Katie Surma

Katie Surma

Katie Surma is a reporter at Inside Climate News focusing on international environmental law and justice. Before joining ICN, she practiced law, specializing in commercial litigation. She also wrote for a number of publications and her stories have appeared in the Washington Post, USA Today, Chicago Tribune, Seattle Times and The Associated Press, among others. Katie has a master’s degree in investigative journalism from Arizona State University’s Walter Cronkite School of Journalism, an LLM in international rule of law and security from ASU’s Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law, a J.D. from Duquesne University, and was a History of Art and Architecture major at the University of Pittsburgh. Katie lives in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, with her husband, Jim Crowell.
5 Articles

AI Is Decoding Whales’ Communications. Could That Be a Turning Point in the Push for Their Rights?

The Cetacean Translation Initiative is using artificial intelligence to help understand sperm whale communications. Lawyers think the discoveries could galvanize…

How the Kichwa People’s Declaration of Living Forest is changing law, science and our understanding of the world

José Gualinga discusses his Kichwa People of Sarayaku’s visionary Living Forest Declaration and the importance of collaborating across cultures and…

China Nonferrous Mining downplays toxic waste spill as residents feel the impacts

China Nonferrous Mining told investors its waste pit collapse did not have a “significant impact” on Zambia’s environment or residents.…

Deforestation Threatens Public Health. Securing Indigenous Land Rights Can Help, Researchers Find

A new peer-reviewed study examined the impact Indigenous territories have on human health in two categories of diseases, finding that…

US Removes Mentions of Climate Change, Corruption From 2025 Human Rights Reports

The 2025 Human Rights Reports came out late—missing mentions of “corruption,” “climate change,” and human rights abuses against indigenous people…