Environmental journalists have a new beat: Coping with climate disaster

As Hurricane Sandy bore down on the Connecticut coast late October of 2012 and Gov. Dannel Malloy pled with residents to find high ground, reporter Neena Satija couldn’t shake one thought: “We are clearly not prepared for this."

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This focus on preparedness in the face of extreme weather puts Satija, and a cadre of reporters like her, on the forefront of an evolving resiliency beat, one that examines the ways societies adapt to the impending risks of climate change.

This emerging angle on the climate story comes as shifting political winds in the nation’s capital are moving away from easing global warming by reducing carbon dioxide emissions. Meanwhile, some prominent news organizations seem to be back-burnering the issue.

Many communities are preparing for more frequent flooding and extreme storms, drought, wildfires and heat waves. Reporters, meanwhile, are picking up on the trend, with hundreds of examples of resiliency reporting to be found in recent months alone.

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In fact, recent research suggests adaptation reporting may be a powerful way to reach news consumers on climate change while avoiding politicized responses.