Adam Kovac
Adam Kovac is a breaking news reporter at Scientific American who covers fast-moving stories where science, climate and public policy intersect. His work concentrates on moments when complex systems such as the atmosphere, energy markets, space missions and public-health infrastructure reach a turning point and demand clear, accessible explanation. Within the environment beat, he focuses on climate-driven extremes, El Niño events, energy and infrastructure, while also stepping into adjacent areas when they carry urgent scientific and political stakes.
El Niño and a world of extreme weather
Kovac covers the rising odds of a super El Niño and the deadly consequences such an event can have for societies and ecosystems, treating it as a central climate storyline rather than a routine weather anomaly.
He follows ongoing coverage of El Niño that has already broken sobering records, drawing on climate scientists who describe the current episode as superlative within our lifetimes. He reports on why the Pacific Ocean has been beset by hurricane after hurricane while the Atlantic remains unusually quiet, using expert explanations of ocean temperatures, atmospheric circulation and regional climate patterns to show how storms are distributed. His climate reporting also connects stratospheric and surface processes, as in pieces on the healing ozone layer and how extreme weather driven by human-caused climate change is slowing that progress. He brings policy into the frame by documenting moves to repeal emissions regulations on fossil-fuel power plants and spelling out their potential impact on efforts to curb climate change.
Across these stories he treats El Niño, ozone recovery, regulatory shifts and storm seasons as linked facets of the same evolving climate system rather than isolated events.
Diesel fuel, electric rain and the chemistry of infrastructure
Kovac frequently uses chemistry and materials science to explain environmental and economic problems that show up in everyday infrastructure. He has covered surging diesel fuel prices, unpacking how the chemistry of refining and fuel composition drives costs that cascade through farming, trucking and the wider economy. In his reporting on “electric rain” that can eat through metal, he translates laboratory findings about how water becomes electrified as it slides down smooth surfaces into practical concerns about corrosion and durability.
He has investigated why paint is peeling off the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, focusing on surface preparation, coating application and the material failures behind a very visible breakdown. He also writes about the hidden chemistry inside wine bottles, showing how cork, wine and air interact over time to shape flavor and quality.
This line of coverage gives his environment beat a concrete, physical dimension: he follows how molecular-level processes in fuel, water, coatings and packaging become large-scale economic and maintenance problems.
From lunar craters to NASA’s space telescopes
His breaking news remit extends into space and planetary science, where he tracks missions, discoveries and the institutional pressures on big space projects. He has reported on satellite images revealing an ethereal auroral storm raging above the North Pole, using that event to explain space weather and geomagnetic storms in Earth’s near environment.
He covers the discovery of the largest new impact crater in the solar system on the moon, as well as milestones for probes such as BepiColombo finally nearing Mercury after years in space. Kovac follows spacecraft dynamics closely, documenting how a Jupiter-bound mission like Juice swings by Earth, snaps photos and uses gravity assists to reach its destination.
He reports on NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Telescope glimpsing its first cosmic light and on the budget cuts and workforce attrition at Goddard Space Flight Center that threaten the center’s ability to build future multibillion-dollar observatories.
Beyond missions, he writes accessible explainers on topics such as the life and death of the sun, emerging views on the shape of the universe and high-profile mathematical problems like Navier–Stokes and sphere packing that underpin real-world technologies. These pieces retain his emphasis on clear mechanisms and stakes: cosmic phenomena and abstract math are framed in terms of what they mean for observation, technology and long-term scientific agendas.
Vaccines, TikTok remedies and science in politics
On the public-health side of his beat, Kovac reports on how scientific evidence collides with medicine, regulation, political campaigns and viral trends.
He covers Senate confirmation hearings for figures such as FDA and surgeon general nominees, detailing their public stances on MMR and hepatitis B vaccines, mifepristone and misleading claims about drugs like Tylenol, and showing how those positions matter for national health policy. He profiles a Michigan Senate candidate with a medical background, asking directly how that scientific training shapes the candidate’s politics and decision-making. His reporting on TikTok home remedies, such as fermenting garlic in honey, explains why experts warn that such practices can cause serious risks like botulism and are not substitutes for antibiotics or antivirals.
He explores IVF “add-on” treatments, emphasizing the limited evidence that many expensive procedures actually work and how that gap leaves patients in an impossible position. Kovac also covers cutting-edge concerns such as work in which AI systems create viruses not found in nature, examining why scientists are worried about the safety and oversight of these capabilities.
Across these pieces he maintains a consistent focus on the quality of evidence, the communication of risk and the ways political and commercial pressures shape the use of science in public life.
In format and voice, Kovac’s stories are fast-turn news features and explainers that combine expert quotes, clear descriptions of underlying mechanisms and concise framing of why a development matters at that moment. He moves across climate, energy, space, mathematics and health while keeping a steady through-line: translating technically complex, high-stakes events into straightforward narratives about systems under stress and the choices confronting institutions and the public.
4 more environment journalists.
Angela Capobianco
Angela Capobianco stands out for reporting how policy, infrastructure and environmental decisions translate into concrete effects for workers, residents and vulnerable communities. She is a digital broadcast journalist at Global News and works as a general assignment video journalist with a focus on environmental reporting, municipal affairs, housing and labour. Her stories cover labour protections, municipal governance, environmental conflicts and social policy. She reports on how land use, climate and regulatory choices affect communities, from glyphosate spraying fears in Bear River to extreme heat and support for people sleeping rough. She also covers workers’ rights, long-term care strikes, municipal budgets, ferry service delays, heritage designation, housing reuse, and bridge replacement plans, with close attention to negotiations, official decisions and on-the-ground impact.
Arrthy Thayaparan
Arrthy Thayaparan is a CBC News reporter who shows how government decisions affect daily life. She covers climate, transportation, education, community issues, trade, tariffs and the cost of living. Her reporting examines how policy changes affect prices, public services, employers, workers, consumers and families. She has written about Ontario businesses facing tariff pressures, ticket resale rules, tariff support funding, transit changes after the Scarborough RT derailment, highway speed limits, education union talks and mandatory school platforms. She also covers public-service work rules, community-service funding, municipal campaigns, tenant protections and the economic effects of major events. Thayaparan reports through concrete numbers, program details and timelines. She gives space to governments, unions, workers, businesses and residents, and traces decisions from political debate to their effects on commutes, classrooms, budgets, workplaces and neighbourhoods.
Bianca McKeown
Bianca McKeown stands out for reporting the everyday consequences of climate change, infrastructure decisions, social policy and Indigenous governance in northern communities. She reports for CBC North across television, radio and digital. Her work focuses on how weather shifts, wildlife changes and development projects affect daily life, travel, safety and local economies. She covers large infrastructure and energy proposals, foster parent payments, cost of living, vulnerable families and Indigenous leadership. She also reports on national reconciliation efforts and the role of Inuit voices in decision-making. Her stories rely on practical details, community voices, interviews and clear descriptions of what residents, officials and advocates face on the ground. Her coverage is direct and descriptive, and it connects policy decisions to lived reality.
Brandie Weikle
Brandie Weikle connects environment and climate stories to work, health, housing and family life, showing how systems-level change plays out for ordinary people. She is a writer and editor with CBC Radio whose reporting and production span climate-focused programs and talk shows. She focuses on heat waves, housing and community resilience, climate-friendly innovation in agriculture, workplace and labour market pressures, cost-of-living and consumer risk, health systems, care gaps and social well-being. Her work explains complex issues in plain terms, using specific cases and voices. She centres tenants, farmers, essential workers, patients, caregivers, seniors and young people using social platforms. She also specializes in contemporary family life and long-form storytelling, including radio documentary work such as “Fatherhood, Interrupted” and features on trauma, justice and intergenerational impact.