24 Oct Twelve Journalists Recognized As 2024 SEAL Environmental Journalism Award Winners
October 24, 2024 – Understanding the climate crisis requires both attention to fundamental scientific principles and the investigation of novel, unforeseen developments. This year’s SEAL Awards honors journalists who have brought complex concepts to life and connected the dots between unpredictable or little known factors and outcomes, and cultivated relevance for a topic often pushed into the background of mainstream cultural dialogue.
While the frequency of “global warming” as the main topic of the climate crisis invites neglect, as 2024 becomes the hottest year in human history, intense heat is news. The majority of the 2024 SEAL Awards journalists gave page space throughout the year to the extremes of heat and its effects on human lives, such as Adam Mahoney’s and Maanvi Singh’s reporting on heat mortality in prisons and at the American-Mexican border, Catherine Early on coral restoration in hotter seas, and Matt Simon on mitigating high temperatures in cities. This year we also recognize Aliya Uteuova’s use of data visualization to illustrate the consequences of climate change, such as extreme heat, rising seas and exposure to toxic air.
The themes of record temperatures, extraction of fossil fuels, and microplastic pollution may seem familiar to a shocked and jaded world, but their ubiquity has created a world of strange and novel effects: Anita Hofschneider reports on the effects of mercury released from thawing permafrost on the Yukon River while Chelsea Harvey brings us to viruses in Greenland ice and their complex relationship to algal blooms. Dylan Baddour documents saltwater erupting from defunct oil wells—an effect of fracking long denied by oil and gas miners.
Collusion between industry, governments, and marketing agencies requires constant monitoring. Ellen Ormesher’s work includes detailed exposure of corporate efforts to conceal environmental crimes behind claims of sustainability and “green” buzzwords. Josh Gabbatiss and Fatima Syed detail British and Canadian governmental efforts to weaken environmental protections and expand pollution rights.
The SEAL Awards remain committed to journalists who address environmental justice and, in particular, to indigenous activists at the forefront of climate justice. Special recognition therefore goes to Dylan Baddour’s coverage of the Carrizo/Comecrudo water defenders of the Rio Grande, Anita Hofschneider on Pacific island nations’ victories in international maritime court, and Adam Mahoney on the troubled juncture between federal initiatives and the lived experience of affected people. Aliya Uteuova addressed the intersection between extreme climate events and social justice, noting the increased dangers faced by the disabled community, agricultural & outdoor workers, and pregnant people of color.
“The SEAL Environmental Journalism Award acknowledges journalists at the vanguard of intelligent resistance to despair and apathy,” said Safa Bee, Impact Lead for SEAL Awards. “The journalists we’ve chosen to celebrate with a SEAL Award represent the keystone of a global effort to speak truth, motivating positive change in defense of our shared future.”
Winners were selected based on a review of each journalist’s work, data-driven analysis of the impact and reach of their articles, and consideration for writers who are bringing fresh perspectives and social relevance to environmental issues. SEAL Awards endeavors to address the planetary extent of the climate crisis by drawing candidates from news organizations everywhere in the world, expanding the circle of platforms searched each successive year.
2024 SEAL ENVIRONMENTAL JOURNALISM AWARD WINNERS:
– Adam Mahoney • Capital B
– Aliya Uteuova • The Guardian
– Anita Hofschneider • Grist
– Catherine Early • Reuters, Dialogue Earth
– Chelsea Harvey • E&E News by Politico
– Dylan Baddour • Inside Climate News
– Ellen Ormesher • The Guardian, DeSmog
– Fatima Syed • The Narwhal
– Josh Gabbatiss • Carbon Brief
– Maanvi Singh • The Guardian
– Matt Simon • Grist
– Spoorthy Raman • Mongabay, Hakai
ENVIRONMENTAL JOURNALISM AWARD FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS (FAQ)
Question: How Do I Apply For A SEAL Environmental Journalism Award?
Answer: Given our ambition to recognize the top twelve journalists globally, the SEAL Environmental Journalism Award is conducted without an application or submission process. Instead, the SEAL panel considers ALL journalists covering environmental topics – this is possible through our year-round content curation program (chaired by Safa Bee) where we seek to amplify on exemplary work on our @SEALAwards Twitter feed. However, we do accept public nominations through this form.
Question: How Do I Nominate My Favorite Journalist For A SEAL Environmental Journalism Award?
Answer: We do accept nominations through this form.
Question: I Am Not A Traditional Journalist – Instead I Produce a Podcast and/or Video Series – Am I Eligible For A SEAL Award?
Answer: Potentially. We understand the media environment is constantly changing. SEAL would also like to celebrate those elevating public awareness on environmental issues, regardless of medium. As such, we will increasingly consider non-written forms of environmental coverage in our award process.
Question: I Care Passionately About The Environment. How Can I Help Support These Environmental Journalists?
Answer: The best way to support environmental journalists is to support their organization, either through a subscription or a donation. Secondarily, supporting their works on social media – whether shares on Facebook or retweets on Twitter – can help amplify their message and show their editors/organizations this content is valued.
ABOUT SEAL AWARDS
SEAL (Sustainability, Environmental Achievement & Leadership) Awards is an environmental advocacy organization that honors leadership through our corporate sustainability awards & environmental journalism awards while funding research and pursuing our own environmental impact campaigns.
The SEAL Awards core pillars are:
- Business Sustainability Awards – honors the most sustainable companies in the world, like Adidas, AMD, Cisco, and Tide
- Environmental Journalism Awards – representative past winners include journalists from Guardian, New York Times, and Grist
- Impact Campaigns – representative campaigns include “#UpTheCup” and “Eco Rewards”
- Environmental Research Grants – provided funding for researchers at leading institutions like Duke, Marine Conservation Institute, MIT, and UCLA. We funded a researcher in Ethiopia for 2022.