2017 SEAL Environmental Journalism Award Winners

September 27, 2017 – With environmental challenges a pressing societal issue, ten journalists have been awarded the first annual 2017 SEAL Environmental Journalism Award, celebrating their work in documenting climate change impacts and solutions.

Honorees include Adele Peters of Fast Company, Brad Plumer of New York Times, Chris Mooney of Washington Post, Damian Carrington and George Monbiot of The Guardian, Dave Roberts of Vox, Elizabeth Kolbert of The New Yorker, Marianne Lavelle of Inside Climate News, Rebecca Leber of Mother Jones and Robinson Meyer of The Atlantic.

“We started the SEAL Awards because recognition is the highest form of accountability, and we hope that the awards will increase focus on environmental action in the future,” added Matt Harney, founder of the SEAL Awards. “Environmental journalism matters now more than ever. We want to reward journalistic excellence and leadership and encourage even more coverage of these topics.”

With all writers covering the environment eligible and under consideration, winners were selected based on a panel review of each author’s work, peer nominations, and were chosen based on alignment with timely environmental topics and issues.

“We live in a noisy world, especially when it comes to media – both traditional and social. We need accurate and thorough journalism to play a leading role in informing the public of pressing economic, environmental and social trends and opportunities,” commented awards chairperson Bruno Sarda, Head of Sustainability at NRG Energy and Professor at Arizona State University’s School of Sustainability. “At the end of the day, businesses and citizens will support and drive environmental progress if they’re armed with fact-based information through compelling journalism, as such, it’s important we recognize reporting excellence.”

Adele Peters – Fast Company – @adele_peters

Adele Peters is a staff writer at Fast Company who focuses on solutions to some of the world’s largest problems, from climate change to homelessness. Previously, she worked with GOOD , BioLite, and the Sustainable Products and Solutions program at UC Berkeley.

Brad Plumer – New York Times – @bradplumer

Brad Plumer is a reporter on the apocalypse beat, more or less, covering climate change, energy policy and other environmental issues for The New York Times . He previously worked for Vox.com.

Chris Mooney – Washington Post – @chriscmooney

Chris Mooney writes about energy and the environment at The Washington Post . He previously worked at Mother Jones , where he wrote about science and the environment and hosted a weekly podcast. He has published four books about science and climate change.

Damian Carrington – The Guardian – @dpcarrington

Damian Carrington is head of environment at The Guardian. He has been a journalist for 15 years and previously worked for the Financial Times , New Scientist and BBC News Online.

Dave Roberts – Vox – @drvox

Dave Roberts writes about energy and climate change for Vox. He previously covered climate change for Grist.

Elizabeth Kolbert – The New Yorker – @ElizKolbert

Elizabeth Kolbert has been a staff writer at The New Yorker since 1999. Previously, she worked at the New York Times, where she wrote the Metro Matters column and served as the paper’s Albany bureau chief. She is also the author of “Field Notes from a Catastrophe” and “The Sixth Extinction.”

George Monbiot – The Guardian – @GeorgeMonbiot

George Monbiot is an environmental writer for the Guardian , and he is the author of the bestselling books “Feral: rewilding the land, sea and human life,” “The Age of Consent: A Manifesto for a New World Order and Captive State: The Corporate Takeover of Britain,” as well as the investigative travel books “Poisoned Arrows, Amazon Watershed” and “No Man’s Land.” His latest book is “Out of the Wreckage: a New Politics for an Age of Crisis.”

Marianne Lavelle – Inside Climate News – @mlavelles

Marianne Lavelle is a reporter for InsideClimate News. She has covered environment, science, law, and business in Washington, D.C. for more than two decades. She has won the Polk Award, the Investigative Editors and Reporters Award , and numerous other honors. Lavelle spent four years as online energy news editor and writer at National Geographic .

Rebecca Leber – Mother Jones – @rebleber

Rebecca Leber is a reporter in Mother Jones’ DC bureau covering climate, environment, and energy politics. Previously, she reported for The New Republic, Grist, and ThinkProgress.

Robinson Meyer – The Atlantic – @yayitsrob

Robinson Meyer has written about climate change for The Atlantic for the last 4 years.

The Environmental Journalism Awards are part of three annual awards which honor the pillars of environmental progress. The Environmental Research Grant Awards were offered in July. The winners of the inaugural SEAL Business Sustainability Awards will be announced in November.

ABOUT THE SEAL AWARDS

The SEAL (Sustainability, Environmental Achievement & Leadership) Awards launched in 2017 and is an awards-driven environmental advocacy organization. Our core beliefs maintain that environmental progress requires leadership, leadership deserves recognition, and recognition is a form of accountability.

Three yearly SEAL acknowledgments include the Business Sustainability Awards, Environmental Journalism Awards, and Environmental Research Grants Award.

For more information, visit https://sealawards.com.