{"id":41517,"date":"2025-02-24T13:14:37","date_gmt":"2025-02-24T18:14:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/com\/?post_type=bu-article&#038;p=41517"},"modified":"2025-02-26T15:17:36","modified_gmt":"2025-02-26T20:17:36","slug":"reporting-from-climate-changes-front-lines","status":"publish","type":"bu-article","link":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/com\/articles\/reporting-from-climate-changes-front-lines\/","title":{"rendered":"Reporting from Climate Change\u2019s Front Lines"},"content":{"rendered":"\t<div class=\"wp-block-editorial-leadin bu-blocks-block-editorial-leadin is-style-default has-media has-media-focus-center-middle\">\n\t\t<div class=\"container-lockup\">\n\n\t\t\t<div class=\"wp-block-leadin-media\">\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t<img width=\"2000\" height=\"1601\" src=\"\/com\/files\/2025\/02\/comtalk-lauren-fox-banner.jpg\" class=\"\" alt=\"Lauren Fox operates a camera in the Himalayas.\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/com\/files\/2025\/02\/comtalk-lauren-fox-banner.jpg 2000w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/com\/files\/2025\/02\/comtalk-lauren-fox-banner-636x509.jpg 636w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/com\/files\/2025\/02\/comtalk-lauren-fox-banner-1024x820.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/com\/files\/2025\/02\/comtalk-lauren-fox-banner-768x615.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/com\/files\/2025\/02\/comtalk-lauren-fox-banner-1536x1230.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/com\/files\/2025\/02\/comtalk-lauren-fox-banner-1249x1000.jpg 1249w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"wp-block-editorial-leadin-caption wp-prepress-component-caption\">Lauren Fox travelled to the mountain of Nepal to report on the intersection of climate change and outdoor recreation. Photo by Josh Warren.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"container-words-outer\">\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"container-words-inner\">\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h1 class=\"head\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tReporting from Climate Change\u2019s Front Lines\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/h1>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h4 class=\"deck\">Pulitzer Fellow Lauren Fox trekked through the Himalayas to see how mountain guides are adapting<\/h4>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\n\t<\/div>\n\n\t<div class=\"wp-prepress-component-metabar\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"wp-prepress-component-metabar-categories\">\n\t\t\t<ul>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<a\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\thref=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/com\/category\/journalism\/\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tJournalism\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/ul>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\n\t<div class=\"wp-prepress-component-metabar-wrapper\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"wp-prepress-component-metabar-date\">February 24, 2025<\/div>\n\t\t\n\t\t<div class=\"wp-prepress-component-metabar-credits\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<ul data-credit-type=\"By\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/com\/authors\/marc-chalufour\/\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tMarc Chalufour\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/ul>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"wp-prepress-component-metabar-share js-bu-prepress-share-tools\">\n\t\t\t<span class=\"icon-twitter\"><span>Twitter<\/span><\/span>\n\t\t\t<span class=\"icon-facebook\"><span>Facebook<\/span><\/span>\n\t\t\t<span class=\"icon-action\"><\/span>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n\n\t<div style=\"display:none;\">\n\t\t<div class=\"wp-prepress-component-share-tools\">\n\t<div class=\"wp-prepress-component-share-tools-inner js-prepress-component-share-tools\">\n\t\t<h4>Share<\/h4>\n\t\t<p class=\"wp-prepress-component-share-tools-article-title\">Reporting from Climate Change\u2019s Front Lines<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"wp-prepress-component-share-tools-article-link\">\n\t\t\t<div>\n\t\t\t\t<input type=\"text\" value=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/com\/articles\/reporting-from-climate-changes-front-lines\/\" readonly>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<label>\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Copy URL:<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<button class=\"js-prepress-component-share-tools\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<span>Copy<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<\/button>\n\t\t\t<\/label>\n\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"has-drop-cap\"><a href=\"https:\/\/pulitzercenter.org\/people\/lauren-fox\">Lauren Fox<\/a> was in the midst of a 14-day Himalayan trek when rocks began falling around her. Earlier in the day she\u2019d watched an avalanche from a distance; this time, one of her guide\u2019s was yelling \u201c<em>RUN!<\/em>\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Fox had traveled to Nepal\u2019s Manang District in September 2024 to report on the collision of climate change and outdoor recreation in one of the world\u2019s most iconic mountaineering locations. The Himalayas, a rugged mountain range between China and India, include the world\u2019s tallest mountain, Mount Everest (8,848 meters), and more than 100 peaks that stand over 7,200 meters above sea level. (Denali, the highest peak in North America, is 6,190 meters high.)&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Teahouses along the trail provide food and shelter for hikers who, in turn, support the economy. Fox had hired two women, Tila Roka and Sabi Tilija Pun, as her guides on Annapurna Circuit, and was paying for nightly meals and accommodations and access to the Annapurna Conservation Area.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-gallery columns-2 is-cropped is-style-background-yellow\"><ul class=\"blocks-gallery-grid\"><li class=\"blocks-gallery-item\"><figure><img loading=\"lazy\" width=\"450\" height=\"600\" src=\"\/com\/files\/2025\/02\/comtalk-lauren-fox-gallery-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" data-id=\"41528\" data-link=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/com\/articles\/reporting-from-climate-changes-front-lines\/comtalk-lauren-fox-gallery-1\/\" class=\"wp-image-41528\"\/><\/figure><\/li><li class=\"blocks-gallery-item\"><figure><img loading=\"lazy\" width=\"450\" height=\"600\" src=\"\/com\/files\/2025\/02\/comtalk-lauren-fox-gallery-2.jpg\" alt=\"\" data-id=\"41529\" data-full-url=\"\/com\/files\/2025\/02\/comtalk-lauren-fox-gallery-2.jpg\" data-link=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/com\/articles\/reporting-from-climate-changes-front-lines\/comtalk-lauren-fox-gallery-2\/\" class=\"wp-image-41529\"\/><\/figure><\/li><\/ul><figcaption class=\"blocks-gallery-caption\">Fox hired two women to guide her on the Annapurna Circuit, Tila Roka (seated next to Fox on the right and leading the climb above) and Sabi Tilija Pun. Photos courtesy of Lauren Fox.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Tourism and agriculture drive the region\u2019s economy, but climate change threatens both. Rising temperatures fuel weather extremes, strengthening rain storms and extending dry periods. Receding glaciers add to an already high risk of flooding.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Fox spent the day before the avalanche sheltered in a teahouse as unseasonably early snow fell. She watched as the teahouse owners surveyed their destroyed crops while simultaneously fretting about the safety of a mountaineering group that had left the night before. Above them, snow was destabilizing the mountainside; in the valley below, deadly floods raged.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Fox\u2014who dodged the rockslide unscathed\u2014was in Nepal with the support of a <a href=\"https:\/\/pulitzercenter.org\/blog\/announcing-2024-pulitzer-center-reporting-fellows\">Pulitzer Center Reporting Fellowship<\/a>. She\u2019d traveled around the globe to speak with people whose careers are affected by climate change. Now, she was witnessing those impacts firsthand. \u201cEverything that I\u2019d been researching happened in front of me,\u201d she says.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3>A Personal Connection to Climate Change<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Fox grew up hiking, rock climbing and snowboarding in and around Aspen, Colo., and sees outdoor recreation as a powerful way to connect people to the realities of climate change. \u201cOur whole town revolves around how much snow there is. It\u2019s all everyone talks about,\u201d she says. Climate change\u2014and in particular its impact on snowfall and forest fires\u2014has dominated those conversations in recent years.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>She learned of the Pulitzer Center Reporting Fellowships as a student in Global Health Storytelling, a course cotaught by faculty from COM and the BU School of Public Health. The <a href=\"https:\/\/pulitzercenter.org\/\">Pulitzer Center<\/a>, a nonprofit organization dedicated to journalism and education, supports dozens of reporting fellowships each year, including two for BU students. Fox\u2019s proposal to study the intersection of climate and recreation was accepted in spring 2024.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cI wanted to see what that looks like at the extreme, somewhere people have been living for generations,\u201d she says.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3>On-the-Ground Reporting<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>In the months leading up to her trip, Fox spoke with nonprofits in Nepal about climate change, reached out to climbers for advice on travel logistics, and discussed her plans with her Pulitzer-assigned mentor, a US-based journalist from Nepal. She arranged to attend a local training camp for aspiring women guides\u2014the subject of a short film that Fox reported while working on her climate change story. And she enlisted Tila and Sabi, alums of the camp, to guide her on the Annapurna Circuit and serve as translators for her reporting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>From her advance reporting, she learned about efforts to mitigate climate change impacts, like planting more trees along riverbanks to prevent flooding. But she also heard stories of younger generations, disillusioned by the vanishing career opportunities, leaving the region to study and never returning.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-style-teal-background-right\"><p>I wanted to see what that looks like at the extreme, somewhere people have been living for generations.<\/p><cite>Lauren Fox<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p>Fox\u2019s trip was carefully timed\u2014she would arrive after the monsoon season and early in the mountaineering season. But of course, climate change has rendered such traditional distinctions obsolete. The storm that Fox watched from a teahouse was part of the heaviest rain in Nepal since 1970. More than 200 people died in flooding in the country in late September 2024. Homes were destroyed and infrastructure washed away.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s a country that produces very little of the carbon dioxide emissions that they\u2019re being affected by, but everyone knows what\u2019s happening to the environment and what causes it,\u201d Fox says. \u201cIt\u2019s snowing and raining at the wrong times and in the wrong places. People don\u2019t know when to plant their crops.\u201d And guides can no longer rely on a steady income. Following the storm, three of Tila\u2019s trekking clients cancelled trips.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cI wanted the story to be solutions based,\u201d Fox says. \u201cOnce I got there, I realized that a lot of people don\u2019t know what to do and are asking for solutions.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Since her time in Nepal, Fox published her <a href=\"https:\/\/nepalitimes.com\/here-now\/those-who-stay\">primary story<\/a> in the <em>Nepali Times<\/em><em> <\/em>and completed her film about female guides, which she\u2019s submitting to film festivals. <a href=\"https:\/\/pulitzercenter.org\/stories\/when-tila-says-run-you-run\">Another story<\/a>, about the day of the avalanche, was published by the Pulitzer Center.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cI was witness to the raw human impacts. No longer abstract statistics of glacial-outburst floods or rising temperatures,\u201d Fox says. \u201cThis feeling could not be quantified.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"is-style-end-of-article\">Although she didn\u2019t find the solutions she\u2019d sought, the experience did provide some clarity. \u201cI want to bring human voices into stories about the climate,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Lauren Fox was in the midst of a 14-day Himalayan trek when rocks began falling around her. 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