Jake Spring
Jake Spring follows the chain of command in climate and environment policy, tracing how decisions by political leaders and federal agencies alter protections, programs and the role of science in government. He focuses on the intersection of climate policy, regulation and industry, with an emphasis on accountability for the officials and institutions that shape environmental outcomes. At The Washington Post he reports on climate and environment policy across federal agencies, Congress and the White House, drawing on years of frontline environmental reporting.
Federal climate programs and scientific integrity
Spring’s coverage of federal climate programs centers on who is put in charge of them and what that means for the integrity of the science they rely on. In his reporting on the appointment of a critic of mainstream climate science to lead the government-wide program that produces the National Climate Assessment, he details the appointee’s background and skepticism and explains the program’s mandate and influence. He shows how changing leadership at the U.S. Global Change Research Program could affect future assessments and the government’s understanding of climate impacts.
The work ties personnel decisions directly to the fate of flagship climate reports and the broader contest over climate science within federal institutions.
EPA, power plants and emissions rules
At The Washington Post, Spring closely tracks the Environmental Protection Agency’s role in regulating greenhouse gas emissions. In coverage of the repeal of Biden-era rules limiting power plants’ carbon dioxide emissions, he lays out what the previous rules required, why the agency is rolling them back and who stands to benefit or lose. He contrasts the administration’s justification on consumer costs with public health and climate concerns raised by environmental advocates.
His reporting ties legal and regulatory changes to concrete outcomes for emissions, electricity generation and public health, making complex rulemakings legible to readers who follow climate policy and industry.
Grants for solar panels and low-income families
Spring also covers how climate and energy programs affect households, not just utilities and corporations. In reporting on a court order requiring the EPA to reinstate a multibillion-dollar grant program for solar panels for low- and moderate-income families, he traces the program’s purpose, the administration’s attempt to halt it and the legal arguments that forced its restoration. He shows how litigation can revive climate-related funding streams and highlights the stakes for families that rely on federal support to access clean energy.
This line of reporting connects climate policy directly to affordability, equity and the practical rollout of clean energy programs.
Public lands, mining and monument rollbacks
Public lands and resource extraction are another recurring focus. In a story on miners staking claims in areas removed from Bears Ears National Monument after a presidential order shrinking it to a fraction of its original size, Spring documents how quickly industry moves to capitalize on reduced protections. He explains the regulatory and political steps that made those claims possible and places the episode within broader debates over national monuments, Indigenous heritage and conservation.
The coverage links map changes on paper to activity on the ground, showing how federal decisions convert protected landscapes into potential mining districts.
Global environment reporting in Brazil and beyond
Spring’s current work builds on a long stretch of international climate and environment reporting. Before joining The Washington Post, he spent about a decade reporting for Reuters from Brazil and China, eventually covering global climate and environmental issues.
His past reporting has examined soaring deforestation in the Amazon, large-scale fires in the Pantanal wetland and rollbacks of environmental safeguards under former Brazilian leadership.
He has reported on how weakened enforcement and government policy shifts embolden illegal logging and other environmentally destructive activity, and on how investors respond to those risks. This background gives his Washington Post coverage a global frame, connecting U.S. policy battles to patterns of environmental degradation, enforcement and climate diplomacy he has watched in other countries.
Approach to the climate and environment beat
Across these strands, Spring’s work is defined by its focus on how power is exercised over the environment. He reports on appointments, rules, court decisions and land designations, then follows their consequences through agencies, industries and affected places.
He combines detailed attention to regulatory and legal language with clear explanations of who benefits and who bears the costs. His prior field reporting on forests, wetlands and front-line communities informs his coverage of federal climate policy, grounding abstract debates in the realities of environmental change.
4 more environment journalists.
Alan Halaly
Alan Halaly is a water reporter at the Las Vegas Review-Journal who treats the Colorado River as a working system, not a backdrop, making its governance, infrastructure and risks central to his beat. He covers how policy decisions and infrastructure projects shape the region’s water future, linking high-level choices on the Colorado River, dams, mining and data centers to everyday consequences under mounting heat and growth pressures. He reports deeply on new laws, lawsuits and regulatory shifts, focusing on on-the-ground impacts. His coverage spans Colorado River cuts, Hoover Dam operations, extreme weather, heat and parks, septic system rules, workplace and public health risks, lithium and gold mines, protected landscapes, data centers, AI infrastructure and public funding. Previously he reported for metropolitan dailies, digital outlets and public media, including the Miami Herald, WUFT, The Daily Beast and Miami New Times, with work recognized by Hearst, ONA and the Society of Environmental Journalists.
Alejandra Borunda
Alejandra Borunda reports on how climate change affects human health for NPR. Her work treats global warming as a direct cause of physical and mental health risks. She covers extreme heat, including undercounted deaths, lost sleep and local efforts to track heat-related fatalities. She also reports on wildfire smoke, hurricanes, disease spread such as dengue fever, trauma, stress and unequal health impacts. Her stories examine how communities protect themselves and recover, as well as practical solutions involving climate-resilient crops, agriculture and diet. Before NPR, she wrote about climate science and environmental issues for National Geographic, including glacier retreat, shade and heat inequity, and shrinking ice-fishing seasons. A former climate scientist, she combines field reporting with scientific data to connect atmospheric research to everyday risks, choices and people’s lived experiences.
Alex Lubben
Alex Lubben is an environment reporter at The Times-Picayune/The Advocate who connects climate risk to policy, industry and community change. He covers Gulf warming, flood protection, coastal restoration, wetlands litigation, industrial projects such as SpaceX’s possible expansion, invasive species and local ecosystems. His reporting tracks how law, politics and corporate decisions shape levees, drainage, marshes and long-term resilience. He also examines climate relocation, housing and labor, showing how hurricanes, floods and wildfires displace vulnerable communities and expose gaps in government systems. He works on a small environment team and brings an investigative background to document work, data analysis, legal and policy research, and field reporting. His work has appeared in VICE News, The Center for Public Integrity, The Nation, Jewish Currents and NBC News.
Alex Wigglesworth
Alex Wigglesworth reports on how climate, land use and public policy shape California communities. She covers the Inland Empire and Mojave Desert for the Los Angeles Times and is part of its environment team. Her beat includes wildfires, megadrought, extreme weather, desert development, conservation, wildlife, industrial hazards, aging infrastructure and regulatory enforcement. She has covered Western Joshua trees, desert tortoises, beaver-led restoration, toxic lead pipes, air-quality concerns after industrial fires and the effects of nuclear war on food systems. Earlier, she was a general assignment reporter for the Philadelphia Inquirer, Daily News and Philly.com. She combines breaking news with detailed reporting grounded in scientific studies, modeling and expert interviews. Her work connects fires, drought and other hazards to climate change, while examining how agencies, companies and land-use decisions affect people and ecosystems.