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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When an oil rig exploded in the Gulf of Mexico last April, BP was woefully underprepared to handle its public relations response. It failed to communicate the three key messages the public needed to hear — that BP was accountable for the disaster, was deeply concerned about the harm it caused and had a plan for what to do next. -
Scientists have begun cleanup efforts in some of the regions that were most affected by oil from the BP spill last April. They're trying to establish which methods — if any — work best. -
Increasing numbers of homeowners are installing geothermal heat pumps, which take advantage of the constant temperature underground to provide more efficient heating and cooling. Initial costs are high, but a 30 percent federal tax credit can make the systems more affordable. -
Some environmental groups say the nuclear disaster in Japan is a wake-up call and they would not support building new U.S. nuclear plants. Others say that nuclear power is still one of the safest technologies invented. But both sides agree that the priority should be to examine existing U.S. nuclear plants for safety risks. -
The budget bill passed by the Republican-controlled House would slash EPA funding by nearly a third — more than any other agency. It would stop the agency from regulating greenhouse gas emissions and gut many other programs that prevent air and water pollution and enforce environmental laws. -
Scientists are trying to determine whether there's a link between last year's oil spill and a spike in dolphin deaths along the Gulf Coast. Sixty-seven bottlenose dolphins have washed up on Gulf beaches over the past few weeks. More than half — 35 — are babies. -
For decades, high installation costs put solar energy out of most homeowners' reach. Now a California company is offering a way to make solar panels affordable by leasing them. But the offer is only available in states that provide incentives for clean energy.
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The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service says the Pacific walrus merits protection under the Endangered Species Act, but it won't move up the list of threatened or endangered animals. Instead, the walrus must wait behind other animals that the agency says are more imperiled. -
In his State of the Union address, President Obama called for 80 percent of the country's electricity to come from clean sources by 2035. He has been promoting the move as a way to create jobs and improve national security but has been silent about any impact it might have on the nation's greenhouse gas emissions.
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American's addiction to oil doesn't stop at the gas pump. A huge array of products -- including plastic utensils and trash bags -- are made of petroleum. Later this year, a law requires the government to start buying alternative products made of soybeans, corn and other natural ingredients.
