Blog Posts: communications

Just as he prepared to slide into WRI’s president’s seat, Andrew Steer spoke with Eric Roston, Sustainability Editor of Bloomberg News, about the big environment and development issues of the day. He talked about the role of the business, reporting on carbon emissions, Rio+20, and whether environmentalists are “apocaholics” (that is, addicted to an apocalyptic world view, as suggested recently by Wired magazine).

Today is my first day as President of the World Resources Institute. I’m delighted to be part of this extraordinary organization that seeks enduring solutions to protect the Earth and improve people's lives.

Ever wonder how coral reefs contribute to the economy and human health? Or how 60 percent of these "rainforests of the sea" came to be so threatened by local activities? Or what, exactly, a coral polyp is? WRI's Reefs at Risk team, along with two renowned ocean advocates, have the answers to these questions and many more in the new video, Coral Reefs: Polyps in Peril.

WRI worked with Céline Cousteau, founder of CauseCentric Productions and granddaughter of ocean explorer, Jacques Cousteau; and Jim Toomey, creator of the Sherman’s Lagoon comic strip, to create the video. Through Cousteau’s narration and Toomey’s colorful fish animations, viewers can learn about the vital role reefs play in the health of the planet and important economies, the threats these coastal and marine ecosystems face, and how people can help save invaluable corals.

[youtube Jn5-ARXmQlQ]

This post is part of WRI's "Extreme Weather Watch" series, which explores the link between climate change and extreme events. Read our other posts in this series.

This summer’s extreme weather events keep on coming—drought, heat waves, wildfires, and more. The major U.S. news networks have been on top of the story.

ABC World News, NBC Nightly News, and CBS Evening News all covered a new report from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) linking extreme weather events to climate change. The New York Times, CNN, and many other media outlets reported on it, too.

Notably, Sam Champion, ABC News’s weatherman, took it a step further, saying to Diane Sawyer, “Now is the time we start limiting man-made greenhouse gases.”

For those of us who work on climate change every day, this call to action isn’t a big surprise. But seeing climate coverage on the network news – including mainstream morning shows like Good Morning America – well, that’s unusual.

The Rio+20 informal sessions kicked off this week, and WRI’s experts are on the ground for all the action. Each day, we’ll bring you highlights of upcoming WRI events. Check out the details below on what we’ve got going on tomorrow. And be sure to visit the full list of all WRI events at Rio+20.

We are happy to announce the results of the project that we launched in May to assess how recent climate science discoveries can be most effectively communicated via video. In just one month, we received more than 1,500 entries.

More than 350 guests joined WRI last week to hear how Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Related chairman and CEO Stephen M. Ross, and former WRI President Jonathan Lash are changing our cities, our country, and our world for the better. The occasion was WRI’s “Courage to Lead” dinner, held in conjunction with our 30th anniversary. The event raised more than $1 million in critical unrestricted support, which enables WRI to respond quickly to emerging issues and new opportunities.

In early May, we invited participants to vote for their favorite video method for communicating recent climate science findings. The survey is now complete. More than 1,500 votes were cast, and we are in the midst of analyzing the results.

Cities were a major theme of WRI’s 30th anniversary dinner last night. And, why not? The event took place in arguably the greatest city in the world, New York. Guests included Mayor Michael Bloomberg; real estate developer, Stephen Ross; former Deputy Mayor and current President of Bloomberg, Dan Doctoroff; and many more. It was an elegant, high-energy dinner, as 350 leaders in business, government, and philanthropies gathered in the ballroom of the Mandarin Oriental Hotel, overlooking Columbus Circle.

2012 is WRI’s 30th anniversary year. To celebrate, we are bringing together big thinkers from government, business, and philanthropy who share a strong commitment to solving the world’s biggest environmental and development challenges. Tonight’s gala dinner in New York City will be both a celebration of WRI’s achievements over the past three decades and a launch pad for its future efforts.