Hilary Beaumont: SEAL Award Winner 2021

A selection of this year’s best environmental journalism

How prisons in a US state botched wildfire evacuations

“Botched evacuations aside, many prisons built decades ago do not have ventilation systems designed for intensifying wildfires and heat. Oregon’s oldest institutions were built in the 1950s or earlier and do not have central air-conditioning, Black said; instead, they rely on “alternative cooling methods”, such as fans and providing inmates with ice water. ”
Source: Al Jazeera (Approx. 7 minutes)

Revealed: pipeline company paid Minnesota police for arresting and surveilling protesters

“The Canadian company Enbridge has reimbursed US police $2.4m for arresting and surveilling hundreds of demonstrators who oppose construction of its Line 3 pipeline, according to documents the Guardian obtained through a public records request. Enbridge has paid for officer training, police surveillance of demonstrators, officer wages, overtime, benefits, meals, hotels and equipment.”
Source: The Guardian (Approx. 9 minutes)

Intense wildfire season forces evacuations from Oregon to Ontario

““It’s frustrating dealing with government officials — they are always trying to minimise the threat and the danger that our communities face, including from climate change and the forest fires,” Fiddler said. “When it comes to Indigenous communities, their concerns are not taken as seriously.””
Source: Al Jazeera (Approx. 6 minutes)

Megadrought ‘taxing’ US water reservoirs and fueling wildfires

“According to the US Drought Monitor, states across the west are experiencing extreme and exceptional drought conditions. The conditions have been continuing for two decades, leading scientists to call it a megadrought. “The southwestern US is in a protracted drought period, or megadrought, of the likes we haven’t seen in the observational record in the last millennia,” explained John Abatzoglou, an associate professor at the University of California researching climate and weather.”
Source: Al Jazeera (Approx. 5minutes)

‘Reclaiming the land’: Indigenous fight against Line 3 ramps up

“The Minnesota demonstrations are connected to a larger movement against pipelines and extractive projects across North America. Both Canada and the US attempted to use laws and boarding schools to extinguish Indigenous culture, but Indigenous people have held onto their traditions and are reclaiming the land. Indigenous women, in particular, are leading this movement because their teachings dictate that they share a sacred connection to water.”
Source: Al Jazeera (Approx. 7 minutes)

Read the SEAL Awards 2021 Environmental Journalism Award Announcement