Jeff Brady
Jeff Brady is a National Desk Correspondent based in Philadelphia, where he covers energy issues and climate change. Brady helped establish NPR's environment and energy collaborative which brings together NPR and Member station reporters from across the country to cover the big stories involving the natural world.
Brady approaches stories from the consumer side of the light switch and the gas pump in an effort to demystify an energy system that can seem complicated and opaque. Brady has reported on natural gas utilities fighting to preserve their business in a world more concerned about climate change, the long saga over the Keystone XL oil pipeline, the closing of a light bulb factory in Pennsylvania and how gas ranges pollute homes and make climate change worse.
In 2017 his reporting showed a history of racism and sexism that have made it difficult for the oil business to diversify its workforce. A union at the center of that reporting now faces a class-action lawsuit from its Black members.
In 2011 Brady led NPR's coverage of the Jerry Sandusky child sexual abuse scandal at Penn State—from the night legendary football coach Joe Paterno was fired to the trial where Sandusky was found guilty.
In 2005, Brady was among the NPR reporters who covered the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. His reporting on flooded cars left behind after the storm exposed efforts to stall the implementation of a national car titling system. Today, the National Motor Vehicle Title Information System is operational and the Department of Justice estimates it could save car buyers up to $11 billion a year.
Before coming to NPR in September 2003, Brady was a reporter at Oregon Public Broadcasting (OPB) in Portland. He has also worked in commercial television as an anchor and a reporter, and in commercial radio as a talk-show host and reporter.
Brady graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Communications from Southern Oregon State College (now Southern Oregon University). In 2018 SOU honored Brady with its annual "Distinguished Alumni" award.
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Coal and natural gas-fired power plants would have to dramatically reduce the climate-warming greenhouse gasses they emit under proposed federal rules. -
In the 70s, Jimmy Carter's priorities included energy efficiency and a shift from foreign oil reliance. His actions were criticized then, but laid the groundwork for addressing climate change.
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The conservative media was in uproar last week over speculation that the federal government planned to ban gas cooking stoves and possibly seize them. It escalated into something much larger online.
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Republican Sen. Pat Toomey is retiring. If Democrats win his seat, it could help them keep their thin majority in the Senate. Lt. Gov. John Fetterman is running against TV's Dr. Mehmet Oz.
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Climate change is bringing more extreme weather that often leads to mass power outages. That has more Americans installing home generators. (Story originally aired on ATC on Jan. 31, 2022.)
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A study finds tiny leaks from loose fittings added up to more emissions than when stoves were in use. The impact of U.S. gas stoves on climate change amounts to the same effect as a half-million cars.
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President Biden campaigned on the most ambitious climate agenda of any major party candidate. But the cornerstone of his plan appears doomed in Congress, rejected by a Democrat from a coal state.
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President Biden campaigned on ending oil and gas industry subsidies. But getting rid of them requires passing legislation. A bill eliminating the overseas drilling subsidy is stalled in Congress.
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The Biden administration will release 50 million barrels of oil from the country's strategic petroleum reserve to lower gas prices for Americans as the holiday traveling season kicks off.
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In a major expansion, proposed U.S. rules would apply not only to new oil and gas operations but also older ones. Methane is a potent greenhouse gas considered key to slowing global warming quickly.
