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Katie Surma on Muck Rack

Katie Surma

Verified
Pittsburgh
As seen in: Inside Climate News, MSN, USA Today, ABC News, NBC News, PBS NewsHour, WIRED Magazine, Yahoo Finance, Ars Technica, Associated Press, Chicago Tribune and
Covers:  Human Rights, Climate Change, the Environment and Nature's rights
Journalist @insideclimate covering the rights of nature movement, human rights and the environment—DM for contact information

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Katie Surma’s Biography

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With over 15 years of combined experience in journalism and law, I cover international environmental law and justice issues for InsideClimate News, a Pulitzer Prize-winning nonprofit news organization. I have a Master of Laws in International Rule of Law and Security from Arizona State University, and a Master of Science in Investigative Journalism from the same institution. I am also a licensed attorney in Pennsylvania, with a background in commercial litigation.

As a journalist at InsideClim…

Katie Surma’s Journalist Portfolio

Lessons for Democracy From the Brazilian Amazon - Inside Climate News

Lessons for Democracy From the Brazilian Amazon - Inside Climate News

"The environment and its natural resources are at the heart of the discussion on the maintenance of democracy…

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Should Companies Get Paid When Governments Phase Out Fossil Fuels? They Already Are - Inside Clim...

Should Companies Get Paid When Governments Phase Out Fossil Fuels? They Already Are - Inside Clim...

A common part of free trade agreements helps fossil fuel companies force big payouts from governments phasing…

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Articles

Every 3 Days an Environmental Defender Is Murdered

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By Katie Surma Verified
| Truthout Verified
Did you know that Truthout is a nonprofit and independently funded by readers like you? If you value what we do, please support our work with a donation. This article originally appeared on Inside Climate News, a nonprofit, non-partisan news organization that covers climate, energy and the environment. Sign up for their newsletter here. Every three days someone is killed for defending nature.
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An Environmental Defender Is Murdered Every Three Days Original

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By Katie Surma Verified
| Inside Climate News Verified
Every three days someone is killed for defending nature. In 2025, watchdog group Global Witness documented 124 such deaths worldwide, a toll researchers say is likely only a fraction of the total number because repression and armed conflict make many deaths impossible to verify.
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An Environmental Defender Is Murdered Every Three Days

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By Katie Surma Verified
| ecotopical.com
At least 124 people were killed in 2025 for protecting their homelands, forests, farms and waterways from pollution and other harms, according to a new report. By Katie Surma Every three days someone is killed for defending nature.
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Awards

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Society of Environmental Journalists Award

2022 - Outstanding Beat Reporting, Small

Third Place "Rights of Nature Beat Reporting" by Katie Surma for Inside Climate News Judges' comments: "Katie Surma's provocative entry, focusing on 'rights of nature,' delivers a globe-spanning survey of new laws, U.N. declarations and ongoing policy discussions centered on concepts that ecosystems, endangered species and Indigenous communities have inherent rights to critical habitat protections. From nuanced coverage of conference presentations marking the 50th anniversary of the U.N.'s Stockholm Declaration to her first-person reporting on a 1,000-mile Amazon River trip by a Brazilian judge, lawyers and activists, surveying village concerns, Surma challenges readers to broaden their view of environmental activism through emblematic examples."

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Society for Advancing Business Editing and Writing

2020 - Projects and collaborations

Winner – The Arizona Republic; Nationwide Insurance bought one of the state’s most valuable parcels of land in Scottsdale. It also got a great deal Katie Surma, Anne Mickey, Jamie Fields

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Society for Advancing Business Editing and Writing

2024 - Energy/Sustainability/Climate Change

Best in Business Award

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Overseas Press Club

2024 - THE WHITMAN BASSOW AWARD

The Whitman Bassow Award is presented by the Overseas Press Club to recognize the best reporting in any medium on international environmental issues

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Deadline Club

2025 - Science, Technology, Medical or Environmental Reporting
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