As a senior editor at Texas Monthly, Russell Gold investigates energy systems’ human and environmental costs. His work bridges boardroom decisions with frontline consequences, making him essential reading for policymakers and industry leaders alike.
We’ve followed Russell Gold’s work for over two decades, observing his evolution from a suburban correspondent at The Philadelphia Inquirer to a Pulitzer-finalist investigative journalist at The Wall Street Journal and now a senior editor at Texas Monthly. His career trajectory mirrors the tectonic shifts in energy reporting, blending rigorous analysis with narrative depth to expose systemic failures and champion sustainable solutions.
Gold’s early work at regional newspapers honed his ability to dissect complex systems, a skill he later applied to global energy crises. At The Wall Street Journal, his coverage of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill earned him a Gerald Loeb Award and a Pulitzer finalist spot, cementing his reputation as a journalist who balances human stories with macroeconomic implications. His 2019 pivot to climate change reporting marked a deliberate shift toward solutions-oriented storytelling, exemplified by his 2021 investigation into Texas’ grid failure during Winter Storm Uri. Today, at Texas Monthly, he merges long-form narrative with urgent policy analysis, often focusing on the intersection of energy giants and grassroots activism.
This 2023 exposé revealed how decades of lax regulation allowed energy companies to abandon over 3,000 offshore wells in Texas state waters. Gold combined aerial surveys with EPA records to demonstrate how decaying infrastructure leaks methane and heavy metals into sensitive ecosystems. His interviews with third-generation shrimpers illustrated the collapse of coastal livelihoods, while leaked internal memos proved companies systematically delayed cleanup costs. The piece prompted bipartisan legislation to increase bonding requirements, showcasing Gold’s ability to turn localized environmental reporting into actionable policy outcomes.
In this 2024 profile, Gold chronicled Ashley Watt’s fight against Chevron over a reactivated “zombie well” spewing brine onto her ranch. Through FOIA requests and soil analysis, he revealed how outdated plugging techniques from the 1950s fail under modern pressure conditions. The article’s viral timelapse of the 100-foot geyser became a rallying cry for rural conservatives demanding stricter enforcement, proving Gold’s knack for bridging ideological divides through data-driven storytelling.
Gold’s 2025 analysis of Tesla’s Gigafactory complex near Austin dissected the paradox of renewable tech’s fossil fuel dependencies. By tracing lithium supply chains from Chilean mines to Texas assembly lines, he exposed how green infrastructure still relies on extractive practices. The article’s centerpiece—a comparative lifecycle analysis of electric vs. combustion vehicles—became benchmark research for policymakers, demonstrating Gold’s commitment to nuanced, non-partisan truth-telling.
Gold prioritizes stories that reveal contradictions in the shift to renewables, like his 2025 Musk piece showing how lithium mining perpetuates environmental harm. Successful pitches might explore biofuel’s water usage or rare earth mineral geopolitics, provided they offer new datasets or underreported stakeholder perspectives.
His abandoned wells investigation succeeded by linking global methane targets to coastal Texan communities. Pitch stories that connect international climate agreements to hyperlocal impacts, especially in rural or industrial heartlands often overlooked by coastal media.
Gold’s work thrives on FOIA-obtained memos and EPA violation records. Pitches should identify specific document troves, like FERC filings or state permitting databases, that could reveal systemic issues when cross-referenced with on-the-ground reporting.
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