Sarah Gardner

Reporter

SHORT BIO

Sarah Gardner is a former reporter with Marketplace's Sustainability Desk. Her past projects include "The Price of Profits," “We Used To Be China,” “Coal Play,” “Consumed,” “The Next American Dream,” “Jobs of the Future,” and “Climate Race,” among others. Sarah began her career at Marketplace as a freelancer and was hired as business editor and backup host to David Brancaccio in the mid-’90s.

Prior to her work at Marketplace, Sarah was a public radio freelancer in Los Angeles, a staff reporter for New Hampshire Public Radio, a commercial radio reporter in Massachusetts and an editor/reporter for a small-town newspaper in Minnesota. She is the recipient of several awards, including a Gerald Loeb Award for Distinguished Business and Finance Journalism (1997), an Alfred I. duPont–Columbia University Award (1996 – 1997) and a George Foster Peabody Award, the oldest and most prestigious media award (2000).

Sarah attended Carleton College, where she received her bachelor’s degree in religion, and Columbia University, where she received her master’s degree in journalism. A native of Waukesha, Wisconsin, Sarah resides in Los Angeles.

Latest Stories (617)

Tech advances fuel solar industry

Oct 15, 2008
The credit crisis is taking its toll on businesses, but there's optimism in the solar energy sector. Sarah Gardner reports that new technolgies and cheaper materials have improved solar's market potential.

Financial crisis is not eco-friendly

Oct 8, 2008
Global warming and other environmental worries sparked a green business boom in recent years. But with the flow of money freezing up, so is spending on renewable energy technology and sustainable products and services. Sarah Gardner reports.

Loans won't make cars go faster

Oct 1, 2008
President Bush is set to sign a bill authorizing $25 billion in loans to American automakers to help Detroit make more fuel-efficient cars. But Sarah Gardner reports it'll be awhile before we see those cars rev up.

Getting to know our meat better

Sep 30, 2008
A federal law goes into effect tonight requiring supermarkets to label the country of origin for fresh meat, produce and certain kinds of nuts. Sarah Gardner reports why the law took six years to get up and running.

Hospital staffers: Health care needs fix

Sep 29, 2008
As part of Marketplace's ongoing election series, "Interested Parties," reporter Sarah Gardner visited a hospital and looked into what people in the health care trenches want from Washington.

Suspect plastic in baby products

Sep 16, 2008
An FDA hearing today takes up a controversial plastic hardener that's used in everything from baby bottles to food packaging. Canada plans to ban it from baby bottles. Sarah Gardner reports.

FDA eyes labels that are a little bit nuts

Sep 15, 2008
Food labels often make it tricky for people with food allergies to figure out whether something's safe to eat. The Food and Drug Administration on Tuesday is going to look into whether confusion is damaging confidence. Sarah Gardner reports.

Rethinking targets on gas mileage

Jun 26, 2008
Even though fuel efficiency standards were updated a few months ago, they already sound outdated. Some groups wish to set shorter-term goals beyond the current 35-mpg target. Sarah Gardner reports.

Towns fight to keep groundwater local

Jun 19, 2008
A growing number of citizen groups from small towns are organizing against bottled water companies pumping locally. Sarah Gardner reports on a New Hampshire town's concerns over the tapping of its groundwater reserves.

Section 8 may soon be endangered

Jun 19, 2008
A large portion of federally-subsidized rental units will be in jeopardy in the next five years once Section 8 housing contracts expire. Sarah Gardner reports the average post-Section 8 rent hike is between 20% and 40%.