Donate NowThree journalists from the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting shared their experiences with climate control and the effects humans have on it Thursday at the Student Center.
Around 50 people showed up to Ballroom A as journalists William Wheeler, Anna-Katarina Gravgaard and Jennifer Redfearn presented their contributions to "Heat of the Moment: Report from the Frontline of Climate Change," a production put together by the Pulitzer Center to show the harmful impact climate change is having around the world.
John Sawyer, director of the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting, said the presentation comes at an especially interesting time, as the United Nations Climate Change Conference wrapped up last month in Copenhagen, Denmark.
Wheeler and Gravgaard discussed their work in southern Asia, which reported on the lack of drinking water in the region. Wheeler said focusing on the region, specifically Bangladesh, did not take too much thought.
"I was looking for a water story, and south Asia is one of the most susceptible regions in the world to the effects of climate change, due to the high population and the unique high hydrology of the area," Wheeler said.
"South Asia has 25 percent of the world's population — and only 5 percent of its fresh water resources," he said.
Redfearn's research took her to the Carteret Islands, north of Papua New Guinea, which she said would be completely under water within the next 30 years. She said the population there is looking to relocate to the Bougainville Island, part of Papua New Guinea.
Gravgaard said the reason for reporting across the world is to shed a light on the immediacy of the situation.
"(We're) trying to show some stories to show how climate change is affecting people now," she said. "Giving an idea of what is happening and what could happen in the future."
Wheeler said it is important for journalists to focus on the climate problems around the world, but he said it was a difficult story to tell.
"It's a unique story to tell as a journalist, our job is to ask the right questions, and in some cases you have to go there and do it yourself," he said.
William Freivogel, director of the SIUC School of Journalism — which helped sponsor the event alongside the Paul Simon Public Policy Institute and the university's Global Media Research Center — said climate change is still very newsworthy, especially after the interest shown by major news networks during the climate conference in Copenhagen.
Wheeler said the timing of the project could not have come at a better time.
"When we started this, we knew there would be some interest because of Copenhagen," Wheeler said. "I was pleasantly surprised just how much interest there was in the American market. We struck at the right time, and in journalism — timing is everything."