A group of Florida news organizations have been awarded grants to conduct in-depth projects on the impact of climate change on Florida, one of the most vulnerable states in the nation to rising sea levels.
The Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting on Friday announced the grants for the Florida Climate Reporting Network, a partnership of 17 news organizations that have already begun producing and sharing stories on climate change. They will produce a report on which Florida communities are at highest risk from rising sea levels and undertake a comprehensive, science-based assessment of the state’s current status and vulnerability to climate change.
The grants were among 16 awarded across the United States in the Pulitzer Center’s Connected Coastlines program, which supports news organizations and independent journalists using “rigorous science reporting to document and explain the local effects of climate change on U.S. coastal populations.”
Leading the Florida team will be Bill Varian, an editor at the Tampa Bay Times, and Curtis Morgan, an editor at The Miami Herald.
Participating news organizations include The Bradenton Herald, Center for Investigative Reporting, Centro, The Daytona Beach News Journal, InsideClimate News, The Miami Herald, El Nuevo Herald, Orlando Sentinel, The Palm Beach Post, PolitiFact, Sarasota Herald-Tribune, El Sentinel, South Florida Sun Sentinel, Tampa Bay Times and public broadcasting stations WUSF, WJCT and WLRN.
“Connected Coastlines reporting projects will increase awareness of the underlying causes and effects of climate change in communities already experiencing altered weather, increased flooding, and unpredictable temperature patterns,” the Pulitzer Center said.
This story was produced in partnership with the Florida Climate Reporting Network, a multi-newsroom initiative founded by the Miami Herald, the South Florida Sun Sentinel, The Palm Beach Post, the Orlando Sentinel, WLRN Public Media and the Tampa Bay Times.
