Elizabeth 'Lizzie' Grossman
Island Press
Journalist Elizabeth “Lizzie” Grossman has died. Grossman specialized in environmental and science reporting. She authored books focusing on hidden toxics and their effect on human health and the environment.
Her work has appeared in Scientific American, Salon, Newsweek, Mother Jones, The Washington Post and other publications.
Grossman traveled to the Arctic with scientists aboard a Canadian Coast Guard icebreaker, searching for signs of climate change.
“Being here in the polar latitudes — in a season where day is no more than five hours of twilight — with the stark contrast between sea ice cover and open water all around me, I’m beginning to truly grasp the physics of climate,” Grossman wrote from the Arctic in November 2007.
She spoke to OPB about the trip in 2008.
“Both the captain who was on board for the leg I was there, say 10, 15, 20 years ago, ice conditions wouldn’t have permitted an expedition like this. It’s also logistically very difficult because you have to keep moving the ship so you don’t get trapped in the ice,” she said.
Grossman was a New York City native who moved to Portland in 1996. She graduated from Yale University. She died from ovarian cancer in Southwest Portland Friday. She was 59 years old.