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 young boy kicking a soccer ball on an artificial turf surface

Opinion: Before we put more plastic under our kids, we need to stop and think

As our climate becomes hotter and extreme heat becomes more common, the surface beneath our children matters. And the consequences of getting that decision wrong could last for decades.

A small girl standing in the doorway of a hut

Nepal’s flooding disaster set to pile billions onto its national debt

Exclusive: New analysis shows how climate disasters are sending the national debt of countries soaring, as campaigners warn much more must be done to compensate vulnerable countries that have done little to cause the climate crisis.

Red car submerged under flood waters with a concrete building behind it

Climate risks escalate when authoritarian regimes keep neighbors in the dark

Authoritarian regimes have a history of keeping information about escalating disasters secret, even when it could harm their own citizens.

A home on a beach that is being inundated by sea water

Video: Nigeria's coast threatened by rising seas

In Ayetoro, Nigeria, rising sea levels and powerful ocean surges are swallowing land, destroying homes, and forcing residents to flee.

An illustration of the earth on a stick being burned over a fire

Illinois passed the nation’s first climate migration law. The effort has languished since

More than a year after the law was signed, the state has made little progress and appears poised to miss a December deadline for a required report.
A coal mine in the midst of a beautiful environment

Colorado coal mine leaks nearly four times the cap

Colorado's West Elk coal mine is violating methane leak caps, the state says, and environmental groups want strict enforcement.
A muddy rising river in a valley in Nepal

Nepal’s PM says flash flood was ‘warning to world’ as he scolds leaders at UN over climate change

Shah ⁠said Nepal’s recovery and reconstruction needs were estimated at about 10% of GDP, as he appealed for more international support.

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.