Department of English

As the Trump administration repurposes the EPA and the Department of Interior to serve polluters, miners, and the fossil-fuel industry, its assault on facts and truth-telling must be taken up as a challenge by those who write (and care) about climate change and the environment. In this journalism workshop, participants (who need have no prior journalism experience—just an interest in the subject) will produce two hard-news stories based on scientific research results; two fact-based op-ed pieces; and one interview-based long-form piece (5-7 pages) that will be reported, drafted, and rewritten over the course of the semester. Readings upon which these stories will be based will cover such topics as: Is traditional conservation-based environmentalism outmoded? Do remarkable declines in the cost of solar, wind, and renewables ironically threaten their viability in a capitalist economy? What kind of actions can slow or halt "the 6th Extinction," now in progress? Are we going to have to risk "geoengineering" the climate in order to halt or slow catastrophic warming? What does our generation owe the future? Are changes in personal consumption habits of any real consequence? How do we avoid entering into a self-fulfilling doom-loop of pessimism? These are among the most consequential issues facing the generation you will help to lead. Let us think and write about them.