What rough beast …?
In September 2011, I joined Grist as its executive editor. It was an eventful time. President Obama was soon to make a momentous decision about the Keystone XL pipeline. Congress was beginning to wrestle with a new farm bill. The clock had basically run out for our species to act to stop global climate change.
It’s two and a half years later. Keystone? That decision still looms. Farm bill? We got that, finally, though it was touch and go. The climate? Still not looking good.
Despite the Groundhog-Day-ish nature of this apparently static reality — the Eternal Gloom of the Sustainable Mind — I have never felt a sense of futility as I’ve overseen Grist’s coverage. On the contrary, it’s been a blast. Laughing over the abyss is what we do here — even as we’re trying to picture the distance between the two sides accurately, and crossing our fingers that we’ll make it safely across.
At the end of next week, I’ll be leaving this editor’s job for personal reasons. I love Grist and will continue to do some part-time e... Read more
