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

Posing as a wind turbine blade with National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and Department of Energy (DOE) staff
Photo Credit: Gregory Cooper / NREL https://www.flickr.com/photos/nrel/ Creative Commons: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.0/

‘Renewable’ no more: The Trump administration renames the National Renewable Energy Laboratory

The Trump administration has renamed the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, now calling it the National Laboratory of the Rockies, marking an identity shift for the Golden, Colorado institution that has been a global leader in wind, solar and other renewable energy research.

 Al Gore
Phot Credit: Copyright: DFree/ BigStock Photo ID: 411783373

Al Gore's case for optimism

Gore talks to HEATED about COP30, the Gates memo, and why he thinks billionaires should face far more scrutiny in the climate fight.
Alaska Senator Lisa Murkowski speaking at lectern
Photo credit: https://www.flickr.com/photos/afge/ 2019 AFGE Legislative & Grassroots Mobilization ConferenceCreative Commons: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/

Alaska Republicans push back on Trump offshore drilling plan

Both Alaska senators are lobbying the Interior Department to limit new offshore drilling in the Arctic.
man in suit holding a toy model of a house and using a calculator

Trump’s anti-climate policies are driving up insurance costs for homeowners, say experts

Tariffs, extreme weather events and the president’s funding cuts are contributing to increasing home insurance rates, sometimes by double digits.

Illustrative concept of earth held in the palm of a hand and sprouting a green tree
Photo credit: Copyright: gan chaonan BigStock Photo ID: 476834925

Global scientists anticipate less reliance on the United States in future carbon monitoring

With Trump’s budget knife still poised over NOAA’s climate research operations, international researchers see a reduced role for the nation that pioneered CO2 measurement.
Alaska DOT&PF Assessment Teams operate drones in Kipnuk 2025-10-14
Credit: https://www.flickr.com/photos/akdotpf/ Creative Commons: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

An Alaskan village confronts its changing climate: Rebuild or relocate?

After a devastating storm, the people who fled a remote coastal village face an existential question.
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Filipinos wade through floodwaters due to sinking land, rising sea & corruption

Flooded homes and submerged roads are now reshaping life in coastal and island communities in the Philippines, showing how a combination of hazards are influencing the way communities adapt and struggle to cope with climate change.

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.

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