John D. Sutter
Nieman Reports
Atlanta, GA, United States
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Past articles by John D.:
It’s Time for Journalists to Talk Climate Change Solutions
News organizations have gotten better at saying “it’s real” but seem less ready to tell people “there’s hope” → Read More
The New Yorker’s Elizabeth Kolbert: “No Way To Fight Climate Change Without Adhering to the Principles of Environmental Justice”
The veteran environmental reporter on climate journalism, geoengineering, genetically modified coral, and more. → Read More
Opinion: As people flee climate change on the coasts, this Midwest city is trying to become a safe haven
After visiting Tracy, a woman in California who is ready to flee her dream house to escape wildfires and other effects of climate catastrophe, John Sutter traveled halfway across the country, to Duluth, Minnesota to try to answer her question: Where can she go? Is anywhere safe? It turns out, Tracy isn't alone in asking the question. → Read More
Opinion: This town powered America for decades. What do we owe them?
After the election, Steve Gray of Gillette, Wyoming left CNN a voicemail saying he feared his home will become a ghost town under President Joe Biden. John Sutter traveled to Gillette to meet Gray. He asks: In the fight against the climate crisis, and after President Biden has re-joined the Paris climate accords, what does America owe the workers lke Gray who have helped power our communities… → Read More
Opinion: The well-intentioned Paris climate promises don't go nearly far enough
John D. Sutter takes stock of 2020, a year of brokenness for the world, when it comes to the climate crisis. "2021 will be a pivotal moment for the future of humanity," he writes, outlining what "will be crucial to unbreaking the planet." → Read More
Opinion: An expert's advice on talking to the climate skeptic in your life
John Sutter and Karin Kirk respond to CNN readers' questions about how to engage climate skeptics in conversation in persuasive ways that foster common ground. The bottom line? This has never mattered more. → Read More
Opinion: The starkest difference between Biden and Trump
John D. Sutter answers readers who asked whether a vote for Joe Biden and Sen. Kamala Harris could make a real difference in the fight to stem the climate crisis. Sutter says the answer is a clear yes; for Americans, the 2020 presidential vote is a choice between the potential of doing something substantive on climate and a track record of doing more-than-nothing. → Read More
The 8-year-old who fears adults can't be trusted to fix the climate crisis (opinion)
From hundreds of readers who wrote in to ask John D. Sutter questions about the climate apocalypse, John connected with 8-year-old Noah, whose mom says he loves nature and who wrote that he's afraid adults aren't taking climate seriously. He asked John what he can do to help. John answers his questions, along with other readers', and says Noah gives him hope for the future. → Read More
Let's talk about the climate apocalypse (opinion)
John D. Sutter says he fears that as we become increasingly trapped in a revolving door of climate-related disasters, we'll become numb — number than we already are — to the magnitude of what's actually happening. That's why he's reaching out to readers to say: let's talk about the climate apocalypse. → Read More
Opinion: This is the climate election
John Sutter, reacting to Trump's comments about the climate during a briefing on the wildfires in California, writes that it's not getting cooler and it won't. And the gulf between Trump and Joe Biden must be noted. It's wider than it has been in any American election. Biden acknowledges the threat of climate change while Trump continues to deny reality. → Read More
We can no longer be fired because of who we are
John D. Sutter says the Supreme Court's ruling that LGBTQ Americans are protected against employment discrimination is a landmark decision, a rare moment of positivity during a painful time and reminder of how much more work is left to do to achieve equity. → Read More
The problem with the Covid-19 death numbers
John Sutter, who helped establish that the death toll in Puerto Rico was much higher than official estimates after Hurricane Maria, writes that this week's Yale report on the unexplained "excess deaths" in the US in March and early April shows that the death numbers we see everywhere are just an estimate — and likely far too low. → Read More
Mitch McConnell's phony gesture to 'future generations'
States facing fiscal disaster from the costs of confronting coronavirus should go bankrupt, Mitch McConnell said last week, rather than ask the federal government for "Blue State Bailouts." He walked back these remarks, writes John Sutter, but the actions of the GOP leader, who supports policies that hasten climate change, show the hollowness of his concern for future Americans. → Read More
Between 'Blade Runner' and utopia: Where we're headed 50 years after the first Earth Day
John D. Sutter writes that 50 years after the first Earth Day celebration, we are still deciding if this is the beginning of the end of pollution, or the beginning of the end. → Read More
What does air pollution have to do with Covid-19?
John D. Sutter writes that of all the risks talked about during the global coronavirus pandemic, air pollution is one not getting the attention it deserves. A preliminary study found overlap between the cause of death of Covid-19 patients and the diseases that are affected by long term exposure to airborne pollutants. → Read More
Reporting the Climate Crisis through (Really) Slow Journalism
We journalists pride ourselves on being good notetakers—astute documentarians—but earlier this year, out in the woods, I met an old man who puts all of us to shame. His name is John O’Keefe. Beard, white. Sweater, green. His gray eyes, which sit behind tiny Ben-Franklin-ish glasses, light up when he talks about his favorite subject: … → Read More
Shouting into the apocalypse: The decade in climate change
John Sutter writes that on the cusp of 2020, the state of the planet is far more dire than in 2010. Now, we're simply looking at less bad options. But there is a bright spot -- young people are waking up and demanding action. → Read More
Feds are still trying to stop the 'climate kids' lawsuit
A group of kids are suing the Trump administration over the climate emergency, which they say is being handled so negligently that it violates their constitutional rights. → Read More
130,000 left Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria, Census Bureau says
An estimated 130,000 people -- almost 4% of the population -- left the island of Puerto Rico in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria, according to data released Wednesday by the US Census Bureau. → Read More
Uncertainty, hope at the 11th hour of COP24 climate talks
The UN climate talks in Poland -- an attempt to save the world from disastrous levels of global warming -- are sputtering toward a conclusion after two weeks of discord. → Read More