Elizabeth Shogren
Elizabeth Shogren is an NPR °µºÚ±¬ÁÏ Science Desk correspondent focused on covering environment and energy issues and news.
Since she came to NPR in 2005, Shogren's reporting has covered everything from the damage caused by the BP oil spill on the ecology of the Gulf Coast, to the persistence of industrial toxic air pollution as seen by the legacy of Tonawanda Coke near Buffalo, to the impact of climate change on American icons like grizzly bears.
Prior to NPR, Shogren spent 14 years as a reporter on a variety of beats at The Los Angeles Times, including four years reporting on environmental issues in Washington, D.C., and across the country. While working from the paper's Washington bureau, from 1993-2000, Shogren covered the White House, Congress, social policy, money and politics, and presidential campaigns. During that time, Shogren was given the opportunity to travel abroad on short-term foreign reporting assignments, including the Kosovo crisis in 1999, the Bosnian war in 1996, and Russian elections in 1993 and 1996. Before joining the Washington bureau, Shogren was based in Moscow where she covered the breakup of the Soviet Union and the rise of democracy in Russia for the newspaper.
Beginning in 1988, Shogren worked as a freelance reporter based in Moscow, publishing in a variety of newspapers and magazines, including °µºÚ±¬ÁÏweek, The Dallas Morning °µºÚ±¬ÁÏ, the San Francisco Chronicle, and The Washington Post. During that time, she covered the fall of the Berlin Wall and the peaceful revolution in Prague.
Shogren's career in journalism began in the wire services. She worked for the Associated Press in Chicago and at United Press International in Albany, NY.
Throughout Shogren's career she has received numerous awards and honors including as a finalist for the 2011 Goldsmith Prize for investigative reporting, the National Wildlife Federation National Conservation Achievement Award, the Meade Prize for coverage of air pollution and she was an IRE finalist. She is a member of Sigma Delta Chi and the Society of Professional Journalist.
After earning a Bachelor of Arts in Russian studies at the University of Virginia, Shogren went on to receive a Master of Science in journalism from Columbia University.
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Automakers and the White House have reached agreement on a new fuel economy standard of 54.5 mpg for cars and light trucks, sources tell NPR. The new standard would be phased in beginning with model year 2017 and fully implemented by 2025. The president is expected to formally announce the agreement tomorrow.
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The Environmental Protection Agency is expected to tighten the standard for how much ozone is safe to breathe, but the level of ozone scientists say is safe doesn't sit well with industry. The agency decision is sitting at the White House, awaiting approval. -
The Sierra Club is getting a big boost in its effort to shut down coal-fired power plants. New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg is supporting the organization's efforts with a donation of $50 million. The plants produce nearly half the nation's electricity. But they also pump out lots of pollution that contributes to climate change, makes people sick and causes premature deaths.
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The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced this week that Whitebark pine trees should be protected as an endangered species — but the agency will not list the trees as threatened or endangered because of a lack of funding. The trees are a critical part of the ecosystems of the Rocky Mountains and Sierra Nevada but have been dying at alarming rates due to the effects of climate change.
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The Obama administration on Thursday issued a new rule to slash pollution from coal-fired power plants that cause unhealthy air in 27 states. This replaces a Bush-era rule that was overturned by the courts. -
The Environmental Protection Agency has become a target of House Republicans and of GOP presidential hopefuls. They say its rules are job killers. A new White House report finds air pollution rules from the EPA cost far more than other government regulations. But they also result in far more benefits than other government mandates.
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Two Michigan teenagers are spearheading a charge to remove palm oil from Girl Scout cookies in an effort to reduce environmental damage caused by growing palm trees. But the girls, who are scouts themselves, are facing push back from both palm plantations and Girl Scouts of the United States of America. -
The Obama administration and auto industry executives are starting talks over new fuel economy standards for cars and trucks, which are to be announced in September. Sources say the administration is pushing for the average fuel economy for each carmaker's fleet to rise to 56 mpg by 2025. The companies want something closer to 47 mpg. The heavyweight in these negotiations could turn out to be California, which plans to set its own standard if the federal government doesn't go high enough.
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Some studies show that new gas production could cause air pollution in portions of Colorado, Texas and Louisiana. Experts say although the amount of pollution is significantly less than that caused by coal-fired plants, natural gas companies will need to control pollution if the industry wants to grow. -
Some environmentalists have been quietly grumbling about the Obama administration for months. Now one of the country's most prominent conservationists — former Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt — is retaking the public stage to scold President Obama.
