Who’s Who in Green: Chip Giller

Before Grist.org burst onto the scene in 1999, environmentalism online was all about doom and gloom. Chip Giller, Grist’s founder, had a feeling that all of the dour finger-pointing and long journalistic articles about sea turtles weren’t exactly drawing a jaded public to the cause.  So, Grist’s signature editorial voice was born – one that’s sometimes lighthearted, almost always humorous or satirical.  Grist, which began as a tiny online newsletter, is now one of the most influential environmental blogs, drawing in nearly a million daily readers.

Grist.org paved the way for blogs like the one you’re reading at this very moment. The idea that environmentalism can be fun has undoubtedly helped to catch the interest of millions of people who otherwise would have been turned off by the tone of the movement.

For this reason, Chip Giller was named among TIME Magazine’s Heroes of the Environment, an honor he shares with such illustrious company as Al Gore, Wangari Maathai, David Attenborough and the designers of the Toyota Prius.  He was also awarded the 2006 National Conservation Achievement Award by the National Wildlife Federation, and has been featured in Vanity Fair, Newsweek and on the Today Show.

Check out what Chip had to say on PBS Now:

When asked by Mother Jones recently what he thought it would take to get people to act on the environmental crisis, Chip said:

I think to get society to act as a whole, people need inspiration. I also think things like the Katrina tragedy are definitely a wake-up call. To be fully honest, I think it probably will take some more disasters to really get people to understand the urgency behind these issues. But the other really important ingredient is inspiration. It’s almost like leadership and inspiration from the top, and there needs to be individual initiative from the bottom up.

Grist.org is the ideal place for people on the cusp of interest in ‘going green’ to get their info and news, so be sure to forward it along to your friends and family! And be sure not to miss regular Grist features like From A to Green, Ask Umbra and The Grist List.

Chip Giller’s Green Score: 32,145

Be Green, Get Rich: Money-Saving Tips Good for the Planet, Too

There’s a definite upside to this whole mess with the economy. It’s simple: nearly all of the tips we’re getting from experts on how to save money also benefit the planet.  It’s a matter of consuming less.  We’re reigning in our big-spending habits and instead reusing things, cutting back and doing without. In the process, we’re reducing the amount of junk that’s piling up in landfills, using less energy and consuming fewer resources.

Grist noticed this when checking out budget-saving tips from TheStreet.com.  Among the tips were:

You care what your car looks like: A car is a means of transportation to get from one place to another, but many people don’t view it that way. Instead, they consider it a reflection of themselves and spend money every two years or so to impress others instead of driving the car for its entire useful life and investing the money saved.

You buy things you don’t use: Take a look around your house, in the closets, basement, attic and garage and see if there are a lot of things you haven’t used in the past year. If there are, chances are that all those things you purchased were wasted money that could have been used to increase your net worth.

Your house is too big: When you buy a house that is bigger than you can afford or need, you end up spending extra money on longer debt payments, increased taxes, higher upkeep and more things to fill it. Some people will try to argue that the increased value of the house makes it a good investment, but the truth is that unless you are willing to downgrade your living standards, which most people are not, it will never be a liquid asset or money that you can ever use and enjoy.

After so many decades of pointless, debt-amassing excess, we’re finally learning that small is beautiful, and less is more. Perhaps this shift toward a simpler way of living will help people detach themselves from the obsession with image that has gripped our society for too long.  I won’t hold my breath, but it’s a nice thought.

Link [The Street] via [Grist]
Photo credit: Flickr user Refracted Moments

Grist Explains How to Smack Down Global Warming Deniers, Point by Point

If you’ve ever gotten into an argument about global warming with a skeptic, you know how frustrating it can be. Grist.org has a crazily comprehensive guide to smacking down climate change deniers and their tired, weak arguments as to why they think global warming is a hoax.

Grist guest author Coby Beck has created an entire outline that goes first through the ‘Stages of Denial’ – there’s nothing happening, we don’t know why it’s happening, climate change is natural, climate change is not bad and climate change can’t be stopped. Then it cycles through scientific topics, types of argument and level of sophistication. For example, under ‘Uninformed’ you’ll find the answer to the argument, ‘what’s wrong with warmer weather?’ and under ‘Naïve’ you can read the answer to ‘it’s the sun, stupid’.

Here’s a sample from one of my favorites, which you hear so often: ‘They predicted global cooling in the 1970s’.

Objection: The alarmists were predicting the onset of an ice age in the ’70s. Now it’s too much warming! Why should we believe them this time?

Answer: It is true that there were some predictions of an “imminent ice age” in the 1970s, but a cursory comparison of those warnings and today’s reveals a huge difference.

Today, you have a widespread scientific consensus, supported by national academies and all the major scientific institutions, solidly behind the warning that the temperature is rising, anthropogenic CO2 is the primary cause, and it will worsen unless we reduce emissions. (Read more)

This is the first time we’ve ever seen such an extensive reference of climate change information in one place, laid out in a way that’s so easy to navigate. Props to Grist! This is a great resource.

Link [Grist]
Photo credit: Flickr user Neubie