Hi Reader,

Today is #WorldNewsDay, and ProPublica is joining hundreds of newsrooms to call attention to journalism that helps make our planet a better place. This year, #WorldNewsDay is highlighting the critical importance of credible journalism in providing trustworthy information about the climate crisis. At ProPublica, we have been doggedly covering the environment since our inception, from being one of the first outlets to deeply investigate the impacts of fracking (before it was even called fracking), to our series from 2015 on the drying up of the Colorado River.

A groundbreaking series we did late last year continues to reach new audiences hungry for journalism on this topic. “The Great Climate Migration” is a startling look at how serious the climate crisis truly has become. Senior environmental reporter Abrahm Lustgarten lays bare how many areas in America are fast becoming inhospitable to humans and how extreme weather events become the norm with each passing year. As our most habitable climates in North America are shifting ever northward, this country is on the brink of substantial migration of residents seeking more temperate living conditions.

Another recent ProPublica article and documentary paints a dystopian portrait of Thermal, California, a town in the Coachella Valley, where wealthy part-time residents keep their second (or third, or fourth) homes and park their cars in climate-controlled garages. But on the east side of town, Thermal’s full-time residents, who are 99% Latino, live in uninsulated, sun-baked trailers and struggle to make ends meet. This is called the “climate gap” — the sometimes hidden and often-unequal impact that climate change will have on people of color and the poor.

These investigations, like everything we publish, have a common thread running through them: We hope that the facts we present will inspire change. It’s an ambitious mission, but we’ve proven time and again what individuals can accomplish when armed with the right information.

Here is how you can take a stand for journalism on #WorldNewsDay: You can read any of our articles on climate change. You can share them with your community on social media. You can sign up to attend our virtual event on Thursday about the climate gap in California. And you can donate to ProPublica to help us continue to dig deep on this most critical and urgent issue.

Real change can occur when investigative journalism shines a light on stories of injustice and wrongdoing. I hope you participate by supporting ProPublica in any and all the ways you choose today.

Thanks so much,
Jill Shepherd
Proud ProPublican