Rhett Ayers Butler

Rhett Ayers Butler (born 1978[1]) is an American journalist, author and entrepreneur who founded Mongabay, a conservation and environmental science news platform, in 1999.[2]

Rhett Ayers Butler
Born1978 (age 44–45)
United States
Alma materUniversity of California, San Diego (BSc)
OrganisationMongabay
Known forConservation science, Environmental journalism
AwardsParker-Gentry Award, Heinz Award

Butler founded Mongabay out of his interest in nature and wildlife.[3] The name "mongabay" originated from an anglicized spelling and pronunciation of Nosy Mangabe, an island off the coast of Madagascar.[4]

Butler has received multiple conservation, environmental, and journalism awards including the Parker-Gentry Award from the Field Museum of Natural History[5] in 2014, the SEAL Environmental Journalism Award in 2021,[6] and the Heinz Award for the Environment in 2022.[7]

Education and career

Butler studied Management Science and Economics University of California, San Diego, where he earned a Bachelor of Science degree.[8]

In 2012 Butler founded Mongabayorg Corporation, a nonprofit 501(c)(3) charitable organization headquartered in Menlo Park, California that raises awareness about social and environmental issues relating to forests and other ecosystems.[9] Mongabay.org was established in 2012 as the non-profit arm of Mongabay[10] and its first project with Mongabay-Indonesia, an Indonesian-language environmental news service.[11] Butler has served as CEO since inception.[12]

Reporting focus

Butler's reporting has focused on environmental issues in the tropics, especially topics related to forests, like biodiversity, conservation, and deforestation. He's done extensive reporting in Indonesia,[13] Malaysia, Borneo, the Amazon rainforest, and Madagascar.

In 2011 Butler published Rainforests, a book geared toward kids.[14]

Research

Butler has co-authored more than 20 academic papers in publications ranging from Science[15] to Trends in Ecology & Evolution.[16] These papers have usually focused on trends in deforestation and tropical forest conservation,[17] public interest in conservation,[18] conservation practice,[19] palm oil,[20] and conservation technology.[21]

Philip Jacobson arrest

Butler played a prominent role in the effort to free American journalist Philip Jacobson after his detention on 17 December 2019 on an alleged visa violation.[22] Jacobson was released without charge on 31 January 2020.[23]

Awards

References
  1. Guynn, Jessica. "A site of inspiration", San Francisco Chronicle, 5 July 2006. Retrieved on 17 February 2021.
  2. Meehan, Emily. "Not Letting Success Get to Your Head", The Wall Street Journal, 8 September 2006. Retrieved on 23 February 2021.
  3. Butler, Rhett (18 November 2018). "A lucky child: Mongabay's origin story". Mongabay News.
  4. Wood, Barbara (8 November 2017). "How a curious kid from Atherton started and grew a global environmental news site". Almanac News.
  5. Field Museum "Parker/Gentry Award", Retrieved on 14 January 2021
  6. sealawards.com "2020 SEAL Environmental Journalism Award", Retrieved on 19 February 2021
  7. "Heinz Awards – Rhett Ayers Butler".
  8. butlernature.com "Rhett Ayers Butler". Retrieved on 19 February 2021
  9. Guidestar "MONGABAYORG CORPORATION-GuideStar Nonprofit Profile Charting Impact Report", 17 November 2013. Retrieved on 17 February 2021
  10. Butler, Rhett. "Shifting to a non-profit model for environmental news reporting", Mongabay.com, 29 October 2013. Retrieved on 11 November 2015
  11. Sagita, Dessy. "Environmental portal launches in Indonesia", Jakarta Globe, 22 May 2012. Retrieved on 17 November 2015.
  12. Butler, Rhett. "How Mongabay grew from a guy in his pajamas to a multinational media organization", Mongabay.com, 1 January 2019. Retrieved on 17 February 2021.
  13. Schonhardt, Sara. "New Satellites to Help Save Indonesian Forests", Voice of America, 12 June 2012. Retrieved on 17 November 2015.
  14. About Mongabay.com. Who is mongabay.com?
  15. Burivalova, Zuzana; Game, Eddie; Butler, Rhett (4 January 2019). "The sound of a tropical forest". Science. 363 (6422): 28–29. Bibcode:2019Sci...363...28B. doi:10.1126/science.aav1902. PMID 30606831. S2CID 57600432.
  16. Butler, Rhett; Laurance, William (24 July 2008). "New strategies for conserving tropical forests". Trends in Ecology & Evolution. 23 (9): 469–472. doi:10.1016/j.tree.2008.05.006. PMID 18656280.
  17. Ghazoul, J; Butler, R; Mateo-Vega, J; Koh, L.P. (22 April 2010). "REDD: a reckoning of environment and development implications". Trends in Ecology & Evolution. 25 (7): 396–402. doi:10.1016/j.tree.2010.03.005. PMID 20417579.
  18. Burivalova, Zuzana; Butler, Rhett; Wilcove, David (9 October 2018). "Analyzing Google search data to debunk myths about the public's interest in conservation". Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment. 16 (9): 509–514. doi:10.1002/fee.1962. S2CID 91865977.
  19. Sodhi, Navjot; Butler, Rhettt; Laurance, William; Gibson, Luke (1 November 2011). "Conservation successes at micro, meso and macro scales". Trends in Ecology & Evolution. 26 (11): 585–594. doi:10.1016/j.tree.2011.07.002. PMID 21824677.
  20. Butler, Rhett; Laurance, William F. (1 March 2009). "Is oil palm the next emerging threat to the Amazon?". Tropical Conservation Science. 2 (1): 1–10. doi:10.1177/194008290900200102.
  21. mongabay.com "Rhett Butler". Retrieved on 19 February 2021
  22. Paddock, Richard (22 January 2020). "American Journalist Is Arrested in Indonesia Over Visa Issue". The New York Times.
  23. Paddock, Richard (1 February 2020). "Indonesia Deports U.S. Journalist Jailed Over Visa Issue". The New York Times.
  24. Field Museum"Parker/Gentry Award", Retrieved on 14 January 2021
  25. sealawards.com "2020 SEAL Environmental Journalism Award", Retrieved on 19 February 2021
  26. "Heinz Awards – Rhett Ayers Butler".
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