Kevin Krajick is the Earth Institute's senior editor for science news. He grew up in the Catskill Mountains and Hudson Valley of upstate New York, where he started in journalism at his high-school newspaper. He has since reported from all 50 U.S. states and 30-some countries, covering science, criminal justice, immigration and other subjects. His work has been featured in National Geographic, Newsweek, The New Yorker, Science, Smithsonian and many other publications. He was a 1981 finalist for the National Magazine Award for Public Service for his reporting on organized crime's links to the toxic waste-disposal industry. Among other honors, he is two-time winner of the American Geophysical Union's Walter Sullivan Award for Excellence in Science Journalism, and his work has been featured repeatedly in the yearly book "Best American Science and Nature Writing." His 2001 book "Barren Lands" is the true account of how prospectors discovered diamond mines in Canada's remote far north. Krajick holds degrees in comparative literature and journalism from Columbia University.