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The 2014 Summer Media Fellows are:

  • Kevin Begos, a journalist with The Associated Press, reports on the national and regional debate surrounding the shale gas drilling boom and related energy issues. He covers environmental and health impacts, as well as the fossil fuel divestment movement. He is a contributor to “A Field Guide for Science Writers: The Official Guide of the National Association of Science Writers” (Oxford University Press, 2005).

  • Osha Gray Davidson, an award-winning author, freelance writer and photographer, has written for Earthzine, Rolling Stone, InsideClimate News, The New York Times and Mother Jones. He publishes The Phoenix Sun, a blog about renewable energy and the environment in the American Southwest, and is the author of “Clean Break: The Story of Germany’s Energy Transformation and What Americans Can Learn from It” (InsideClimate News, 2012).

  • Tom Henry, a journalist with The Toledo Blade, has reported on a range of energy and environmental issues—from the impact of toxic algae pollution on western Lake Erie’s public health to a look at how natural gas is changing the markets for nuclear and other energy sources. He is a former Society for Environmental Journalists board member, and currently serves on the SEJournal editorial board and as the magazine’s book editor.

Fellows were selected based on work history and samples, commitment to covering environmental law, and their potential for increasing understanding of environmental law and policy issues nationwide.

Former summer media fellows include Tim Wheeler, Baltimore Sun; Jeremy Jacobs,Greenwire; Lisa Palmer, who has written for The New York Times, Slate and Scientific American; Richard Harris, National Public Radio; Beth Daley, Boston Globe; Mark Schapiro, Center for Investigative Reporting; Seth Borenstein, The Associated Press; and Kate Galbraith, Texas Tribune.

In addition to attending class, media fellows will join faculty and other distinguished scholars in delivering lectures as part of Vermont Law School’s 2014 “Hot Topics” summer series, which covers a wide range of current issues in environmental law. Henry will present on Thursday, June 26 (topic TBD); Davidson will deliver “Changing Threats to Coral Reefs” on Thursday, July 17; and Begos will present “Fracking, Case Law, and Marcellus Shale Communities: How Evolving Public Perceptions Are Leading to a New Legal Landscape” on Thursday, July 31.

Free and open to the public, the hour-long “Hot Topics” lectures will be held from noon to 1 p.m. in Oakes Hall Room 007 on the Vermont Law School campus. Vermont Bar Association Continuing Legal Education (CLE) credit is available. For more information about the series, including a full list of upcoming lectures, visithttp://bit.ly/1gjyJnG, call Courtney Collins at 802-831-1371 or emailccollins@vermontlaw.edu.

The Vermont Law School Summer Media Fellowship program has been made possible since 2002 by a generous grant from the Johnson Family Foundation.