In this blog, we often highlight people, products and practices aimed at improving the environment. This time, I'd like to shine a spot on some journalists who've done outstanding work informing the public about environmental problems and solutions in their communities, and nationwide.

Newspaper reporters, book authors and correspondents for radio, television and online news organizations from across North America were honored Wednesday night at the Society of Environmental Journalists annual conference in Madison, WI

The society, of which I'm a board member, handed out $20,000 in prizes and recognized 31 entries for powerful stories about pollution near schools, the impacts of longwall mining, climate change and a variety of other topics. 

The top prize for investigative reporting went to Blake Morrison and Brad Heath from USA Today, who mined government data to discover that children attending thousands of schools across the country could be breathing toxic air pollution from nearby factories and power plants.  The paper's revelations prompted the Environmental Protection Agency to begin testing the air outside of some of the schools.  For more on their special report, "The Smokestack Effect," go here.

A Canadian writer, meanwhile, cast a spotlight on the environmental, social and economic impact of the massive extraction of oil sands in Alberta - an issue that ought to be of concern to residents of the United States, since as author Andrew Nikiforuk points out, one in 20 barrels of oil consumed in this country comes from that industry.  To learn more about Nikiforuk's book, Tar Sands, winner of SEJ's Rachel Carson Environment Book Award, go here.

Earlier in the week, those three and a few other journalists were honored in Washington as well for their work, at the annual presentation of the Grantham Prize for excellence in reporting on the environment.  Morrison and Heath picked up the top prize there of $75,000.

The point of such awards is not the money, but the recognition by peers of their commitment and creativity in producing stories that matter about their - and our - environment. 

For more on the Grantham winners' work, go here. And to read, hear and see more award-winning stories honored by SEJ, go here.