National Observer of Canada has been nominated for the Jack Webster Foundation Environmental Reporting Award by Marc Fawcett-Atkinson “Canada is drowning in plastic waste, and recycling will not save us.”
The Fawcett-Atkinson article is part of a reader-funded, three-part investigation into the plastics problem in Canada, written and reported by Fawcett-Atkinson and edited by Adrienne Tanner.
The series investigates the battle between the government and environmentalists who want to control Canada’s growing plastic pollution and the plastics industry’s rejection of more regulation.
“Marc Fawcett-Atkinson’s reporting exemplifies the kind of investigative journalism that informs and protects the public by empowering people with the information they need to act on a critically important issue,” said Linda Solomon Wood, editor-in-chief of National Observer of Canada. “I am honored that the Webster Foundation recognizes his excellent work, made possible by our subscribers.”
The other two finalists in the category are Hakai magazine for “Thriving Together: Salmon, Berries and People” by ‘Cúagilákv (Jess Housty) and Focus magazine for “Fossil Fuels and the Coronavirus” by Russ Francis.
Fawcett-Atkinson covers climate change, food safety, and plastics in the environment to National Observer of Canada.
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Previously, he has written for The Atlantic and High Country News, the Literary Review of Canada, and other publications on topics that explore the relationships between people and their social and physical environments.
Fawcett-Atkinson has a master’s degree in journalism from the University of British Columbia and a bachelor’s degree in human ecology from the College of the Atlantic.
“Plastic is the dark sister of oil and gas when it comes to ending the climate crisis,” he said. “It’s literally everywhere from Mars to the Mariana Trench, and it’s driving the continued extraction of fossil fuels, but plastic producers and others in the industry have largely avoided serious and much-needed scrutiny and regulation. “.
Reducing single-use plastics and reclassifying plastic as toxic under Canada’s Environmental Protection Act was one of the federal government’s key environmental initiatives, Tanner said, National Observer of Canadamanaging editor.
“Marc’s series shed light on the powerful rejection of legacy industries that rely on increased plastic production for their survival,” he said. “Marc’s stories revealed a sad truth; Despite all our blue box collection efforts, little of this plastic is recycled and most ends up buried in landfills or floating in the oceans. “
The National Observer for Canada has been nominated for the Jack Webster Foundation Environmental Reporting Award by Marc Fawcett-Atkinson “Canada is drowning in plastic waste, and recycling will not save us.”
The Jack Webster Foundation, now in its 35th year, “encourages and celebrates excellence in journalism to protect the public interest of the people of British Columbia.”
It is named after an enterprising journalist. “From the 1950s to the 1990s, Jack Webster was one of Canada’s best known, respected and influential journalists,” reads the foundation’s website. “In print, radio and television, his work was synonymous with insightful, accurate and brazen reporting. In 1987, he was inducted into the Canadian News Hall of Fame and was later made a member of the Order of Canada. “
Reference-www.nationalobserver.com