston-area oil and gas facilities that have violated pollution laws are seeking permit renewals

One facility has emitted cancer-causing chemicals into waterways at levels up to 520% higher than legal limits.

Regulators are underestimating health impacts from air pollution: Study

Regulators are underestimating health impacts from air pollution: Study

"The reality is, we are not exposed to one chemical at a time.”

Pennsylvania governor Josh Shapiro speaks with the state flag and American flag behind him.

Two years into his term, has Gov. Shapiro kept his promises to regulate Pennsylvania’s fracking industry?

A new report assesses the administration’s progress and makes new recommendations

silhouette of people holding hands by a lake at sunset

An open letter from EPA staff to the American public

“We cannot stand by and allow this to happen. We need to hold this administration accountable.”

wildfire retardants being sprayed by plane

New evidence links heavy metal pollution with wildfire retardants

“The chemical black box” that blankets wildfire-impacted areas is increasingly under scrutiny.

Stay informed: sign up for The Daily Climate newsletter
Top news on climate impacts, solutions, politics, drivers. Delivered to your inbox week days.