My latest Seed column, entitled "Extremophile Journalism," is now online. It's based on my experience at the World Conference of Science Journalists in Melbourne, Australia last April, where I learned much about the plight of science reporters in developing countries and emerging economies. Here's an excerpt:
...in many cases science journalists from the developing world face a series of hurdles that I, comfortably ensconced in Washington, D.C., simply never encounter. For some of these writers, basic research resources like cheap and reliable telephone service, libraries, and even dictionaries can be scarce. And while the physical act of researching and writing can present dramatic logistical challenges, science correspondents in some parts of the world are also faced with the worry that offending despotic or corrupt governments will result in retribution. The number of journalists imprisoned and killed worldwide every year is testament to the dangers implicit in the trade.
You can read the rest here. Meanwhile, I've been doing a lot of radio interviews for Storm World--and there will assuredly be more--but a good one yesterday was with Jean Dean of Viewpoints, a local talk show out of West Virginia. It's available online here. It's about 20 minutes long. Shifting gears: We have another science scandal from the Bush administration. It never ends. You see, the administration's long overdue 2006 Climate Action Report was finally submitted to the U.N. late last week--stealthily, of course. And as is typical of the administration, the report tries to soft-pedal the latest science. Climate Science Watch, Climate Progress, and DeSmogBlog have the low down. Finally, even as Typhoon Usagi is slamming Kyushu and Shikoku, lots of us watching storms in the Atlantic are still worried about disturbance 99 L, which just crossed the Windward Islands and moved into the Caribbean. A hurricane hunter flight into this cloud cluster yesterday did not find a closed air circulation, and thus it has not been pronounced a tropical depression. Still, at least to my untrained eye, when I look at satellite pictures (like the one below, in infrared) it seems to me that the storm has consolidated and thunderstorm growth is increasing. This is one to watch because although it may or may not develop into anything, it is heading towards some quite warm waters in the Caribbean.
And with that, I'm off to Yearly Kos...
