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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The U.S. Department of Agriculture has an updated plant hardiness zone map. Will the new map change what gardeners should plant this spring?
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There's a good chance your zone shifted when the USDA updated its plant hardiness map in 2023. Zoom in on what that means for your garden. -
The Energy Department finalized rules that will ban fossil fuels in new and remodeled federal buildings by 2030. -
Fifteen years after the EPA said greenhouse gasses are a danger to public health, the agency finalized rules to limit climate-warming pollution from existing coal and new gas power plants.
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Oil and gas drillers are releasing more climate-warming methane than the government estimates, a new study shows. -
Ithaca, N.Y., wants to eliminate greenhouse gasses by 2030 — 20 years faster than the rest of the country. But even in this liberal city meeting climate targets is harder than expected. -
Renewable energy grew faster in 2023 than at any time in the last three decades, according to the International Energy Agency. Solar power in China accounted for much of the growth.
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Climate-warming greenhouse gasses in the U.S. declined 1.9% last year, but that's only a third of what's needed to meet Paris climate change goals. -
The Biden administration is updating efficiency standards for many consumer products to help meet the country's climate goals. Many are getting pushback.
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To meet climate goals, energy efficiency for dozens of appliances is getting renewed attention from the Biden administration.
