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Articles by Curtis Brainard | Email the Author

 

1. The Observatory

   Press Pass Problems

   November 12, 2010 04:30 PM

   On Tuesday, the American Cetacean Society denied a freelancer’s request for a press pass to attend the society’s annual meeting in Monterey, California, arguing that because he could not guarantee coverage of the event, granting the pass would... Continue reading

2. The Observatory

   A Future for Cooperative Politics?

   November 3, 2010 02:49 PM

   Thankfully, the days of “neuropunditry,” which sought to decipher voters’ thoughts with brain imaging and which blighted coverage of the 2008 presidential campaign, have not been reprised this election season. Unfortunately, lame attempts to somehow gauge the direction... Continue reading

3. The Observatory

   Paint it Green

   October 28, 2010 02:37 PM

   According to an article in the Los Angeles Times on Wednesday, “In much of the nation, ‘cap and trade’ has become a dirty phrase this election season, and the political storm over global warming's causes and solutions may... Continue reading

4. The Observatory

   Red, White, and Blue, but Not Green

   October 21, 2010 02:26 PM

   Remember the 2008 presidential campaign, when candidates and voters alike couldn’t seem to get enough of energy and climate issues during the good ol’ days of $4 per gallon gasoline? Politically and at the pump, those days are... Continue reading

5. The Observatory

   Q&A: Miles O’Brien, Back in Action

   October 4, 2010 04:35 PM

   Bucking the trend in science journalism, the PBS NewsHour announced last Tuesday that it has created a new Science News Unit under the leadership of veteran reporter Miles O’Brien. An award-winning journalist (and general aviation pilot),... Continue reading

6. The Observatory

   “This is Our Beat”

   September 16, 2010 10:15 AM

   Shortly after the Deepwater Horizon sank and oil began erupting into the Gulf of Mexico in late April, the 105-year-old Audubon magazine did something that it had never done before—it sent a blogger to cover a breaking news event in... Continue reading

7. The Observatory

   Q&A: Covering the IPCC

   September 14, 2010 10:45 AM

   [Editor’s Note: The American Geophysical Union recently awarded this year’s David Perlman Award for Excellence in Science Journalism to Indian journalist Pallava Bagla, for breaking and unraveling the story about an error in the IPCC’s 2007 report, which... Continue reading

8. The Observatory

   The Oil Plume Paradox

   August 26, 2010 11:54 AM

   Pinpointing the amount of oil lingering in the Gulf of Mexico continues to be a source of frustration for journalists and scientists alike, with multiple, contradictory—if not necessarily “dueling”—research reports having been published on the subject over the last few... Continue reading

9. The Observatory

   Gulf Coast Guessing Game

   August 19, 2010 05:15 PM

   More scientific criticism of a government report that attempted to calculate the amount oil left in the Gulf of Mexico spurred a fresh wave of articles this week, which highlighted just how little is known about lingering threats to the... Continue reading

10. The Observatory

    More on Extreme Weather

    August 17, 2010 01:40 PM

    Stories exploring a possible connection between climate change and extreme weather around the world continued over the weekend, with some scientists willing to venture personal opinions that recent events are likely (but not demonstrably) the consequence global warming. Last week,... Continue reading

11. The Observatory

    Temperate Coverage of Extreme Weather

    August 12, 2010 03:56 PM

    More and more, reporters have been asking whether or not climate change could be responsible for this summer’s extreme weather. Thankfully, most have resisted the temptation to pin the events directly to global warming, placing them in proper climatic context... Continue reading

12. The Observatory

    Media Scrutinize Spill Report

    August 5, 2010 04:02 PM

    Many marine scientists lack complete faith in a federal report tracking the fate of the roughly 4.9 million barrels of oil that spilled into the Gulf of Mexico this summer, the media have found. The report,... Continue reading

13. The Observatory

    Risky Business

    August 4, 2010 01:45 PM

    On Monday, I posted a story complaining that, following federal authorities’ announcement that the oil slicks on surface waters were rapidly disappearing, the media failed to stress that the absence of evident oil is not necessarily evidence of... Continue reading

14. The Observatory

    Blazing Trails, Changing Paths

    August 3, 2010 12:48 PM

    When Investigate West, an investigative journalism site, sprung up last summer after the virtual collapse of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, we called its founders—former P-I staffers committed to finding a fresh models for the news business—the “new... Continue reading

15. The Observatory

    “Missing” the Point

    August 2, 2010 09:24 AM

    Last week, the news media was awash with stories giving readers the impression that the Gulf of Mexico is no longer awash with oil. While the slick on the surface seems to be receding quickly, many of these reports have,... Continue reading

16. The Observatory

    Chronicle Gives “Climategate” Probes Their Due

    July 23, 2010 03:23 PM

    I've complained twice in the last month that the press is not giving recent climate-change news its due. Today, I lamented that Senator Harry Reid’s decision to pull the plug on climate legislation was not getting enough analysis.... Continue reading

17. The Observatory

    Climate Bill Blowout

    July 23, 2010 03:00 PM

    Following Senator Harry Reid’s decision to pull the plug on climate legislation Thursday, news sites lit up with lit up with analyses of who was to blame. As well they should; this is a major story. But if... Continue reading

18. The Observatory

    Obits for Schneider Roll In

    July 19, 2010 05:00 PM

    The obituaries for Stanford University climate scientist Stephen Schneider, who suffered a fatal heart attack early Monday morning, are beginning to roll in, with a number of reporters paying their respects to a man who spent a significant... Continue reading

19. The Observatory

    Oil spill, climate coverage drive growth at Mother Jones

    July 19, 2010 12:24 PM

    Science and environment coverage, often marginalized in daily newspapers and news magazines, has helped drive exceptional growth at Mother Jones recently, the magazine’s editors said last week. Publisher Steve Katz announced a 125 percent increase in unique visitors to... Continue reading

20. The Observatory

    Pachauri Revises IPCC Media Plan

    July 19, 2010 11:58 AM

    Rajendra Pachauri, the chairman of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, has sent a letter to the 831 lead authors and editors of the panel’s fifth, and next, assessment report apologizing for a previous letter, which... Continue reading

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