Rhett Ayers Butler
People often say that good journalism requires a 30,000-foot view. I’ve found the opposite to be true. The stories that move the world rarely start in boardrooms or at summits; they start with someone standing knee-deep in a mangrove swamp, notebook in hand, asking a fisherman what has changed. At Mongabay, we built a network [Continue reading]
When Jane Goodall died, the world didn’t just lose a scientist; it lost a moral compass. She had an uncanny ability to make people believe that what they did—however small—mattered. That conviction wasn’t sentimental; it was tactical. She understood that movements endure not on outrage alone but on the steady fuel of purpose. I first [Continue reading]
I was quite surprised when Lúcia Lohmann, director of the Missouri Botanical Garden, reached out to inform me that the venerable institution would award me the Henry Shaw Medal. I’m deeply grateful for the recognition. The Garden has long stood as one of the world’s great centers of science and conservation. To be recognized by [Continue reading]
Last week at a Climate Week event organized by Sentient Media, I was asked to share an example of Mongabay’s reporting on an animal welfare issue. I spoke about an investigation into cattle ranching. The background: Cattle ranching is the single largest direct driver of deforestation in the tropics, responsible for 70–80% of forest clearing [Continue reading]
On Monday night I gave a lecture at the prize ceremony for the BBVA Foundation’s 5th Biophilia Award for Environmental Communication (English) (program). The event was held in Madrid. I was asked to speak about “Reasons for hope in the face of the global environmental crisis” and provide a text of my remarks ahead of [Continue reading]
Spanish media published multiple stories about Mongabay winning the 2023 Biophilia Award. Here are two examples: La Fundación BBVA galardona a ‘Mongabay’ por crear una plataforma mundial de periodismo ambiental (ABC.es) Rhett Butler, fundador de la web ambiental Mongabay: “La gente prefiere creer lo que encaja con su visión del mundo” (El Mundo)
This week we learned that Mongabay won the BBVA Foundation’s 5th Biophilia Award for Environmental Communication. Mongabay was selected “for its outstanding track record in communicating on nature and biodiversity conservation, especially in the countries of the Global South, thanks to the contributions of over 800 journalists, scientists and other correspondents in more than 80 [Continue reading]