環(huán)境新聞有一系列相關(guān)涵義，我們可以將它理解為鼓吹性倡導(dǎo)性新聞，或帶有目的性的報道，也可以概括地將環(huán)境新聞理解為關(guān)于環(huán)境的新聞。 　　不同時期環(huán)境新聞定義也不相同。環(huán)境新聞的內(nèi)容由傳統(tǒng)的環(huán)境保護轉(zhuǎn)向現(xiàn)代的和污染相關(guān)的內(nèi)容，由原來只關(guān)注地球自然環(huán)境或環(huán)境危機向關(guān)注所有生命健康轉(zhuǎn)變。 　　關(guān)于環(huán)境新聞，英語翻譯服務(wù) 可以從它產(chǎn)生的過程和目的來定義。例如，環(huán)境傳播資源中心(ecrc)——1996年成立于美國北亞利桑那州(northern arizona)大學(xué)的傳播學(xué)院，將環(huán)境新聞定義為：通過各種方式和渠道對受眾進行的環(huán)境傳播。并進一步解釋，環(huán)境傳播是一個過程，這個過程涉及到傳播者和受眾兩個方面，傳播過程是通過有效的信息傳遞、互動交流、公開討論和辯論來實現(xiàn)的。我們期望這種傳播能成為建立人與自然和諧關(guān)系的基礎(chǔ)，能夠成為提高環(huán)境承載力和環(huán)境可持續(xù)發(fā)展的方式。 　　與此不同，學(xué)者ward是依據(jù)倡導(dǎo)客觀性討論來思考環(huán)境新聞的涵義的：“這兩個詞給我一種矛盾的修飾的感覺。環(huán)境新聞?在對新聞行業(yè)最富有責(zé)任感的記者心中‘新聞’這個名詞應(yīng)當勝過‘環(huán)境’這個形容詞。環(huán)保主義作家，當然可以。環(huán)保主義記者?這就不是一個嚴謹?shù)男侣剬W(xué)定義了。


Environmental journalism is the collection, verification, production, distribution and exhibition of information regarding current events, trends, issues and people that are associated with the non-human world with which humans necessarily interact. To be an environmental journalist, one must have an understanding of scientific language and practice, knowledge of historical environmental events, the ability to keep abreast of environmental policy decisions and the work of environmental organizations, a general understanding of current environmental concerns, and the ability to communicate all of that information to the public in such a way that it can be easily understood, despite its complexity.
Environmental journalism falls within the scope of environmental communication, and its roots can be traced to nature writing. One key controversy in environmental journalism is a continuing disagreement over how to distinguish it from its allied genres and disciplines.
History
While the practice of nature writing has a rich history that dates back