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| Headline |
Author |
Published |
Section |
PETA's dogma is all bark and no bite
Animal-rights group makes the stupid claim that enviros must be vegetarians |
Grist |
14 Sep 2007 |
Gristmill |
| This is a guest essay from Alex Roth, a financial analyst, attorney, and environmentalist in Washington, D.C. Matt Prescott, a spokesperson for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, asserted last month that 'you just cannot be a meat-eating environmentalist.' PETA's pronouncement is part of a cooperative campaign among a number of animal-rights groups. Their message is that meat production exacerbates global warming. PETA will lead the charge by dispatching an ... |
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| Topics: animal welfare, environmental movement, food, messaging, vegetarianism and veganism (all these topics) |
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'The privatization of responsibility'
Alex Steffen on individual action in context |
David Roberts |
13 Sep 2007 |
Gristmill |
| The perennial debate over the value of voluntary individual action -- recently revived by Tidwell's piece and the sociologists' response -- reminded me that some of the best, or least my favorite, writing on the subject comes from Worldchanging's Alex Steffen. Like this: And here's the essential break between lite green and bright green thinking: the reality is that the changes we must make are systemic changes. They involve large-scale transformations in the ways ... |
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| Topics: consumerism, environmental movement, green living (all these topics) |
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9/11, unity, and the chattering of chipmunks
The clarity that crisis brings is not necessarily our friend |
David Roberts |
11 Sep 2007 |
Gristmill |
| I've had a post rattling around in my head for a while now, and the anniversary of 9/11 seems like apt moment to finally have a go at it. One of the most uncomfortable facets of the attacks on 9/11 is that as horrific as they were, they were also, for lack of a better word, bracing. It sounds awful to say so, but on some level everyone recognizes it. So much of our daily life is spent in a rut, plodding through workaday details. Crisis has the effect of strip ... |
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| Topics: environmental movement, national security, politics (all these topics) |
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The power of voluntary actions
Social scientists respond to Mike Tidwell |
David Roberts |
11 Sep 2007 |
Gristmill |
| The following is a guest essay in response to Mike Tidwell's recent piece on Grist, "Consider using the N-word less." It is signed by a collection of social scientists, mostly psychologists. Their names are listed at the bottom. ---- We agree that institutional and policy changes are needed in addition to personal behavior changes, and that some pro-environmental behaviors being promoted aren't the ones that have the most impact. Unfortunately, Tidwe ... |
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| Topics: environmental movement, green living, politics (all these topics) |
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The green gold rush
All the PR is starting to sound the same |
David Roberts |
07 Sep 2007 |
Gristmill |
| As everyone with a pulse knows at this point, green is hot. Everybody wants a piece of it. You can't swing a dead cat without hitting a new green website. Consequently, your trusty blog author is bombarded with roughly five kerjillion press releases a day. And that's a conservative estimate. What's more, the PR releases are starting to sound more and more alike. Let me excerpt two I got just in the last day. One begins: Hi David, Have you noticed that going gr ... |
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| Topics: environmental movement, green living (all these topics) |
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Theories of eco-impotence
Why is green so low on the political agenda? |
David Roberts |
27 Aug 2007 |
Gristmill |
| Why, with green so ubiquitous in media and culture, is it not higher up on the political agenda? Emily Gertz says it's because the green grassroots aren't involved in party politics. Matthew Yglesias points to new survey data from American Environics (PDF) which indicate that concern for the environment is broad but shallow. While everyone claims to care about environmental issues, nobody -- not even those who rate their concern the highest -- makes them a priority i ... |
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| Topics: elections, environmental movement, grassroots activism, politics (all these topics) |
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Nothing to fear ...
Fear of death leads to authoritarianism, not sustainability |
David Roberts |
27 Aug 2007 |
Gristmill |
| It's tempting to think that if you scare the shit out of people -- really convince them, down to their bones, that hurricanes, diseases, and starving refugees are hiding just around the corner -- that mass mobilization against global warming will at long last ensue. There's good reason to doubt it. Fear causes fairly predictable reactions, which do not include international cooperation, equitable distribution of resources, cost-benefit analysis on a multidecadal sc ... |
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| Topics: environmental movement, messaging, politics (all these topics) |
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Walking our talk
Janisse Ray says that greens need to 'be the change' in moving toward sustainability |
Erik Hoffner |
24 Aug 2007 |
Gristmill |
| The wonderful southern environmental writer Janisse Ray (Ecology of a Cracker Childhood, and others) has a new piece in Orion magazine of interest to Gristmillers, called 'Altar Call for True Believers,' where she wonders why even the so-called choir seems to be failing at making great strides toward sustainability. It starts out with this startling vignette about greens and air travel: If I ever preached to the choir, this luncheon was it. The sixty people in the ro ... |
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| Topics: air travel, environmental movement (all these topics) |
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Brit's Eye View: Are we too obsessed with climate change?
Other enviro issues are getting less attention |
Peter Madden |
21 Aug 2007 |
Gristmill |
| Peter Madden, chief executive of Forum for the Future, writes a monthly column for Gristmill on sustainability in the U.K. and Europe. Are we too obsessed by climate change? Over here, climate change is coming to completely dominate the sustainability agenda. This is true in politics, business, the media, and civil society. I was talking to our new secretary of state for the environment, Hilary Benn, the other day, about his department's strategy. He argued t ... |
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| Topics: climate, environmental movement, United Kingdom (all these topics) |
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Can enviros learn to tell stories?
Learning from masters in other fields: What a concept! |
JMG |
09 Aug 2007 |
Gristmill |
| David Mamet (author of The Verdict and Glengarry Glen Ross, among other fine things) writes this in his new book Bambi vs. Godzilla: On the Nature, Purpose, and Practice of the Movie Business (a great book just loaded with great snark:As we enter the cinema, we relax our guard. We do so necessarily, because to resist, to insist on reality in the drama, is to rob ourselves of joy. For who would sit through he cartoon thinking constantly, 'Wait a second, elephants can't fly!' ... |
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| Topics: books, environmental movement, messaging, politics (all these topics) |
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Protesters doth protest too much
Heathrow owners win climate-camp injunction |
Katharine Wroth |
06 Aug 2007 |
Gristmill |
| Last week in Daily Grist, we reported that BAA, the company that owns Heathrow Airport, had requested an injunction against protesters planning a weeklong Camp for Climate Action in mid-August. The original request was so badly worded that it sounded like 5 million people would be kept away from the airport, but a judge granted a narrower version today. The judge, while citing the risk that 'a terrorist group may use the disruption caused by the protesters to perpet ... |
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| Topics: England, environmental movement, litigation (all these topics) |
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Women Are From Earth, Men Are From Terra Firma
Is the environmental movement losing touch with its feminine side? |
Kira Gould, Lance Hosey |
31 Jul 2007 |
Soapbox |
| By Kira Gould and Lance Hosey 31 Jul 2007 This year, Rachel Carson would have turned 100. Had she lived, the "mother of the environmental movement" might have been pleased with how popular environmental causes have become. On the other hand, she might not have liked current shades of green. Don't lose sight of the forest. Photo: iStockphoto The great lesson of Silent Spring ... |
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| Topics: environmental movement, messaging, politics (all these topics) |
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Re-vamp New Hamp(shire)
Marching for climate action in the Granite State |
Kate Sheppard |
24 Jul 2007 |
Gristmill |
| Remember all that hubbub about Step it Up? Though we haven't heard much about it since the successful event back in April, in many communities across America, the momentum continues. As part of the fallout, groups are working to 'reenergize' communities with more actions and events, especially in states that will play a big role in deciding who the presidential nominees will be. This week, we heard from friends in New Hampshire about their upcoming 'March to ReEnerg ... |
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| Topics: environmental movement, grassroots activism, New Hampshire (all these topics) |
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Environmental riots
And demonstrations |
Kit Stolz |
24 Jul 2007 |
Gristmill |
| One of punk's great anthems was one of the Clash's first great songs: White riotI wanna riotWhite riotRiot of my own. This was a sincere wish on the late Joe Strummer's part, and to some extent, his wish came true. The punk movement was a riot in music. His audiences were uncontrollable and he liked that, mostly. He saw a few riots and wanted more, to get people stirred up, showing their desires, demanding change. Could the ferment in present-day environmenta ... |
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| Topics: China, Dominican Republic, environmental movement, grassroots activism, Greece, Ivory Coast (all these topics) |
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Brit's Eye View: Lose the doom and gloom
How to talk about the future without depressing everyone |
Peter Madden |
20 Jul 2007 |
Gristmill |
| Peter Madden, chief executive of Forum for the Future, writes a monthly column for Gristmill on sustainability in the U.K. and Europe. We have a problem, we greens. It has to do with the way that we talk about the future. We do need to have a more plausible account of what the kind of world we are recommending would be like. However, our main narrative about the future talks of apocalypse and doom and gloom: the earth is dying; species are disappearing; the pl ... |
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| Topics: environmental movement, messaging (all these topics) |
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Lady Bird's green leanings
The passing of the former first lady (sorta) missed by enviros |
Kate Sheppard |
17 Jul 2007 |
Gristmill |
| Asher Price over at the Austin American-Statesman calls us out for not mentioning that Lady Bird Johnson passed away last week. The former First Lady (what did she go by, anyway? 'Lady'? 'Bird'? 'LB'?) was a staunch environmentalist, even though she rejected the term. She was the major driving force in the more than 200 environment-related bills that her husband passed while in office, including the Highway Beautification Act of 1965, the Wilderness Act, the Land and W ... |
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| Topics: environmental movement, legislation, politics (all these topics) |
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China and the environment
Big changes, happening quickly |
David Roberts |
17 Jul 2007 |
Gristmill |
| Don't miss (occasional Grist contributor) Christina Larson's piece on environmentalism in China, which contains this pithy sentence: To understand why Chinese officials are genuinely concerned about the country's growing environmental problems, you must first remember that they live here. The dynamic she describes is pretty fascinating. Environmental problems are getting so severe that they're causing serious social unrest. But the central government in Beijing no ... |
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| Topics: China, environmental movement (all these topics) |
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The Story of Us
An interview with Tom Kiernan of the National Parks Conservation Association |
Sarah van Schagen |
17 Jul 2007 |
Main Dish |
| A moment of reflection at Gates of the Arctic National Park and Preserve. Photo: Richard and Robin via flickr Every year, millions of Americans pack up their families and head out to visit one of America's national parks. My family was no different: I vividly recall the patchwork of reds, oranges, and yellows blanketing the Appalachian mountains as autumn made its big ent ... |
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| Topics: biodiversity, climate, climate change impacts, environmental movement, national parks (all these topics) |
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Who killed Sajida Khan?
Patrick Bond and Rehana Dada solve the mystery |
Gar Lipow |
17 Jul 2007 |
Gristmill |
| What follows is a guest essay by Patrick Bond and Rehana Dada in memoriam for Sajida Khan. ----- Internationally-known environmental activist Sajida Khan passed away on Sunday night in her Clare Road home at age 55. She was suffering her second bout of cancer, and chemotherapy had evacuated her beautiful long hair. Before slipping into a coma last Thursday, she watched out her window, seeing within a few meters the interminable crawl of dumptrucks unloading heaps ... |
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| Topics: environmental movement (all these topics) |
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Bipartisanship on the environment
Who's stopping it? |
David Roberts |
16 Jul 2007 |
Gristmill |
| You hear a lot, from well-meaning Republican environmentalists of the sort you find on this site, or this one, or this one, that we'll "never make any progress" on the environment until it becomes a bipartisan issue. Strangely, this scolding isn't directed at the conservative movement, which has for decades obstructed any action dedicated to solving environmental problems. It's directed instead at environmentalists who identify with the progressive mov ... |
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| Topics: environmental movement, legislation, politics (all these topics) |
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Bright green principles
All 21 of them, from Worldchanging |
David Roberts |
13 Jul 2007 |
Gristmill |
| A while back, Worldchanging did a great series of posts on the core principles of a bright green future. I kept meaning to link to it. Now I finally am! Here they are: Principle 1: The Backstory Principle 2: Ecological Footprints and One Planet Thinking Principle 3: Cradle to Cradle and Closing the Loop Principle 4: Life Cycle Analysis, Embodied Energy and Virtual Water Principle 5: Ecosystem Services and Ecological Economics Principle 6: Transp ... |
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| Topics: education, environmental movement, green living, placemaking (all these topics) |
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E.O. Wilson on Bill Moyers Journal
The great biologist offers thoughts both hopeful and harrowing |
Maywa Montenegro |
11 Jul 2007 |
Gristmill |
| In a great interview with Bill Moyers, Wilson talks about his new Encyclopedia of Life project, and what it will take to spark a new green revolution. 'We desperately need leadership,' he says. |
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| Topics: environmental movement, green living (all these topics) |
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Live Earth party demographics
Where were younger people at Live Earth house parties? |
Michael Tobis |
09 Jul 2007 |
Gristmill |
| Pretty much everyone in attendance at two Austin Live Earth house parties was a boomer. Is grassroots activism still unhip among young people? I was a bit nervous about attending a Live Earth event. At 52, I thought I'd be at least twice the age of most of the people I'd encounter. I needn't have worried. I attended two Live Earth house parties in Austin, Texas, and saw nobody under 30 except the kids of one of the hosts. I looked for online pictures of other ... |
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| Topics: environmental movement, green living, music (all these topics) |
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On the Shoulders of Giants
A Grist correspondent sweats her way through Live Earth |
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07 Jul 2007 |
Dispatches |
| Emily Gertz reports on environmental issues from her home base in Brooklyn, N.Y. She has written for Grist, BushGreenwatch, The Bear Deluxe, and other independent publications. She contributes to Worldchanging.com, and recently launched OneAtlantic.net: Environmental News & Views for the Atlantic Coast. Saturday, 07 Jul 2007 EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. With Live Earth over, Al Gore, Kevin Wall, and their no-doubt- ... |
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| Topics: Al Gore, climate, environmental movement, green living, music (all these topics) |
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E.O. Wilson on Bill Moyers Journal this week
Check it out |
Kate Sheppard |
05 Jul 2007 |
Gristmill |
| On Friday, Bill Moyers profiles E.O. Wilson on the latest edition of 'Bill Moyers Journal.' (The show is his new spot on PBS that started airing in late April, and happens to have the same name as his old show that stopped running in 1981.) Moyers talks to Wilson about subjects ranging from his work cataloging every living creature on earth to religion to his vision for facing climate change. Check out a preview: The show also includes an update on the work of th ... |
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| Topics: biodiversity, environmental justice, environmental movement, green living, messaging, religion and spirituality, TV (all these topics) |
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