Michael Sol Warren
Michael Sol Warren reports for WNYC and Gothamist on how environmental hazards, state policy and local power struggles shape daily life in New Jersey and the broader New York City region. His coverage joins day-of reporting on heat waves, storms and air-quality crises with deeper stories about pollution rules, energy systems and government accountability. He brings a clear focus on who pays, who is protected and who is exposed when climate risk and political decisions collide.
Extreme weather, wildfire smoke and heat plans
Warren is a regular voice on extreme weather and climate-linked emergencies, explaining both immediate impacts and official response plans. In “Extreme heat returns to NYC as city activates emergency plan,” he walks through how the city’s heat protocols are triggered, what steps authorities take and what that means for residents facing dangerous temperatures.[anchor] His coverage of Sunday storms that caused flash floods in the region tracks the cleanup effort and the practical consequences for neighborhoods once the rain stops, not just the headline rainfall totals.
When wildfire smoke pushed New York City into its second-worst air-quality event in modern records, Warren framed the episode as part of a growing pattern rather than a one-off scare.
He explains how smoke conditions are measured, the health guidance that follows and how agencies coordinate as visibility drops and pollution climbs. Across these pieces, he consistently pairs clear descriptions of the physical hazard - heat, smoke, floods - with granular detail on emergency plans, timelines and the ways public messaging reaches or misses the people most at risk.
Pollution, energy and environmental enforcement
Beyond breaking weather coverage, Warren spends considerable time on the policies and legal fights that govern pollution and energy in New Jersey’s industrial landscape. In his reporting on environmentalists seeking stricter rules for a Newark incinerator, he follows a lawsuit aimed at tightening emissions standards, explaining what changes advocates want, how regulators currently oversee the facility and what the stakes are for surrounding communities.
He makes clear how technical regulatory language translates into air quality and health outcomes for residents living near heavy infrastructure.
His piece on New Jersey “eying a nuclear future” tracks a new state law that opens the door to proposals for nuclear power plants while requiring projects to secure federal funding and shielding electric customers from paying before any plant actually produces electricity.
Warren breaks down legislative mechanics and the funding requirements in plain language, showing how abstract energy policy translates into financial risk and potential climate benefits. Coverage of humpback whales identified in New York City waters pushes the environmental lens offshore, spotlighting wildlife monitoring and the ecological implications of increased marine traffic and coastal development. Together, these stories show him treating environmental coverage as a mix of courtroom fights, legislative design and on-the-ground ecological change rather than a series of isolated incidents.
New Jersey power, money and governance
Warren’s New Jersey reporting repeatedly returns to questions of who holds power, who manages public money and how that affects residents’ bills and services. In Newark, he examines debates over who is to blame for rising taxes, contrasting narratives from different political players and unpacking the budget decisions behind a contentious increase.
His coverage of an audit that declares Jersey City’s financial records “a mess” walks through what the auditors found, how that connects to a looming tax hike and what the findings say about the city’s capacity to manage growth.
He follows local attempts by democratic socialists in Jersey City to curb police funding, tying their proposals to the city’s broader budget crisis and exploring why the effort stalled. In reporting on the dismantling of a New Jersey corruption office that once went up against a powerful political figure and lost, Warren traces the office’s history, its mandate and what its closure means for future oversight.
Across these pieces, he approaches political stories with an accountant’s eye, tracking money flows, institutional structure and long-term consequences rather than focusing solely on rhetoric or personalities.
Day-of reporting across crime, immigration and public life
Although his primary focus is environmental and governance stories, Warren also handles rapid-turn assignments across crime, immigration and public life. His coverage of an 18-year-old shot and killed in Williamsburg presents a straightforward account of what police say happened, keeping the emphasis on verified details and the basic timeline. In reporting on new laws that expand immigrant protections and ban police from wearing masks, he explains legal provisions, data-sharing limits and identification requirements, showing the concrete changes residents and officers will see.
A feature on World Cup stars playing on “the Garden State’s turf” brings his interest in land use and infrastructure into a sports-adjacent story, looking at how local fields will host a global event and what that means for the region. Earlier in his career, he has covered issues ranging from illegal dumping and drinking water crises to nursing home vulnerabilities and abuse allegations at animal facilities, as well as a long-form reconstruction of a New Jersey man’s path to committing a mass murder out of state. Across beats, his reporting style stays consistent: precise, grounded in documents and expert sources, and focused on how policy choices and environmental conditions shape real lives.
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.