Climate change is affecting Florida more than just about any other state; that’s one reason why a coalition of 18 partners, including news organizations, have banded together to form what’s called the Florida Climate Reporting Network.
Several members spoke about the collaboration Thursday afternoon in Tampa at the Athena Society.
The media partnership received grant funding from the Pulitzer Center. Their executive editor, Indira Lakshmanan, moderated the panel.
“The two projects that we’re supporting the network to do: one is called “First to Go.”It’s about which are the ten communities in Florida that would be the first to go as sea level rises.
“And the other one is to build a Florida Climate Assessment Reporting project in the same way that California does it as a state service. The State of Florida does not do this. So, you guys wanted to do it and build it from the ground up.”
Listen:
Two people from the Tampa Bay Times participated. executive editor Mark Klatches and business editor Bill Varian.
Mindy Marqués González is president, publisher and executive editor of the Miami Herald Media Company.
“Anyone who lives in Florida knows this is not a theoretical issue, right? We’re living it. And so, while there can be debate nationally about what it is or what might be the cause, I think we all know — across the state — that we’re living with something that’s happening in our lifetime that we have not seen before, right?
“Everything from red tide, algae blooms, catastrophically strong hurricanes that are forming year after year after year. Natural areas that have already disappeared or transformed. Like the southern Everglades, for instance, which has already gone from a freshwater marsh to a saltwater mangrove.
“So we are living with the day-to-day impact. We’re seeing it. Our readers are seeing it. And, so we’re like, I just think we have to get beyond that and come up with, really combine our resources around smart, nuance, local solutions, focused journalism, that would help our readers to live their daily lives.”
Listen:
Watch the forum part 1:
Watch the forum part 2:
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