A Profile of Lynne Peeples, Environmental Journalist
by Yunseo Choi
On April 26, 2019, during its fifth annual Climate Action Day, Exeter is showcasing a multitude of workshops, one of which is organized by the Matter Magazine team. To cultivate students’ passion in science journalism, the magazine has invited Lynne Peeples, an environmental journalist, to present her work as well to edit student pieces crafted during the workshop. Peeples has written for publications such as The Huffington Post, NBC News, and The Atlantic, on a wide range of topics regarding climate change, ranging from the controversy around addressing climate change in classrooms to the impact that climate change has on toxic chemicals.
“Obviously, climate change touches on a lot of things — from religion to public health to international relations,” said Peeples in a recent interview. The broad spectrum of Peeples’ climate change articles reflects such a statement. She attributes the vast scope of themes that her articles focus on to a potent mechanism that journalist and activists often employ to catch the public’s attention: finding a direct connection between climate change and people’s lives. As a result, some of her work may highlight the impact of religious groups on climate action activism, while some other work may discuss the impact of climate change on agriculture.
Climate change and climate action have been a passion of Peeples for as long as she can remember. As a child, she longed to save endangered species and wetlands, a pursuit which led her to learn more about climate and the threats upon them during her school years. Once in the professional field, Peeples started her career as a biostatistician, which allowed her to be involved in public health research. During that time, she realized that public health revolved heavily around climate change. This re-kindled her interest in climate change and climate action. She gravitated towards journalism with a conviction that climate change is arguably the most important story of the current era. “The urgency is only increasing. We can all do our part to raise awareness and to take action while there is still time. I remain hopeful,” she said.
When asked about the most difficult part of her job, the first answer that comes to Peeples’ mind is deadlines. “My work is probably much like being a student at PEA. There is a steady stream of deadlines to juggle. And, like school, there is something new to learn every day as a science journalist,” she said. She notes that another challenge in her job is coping with a sometimes skeptical audience. Although handling emotionally abusive emails has been a struggle, Peeples believes that rampant misinformation only fuels her motivation to keep working as an environmental journalist. She wants to further non-polarized and factually correct conversations regarding climate change.
As a continuation of such sentiment, Peeples - an old friend of Jason Bremiller, English instructor and sustainability education coordinator - was exhilarated when Bremiller called her, inviting her to lead a workshop on Exeter’s Climate Action Day. “To see that kind of investment and interest from our future leaders is inspiring and hopeful. And to be part of it is a huge honor,” she said. Peeples is looking forward to witnessing the students’ passion as well as to hearing their ideas.
Peeples hopes that students come out of the workshop with a more thorough understanding of the current situation regarding climate change with respect to the urgency and the breadth of its impact as well as what it is like to be a science journalist. “Ideally, some students will even continue the writing they begin during the workshop and potentially publish a story in MATTER Magazine!” she said.