The Economist's James Astill Wins $75,000 Grantham Prize
2011 Grantham Prize Honors Excellence in Environmental Journalism NARRAGANSETT, RI — September 30, 2011 /PRNewswire/ — Metcalf Institute for Marine & Environmental Reporting presented The Grantham Prize for Excellence in Reporting on the Environment to James Astill of The Economist at the 2011 Grantham Prize Awards Ceremony. Astill received US$75,000 for “The World’s Lungs: Forests, and How to Save Them,” a commanding 8-part special report on the state of global forests and the rising threats they face from human exploitation and climate change. To research the series, Astill traveled to the forests of Brazil, Indonesia, Mexico, and Uganda, where he interviewed many people trying to protect trees or destroy them. The report suggests the risks to tropical forests are extremely grave, but that the situation is not hopeless. Once forests are valued properly, Astill argues, they can be saved. But he warns that his new approach should not be considered optional: a future without extensi...