Abrahm Lustgarten
Best reporting in any medium on international environmental issues
AWARD DATE: 2018
AWARD NAME: The Whitman Bassow Award
AWARD RECIPIENT: Abrahm Lustgarten
AWARD RECIPIENT AFFILIATION: ProPublica and The New York Times Magazine
AWARD HONORED WORK: “Fuel to the Fire”
AWARD SPONSOR: Robert Serio
A profoundly reported work on multiple levels, “Fuel to the Fire” dissects a man-made ecological disaster: how a U.S. biofuels policy engineered mainly to serve corporate interests combined with Indonesian political corruption to devastate Southeast Asian forests and trigger a surge in carbon emissions. Abrahm Lustgarten embraces a complex issue, attacks its many dimensions head on, lucidly enlightens the reader, and offers the public a possible roadmap for action.
Citation for Excellence Recipients: Maurice Tamman, Matthew Green, Mari Saito, Sarah Slobin and Maryanne Murray
Affiliation: Reuters
Honored Work: “Ocean Shock”