Andrew Revkin

Andrew C. Revkin
Born1956 (age 67–68)
OccupationEnvironmental writer, professor
EducationBrown University (BS)
Columbia University (MA)
GenreScience writing
SubjectGlobal warming
Notable worksDot Earth (blog); The Burning Season: The Murder of Chico Mendes and the Fight for the Amazon Rain Forest
Notable awardsGuggenheim Fellowship;
John Chancellor Award;
Feinstone Environmental Award
Website
dotearth.blogs.nytimes.com

Andrew C. Revkin (born 1956) is an American science and environmental journalist, webcaster, author and educator. He has written on a wide range of subjects including destruction of the Amazon rain forest, the 2004 Asian tsunami, sustainable development, climate change, and the changing environment around the North Pole. From 2019 to 2023 he directed the Initiative on Communication and Sustainability at The Earth Institute of Columbia University.[1] While at Columbia, he launched a video webcast, Sustain What,[2] that seeks solutions to tangled environmental and societal challenges through dialogue. In 2023, the webcast integrated with his Substack dispatch of the same name.[3]

Previously he was strategic adviser for environmental and science journalism at National Geographic Society.[4] Through 2017 he was senior reporter for climate change at the independent investigative newsroom ProPublica.[5] He was a reporter for The New York Times from 1995 through 2009. In 2007, he created the Dot Earth environmental blog for The Times. The blog moved to the Opinion Pages in 2010 and ran through 2016. From 2010 to 2016 he was also the Senior Fellow for Environmental Understanding at Pace University.[6] He is also a performing songwriter and was a frequent accompanist of Pete Seeger.

Early life

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Andrew Revkin was born and raised in Rhode Island. He graduated from Brown University in 1978 with a degree in Biology.[7] He later received a Master's in Journalism from the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.[8][9]

Career

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Early in his career he held senior editor and senior writer positions at Discover magazine and Science Digest, respectively.[10]

From 1995 through 2009, Revkin covered the environment for The New York Times. In 2003, he became the first Times reporter to file stories from the North Pole area and in 2005-6 broke stories about the Bush administration's interference with scientific research, particularly at NASA.[11]

In 2010, he joined Pace University's Academy for Applied Environmental Studies as Senior Fellow for Environmental Understanding.[12]

Revkin has also written books on the Anthropocene,[13] humanity's weather and climate learning journey,[14] the once and future Arctic, the Amazon, and global warming.[15] He was interviewed by Seed magazine about his book The North Pole Was Here, which was published in 2006. He stressed that "the hard thing to convey in print as journalists, and for society to absorb, is that this is truly a century-scale problem."[16]

Revkin is among those credited with developing the idea that humans, through growing impacts on Earth’s climate and other critical systems, are creating a distinct geological epoch, the Anthropocene.[17] He was a member of the "Anthropocene" Working Group from 2010 to 2016. The group is charged by a branch of the International Commission on Stratigraphy with gauging evidence that a formal change in the Geologic Time Scale is justified.[citation needed]

Andrew Revkin reported for The New York Times in 2003 from a research camp set up on sea ice drifting near the North Pole. Scientists erected the sign, then added "was" as currents were pushing the ice several miles a day.

Works

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  • The Human Planet: Earth at the Dawn of the Anthropocene. New York: Abrams Books, 2020, ISBN 1419742779
  • Weather: An Illustrated History, from Cloud Atlases to Climate Change. New York: Sterling, 2018, ISBN 1454921404
  • The North Pole Was Here: Puzzles and Perils at the Top of the World. Boston: Kingfisher, 2006, ISBN 9780753459935
  • Global Warming: Understanding the Forecast. New York: Abbeville Press, 1992, ISBN 978-1558593107
  • The Burning Season: The Murder of Chico Mendes and the Fight for the Amazon Rain Forest. Washington, DC: Island Press, 2004 [1990], ISBN 978-1-55963-089-4
-- translated and published also in Spanish, French, Italian, Dutch, German, Portuguese, Japanese and Thai editions[18]

Films based on his work

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Two films have been based on Revkin's writing:

Songwriter and musician

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Revkin is a multi-instrumentalist and songwriter who led a Hudson Valley roots ensemble called Breakneck Ridge Revue. He performed frequently with Pete Seeger between 1996 and 2014 and was a member of Uncle Wade, a blues-roots band.[19] His first album, A Very Fine Line, featuring guest contributions by Dar Williams, Mike Marshall and Bruce Molsky, was released in November, 2013.[20]

Awards

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References

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  1. ^ "Journalist Andrew Revkin to Head New Communications Initiative". Retrieved 2019-08-10.
  2. ^ https://www.earth.columbia.edu/videos/channel/sustain-what [bare URL]
  3. ^ https://revkin.substack.com [bare URL]
  4. ^ "Award-Winning Writer Andrew Revkin Joins National Geographic Society". Retrieved 2018-06-17.
  5. ^ Gordy, Cynthia (14 November 2016). "Andrew Revkin to Join ProPublica as Senior Reporter on Climate Change". ProPublica.
  6. ^ a b c d e "Andrew C. Revkin", Pace University, 2009. Archived July 10, 2012, at the Wayback Machine Accessed: December 3, 2012.
  7. ^ Reunion 2008: Retrospective: Alumni Reunion Forum: “Dot Earth: Pursuing Progress on a Finite Planet”, Brown University, Alumni
  8. ^ Journalist, author, and singer Andrew Revkin examines climate change, The Daily Gazette, 11. April 2007
  9. ^ New York Times Climate Change Expert Speaks During Earth Week. 20. April 2016
  10. ^ a b Revkin's Biography, The New York Times, 23 April 2006
  11. ^ Cristine Russell, "Revkin Taking NYT Buyout: Veteran climate reporter to leave paper after Copenhagen summit, Columbia Journalism Review, December 14, 2009
  12. ^ Andrew Revkin (21 December 2009). "My Second Half". Dot Earth. The New York Times. Archived from the original on 24 December 2009. Retrieved 21 December 2009.
  13. ^ The Human Planet: Earth at the Dawn of the Anthropocene. Abrams. 7 April 2020. ISBN 978-1-68335-880-0.
  14. ^ Weather: From Cloud Atlases to Climate Change. Union Square + ORM. 20 May 2018. ISBN 978-1-4549-3245-1.
  15. ^ Molly Webster. "Backgrounder: Andrew Revkin". Bullpen. NYU Journalism. Archived from the original on 26 October 2009. Retrieved 14 May 2009.
  16. ^ "Skipping Ahead". Seed. 21 April 2006. Archived from the original on 22 April 2009. Retrieved 14 May 2009.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  17. ^ Steffen, W.; Grinevald, J.; Crutzen, P.; McNeill, J. (2011). "The Anthropocene: conceptual and historical perspectives". Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society A: Mathematical, Physical and Engineering Sciences. 369 (1938): 842–867. Bibcode:2011RSPTA.369..842S. doi:10.1098/rsta.2010.0327. PMID 21282150.
  18. ^ WorldCat. Accessed: July 31, 2012.
  19. ^ Uncle Wade. Accessed: June 24, 2012.
  20. ^ Revkin, Andy (10 November 2013). "Why Singing, Not Typing". medium.com.
  21. ^ "Travel Book".
  22. ^ "Honorary Membership".
  23. ^ AGU (7 January 2016). "Andrew C. Revkin Receives 2015 Robert C. Cowen Award for Sustained Achievement in Science Journalism". Eos. 97. doi:10.1029/2016EO042921.
  24. ^ "'Dot Earth' Blog Earns a Second National Communication Award..." Pace Law School, September 16, 2011. Archived November 13, 2012, at the Wayback Machine Accessed: December 4, 2012.
  25. ^ "Award Winner Andrew Revkin". 2008. Archived from the original on 23 June 2010. Retrieved 14 May 2009.
  26. ^ "Origin of the John Chancellor Award for Excellence in Journalism". Columbia University. Archived from the original on 23 September 2009. Retrieved 14 May 2009.
  27. ^ "Q & A with Andrew Revkin". 2008. Archived from the original on 23 June 2010. Retrieved 14 May 2009.
  28. ^ Dr. Jean Mayer Global Citizenship Award/Series, 2007-2008, Tufts University. Accessed: December 3, 2012.
  29. ^ "New York Times Reporter Receives Honorary Feinstone Award", SUNY-ESF, September 13, 2007. Accessed: June 24, 2012.
  30. ^ "National Academies Communication Awards." Archived 2019-06-11 at the Wayback Machine Accessed: December 4, 2012.
  31. ^ WorldCat. Accessed: July 31, 2012.
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