Tara Carman
Tara Carman is a senior reporter with CBC British Columbia whose work follows how climate, technology and public policy decisions filter down into everyday life and costs for people in the province and across Canada. Her reporting on environment and climate draws direct lines between extreme weather, resource projects and trade policy on one side, and household budgets, community safety and long-term risk on the other. She brings a background in data-focused reporting and nearly two decades in journalism to stories that favour evidence, clear trendlines and concrete impacts over abstract debate. Across coverage of health, youth, rights and major projects, she returns to the question of who carries the consequences of policy and corporate decisions, and how those consequences show up in specific places and systems.
Climate risk and the cost of living
Carman’s environment coverage is defined by its focus on the financial and practical impacts of climate change rather than on atmospheric metrics alone. In a feature on how extreme weather makes life more expensive for Canadians, she lays out how events such as floods, storms and heat waves drive up insurance premiums, food prices and housing costs, tying climate risk to inflation and household budgets in plain terms. Her reporting on extreme heat and wildfire smoke prompting weather warnings connects temperature records and air quality alerts to strained health systems, disrupted work and the cost of adaptation measures.
Coverage of wildfire evacuation orders tracks not only fire behaviour and containment efforts but also the displacement of hundreds of residents, the burden on local infrastructure and the uncertainties facing communities as fire seasons lengthen. In a piece on the Ksi Lisims liquefied natural gas project’s greenhouse gas emissions, she examines how a single resource proposal fits into regional climate targets and the trade-offs governments face between economic development and emissions.
She extends this economic lens to trade stories, such as explaining how United States lumber tariffs worsened conditions for British Columbia’s forestry sector, linking policy shifts abroad to jobs, investment decisions and community resilience at home.
Policy, rights and major projects
Beyond day-to-day environment coverage, Carman writes deeply reported pieces on how legislation and large-scale projects reshape political and social landscapes.
In her analysis of how the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act drove the provincial government to a crisis point, she traces the path from a rights-based legal framework to specific conflicts over land, consent and governance, showing how abstract commitments collide with established systems. Her work on the Ksi Lisims project situates greenhouse gas projections within a broader context of regulatory approvals, Indigenous involvement and public debate over long-term climate goals. She has examined government modelling around hosting a FIFA World Cup, contrasting optimistic projections of lasting economic and social benefits with historical evidence from previous tournaments, and weighing who gains and who carries the cost when cities pursue mega-events. In these articles she combines interviews, documents and data to map how policies and projects move from proposal to impact, paying attention to the gap between official narratives and lived experience.
Health, youth and the digital world
Carman reports extensively on how health systems and mental health services intersect with new technologies and shifting demands, with a particular focus on young people. Her coverage of a lawsuit against Meta argues that design and engagement practices on social platforms affect the mental health of children and youth, connecting legal claims to research on screen time, algorithmic feeds and clinical outcomes. In a feature on why more Canadian youth are texting for mental health help overnight, she explores changes in crisis support usage patterns, linking messaging apps, anonymity and accessibility to evolving needs and stresses among young people.
Reporting on school districts where reported illnesses have tripled looks at the mix of physical illness, mental health challenges and attendance pressure, drawing out how health trends strain schools and families.
She has also written about research warning that permanent daylight saving time is “scientifically not a good idea,” translating chronobiology findings into clear explanations of sleep disruption, accident risk and health consequences tied to clock changes. Across these pieces, she treats health as a systems issue, using data, expert voices and individual stories to show how policy, technology and culture shape outcomes.
Technology, privacy and changing norms
Carman’s work frequently looks at how new technologies collide with existing rules and social expectations, especially in public and quasi-public spaces.
In a piece on whether municipalities should ban smart glasses in pools and change rooms, she lays out the tension between consumer devices and privacy in intimate settings, detailing the challenges for local governments trying to regulate recording technologies in real time. Her reporting on the lawsuit against Meta addresses not only mental health impacts but also broader questions about corporate responsibility, design choices and the limits of regulation in rapidly evolving digital environments. In coverage of assisted death and faith-based facilities, she examines how institutional policies, legal frameworks and personal autonomy intersect, focusing on the practical implications for patients who must be moved long distances to receive a health service that is legal but restricted in certain settings.
These stories sketch a consistent interest in the grey zones where law, ethics and technology meet, and where everyday people encounter the edge cases of new norms.
Carman’s professional history includes senior reporting roles and work in data journalism, and she has experience reporting in multiple Canadian cities as well as international settings.
That mix of quantitative skill and broad newsroom experience underpins coverage that treats environment, health, technology and policy as connected threads rather than isolated beats. Her work is characterised by clear prose, careful use of data and a steady focus on how decisions made by governments and corporations translate into costs, risks and choices for the people affected.
4 more environment journalists.
Adam Kovac
Adam Kovac is a breaking news reporter at Scientific American who explains fast-moving stories where science, climate and public policy intersect. His beat spans climate-driven extremes, El Niño, energy, infrastructure, space, mathematics and public health. He has written about super El Niño, extreme weather, ozone recovery, diesel prices, electric rain, peeling paint, wine chemistry, lunar craters, space missions, NASA telescopes, vaccines, IVF treatments, TikTok remedies and AI-created viruses. He also covers regulation, political campaigns and pressures on scientific institutions. His stories are fast-turn news features and explainers. He uses expert quotes and clear descriptions of underlying mechanisms to show why developments matter. He connects technical details to practical stakes, including risks to ecosystems, economies, patients, public safety, technology and long-term scientific work.
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.