Katie Myers covers climate issues in Appalachia through a collaboration between Blue Ridge Public Radio and Grist. Her freelance work has been featured by the BBC, NPR, Belt Magazine, Scalawag Magazine and other publications.
She spoke with Journalism Funding Project about her work. Here is an excerpt:
Q. What do you hope to accomplish in the coming year?
We’re going to see the clock set back on a lot of major climate legislation from the past few years, and that’s going to trickle down into the community level. I’m already hearing about climate resilience research postponed, and issues accessing grant funds for conservation and community solar, and of course, the people who administer and work for federal programs are being fired. I’m planning to follow what happens closely and trace the impacts of federal decisions on the ground, while also not getting too distracted by the pace of events as they unfold.
This is also the time to start really paying attention to the accountability stories that emerge from Helene. As debris removal contractors ramp up their work and communities make plans on where to rebuild, we’ll be following the progress closely, and thinking about what Helene means for the future of housing in a region that’s long been in a housing crisis. Long-term disaster coverage is a vital function of local news and I’ll be doing it to the best of my ability.
Read more here.
