interview

Terrain Johnson and Colleen Contrisciane of Earth Force answer questions

With what environmental organization are you affiliated? Terrain Johnson. Johnson: I’m a 6th grade student at Masterman Middle School in Philadelphia, and I work with Earth Force. Colleen Contrisciane. Contrisciane: I am a program coordinator with Earth Force, a national organization that aims to engage young people as environmental citizens. What does your organization do? […]

An interview with Wal-Mart CEO H. Lee Scott

Last week, Wal-Mart joined leading energy executives in their startling call for mandatory caps on greenhouse-gas emissions. The heart of this monolithic retail Grinch grew three sizes that day — or so it seemed to many environmental Who’s. Wal-Mart CEO Lee Scott. For many enviros, the name “Wal-Mart” has always triggered a shudder. The world’s […]

Charles Munn, a pioneer of South American ecotourism, answers questions

Charles Munn. What work do you do? I am chair of the board of Tropical Nature, a nonprofit conservation group specializing in conservation through ecotourism. What does your organization do? We run the world’s largest network of eco-lodges in tropical rainforest — in Peru, Ecuador, Bolivia, and Brazil. We also consult for rainforest and tropical […]

A conversation with climate journalist Elizabeth Kolbert

Elizabeth Kolbert. Over the past year, a perfect storm of scientific studies, dire weather events, and media coverage lifted global warming onto the mainstream national agenda. No writing had more impact than a series of closely observed pieces in The New Yorker by journalist Elizabeth Kolbert, which have now been collected and expanded into a […]

Carsten Henningsen, green mutual-fund founder, answers questions

Carsten Henningsen. What work do you do? I am the cofounder of Portfolio 21, a global mutual fund investing for a sustainable future. I am also chair of Progressive Investment Management, the investment adviser to Portfolio 21. How does it relate to the environment? Portfolio 21 (the 21 is for 21st century) invests in companies […]

On his book, Last Child in the Woods

This is the second part of my interview with Richard Louv, author of Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children from Nature-Deficit Disorder. The first part is here.

Louv is not just interested in healthier kids and families, though that's obviously his abiding passion. He also realizes in a way few other environmental leaders seem to that connecting kids with nature is vital for the future of the environmental movement and, well, the environment. As he says below, kids learn about environmental problems earlier and earlier these days, slowly coming to associate the environment with doom and hopelessness.

But this next generation has perhaps the greatest challenge ever faced by humanity: to remake society in a sustainable way. They need hope, and they need that sense of wonder and visceral connection that comes only from getting out into nature.

An interview with Richard Louv about the need to get kids out into nature

Richard Louv is an anecdote machine. As we milled about near the door of a Seattle cafe awaiting lunch-hour seating, he kept up a constant stream of witty, telling stories — about “no running” signs on playgrounds, clueless environmental leaders, suffering outdoor-gear execs. I started fumbling for my recorder. Richard Louv. It’s no wonder Louv’s […]

Two eco-leaders — one mainstream, one radical — debate the movement’s past and future

Eric Mann. When Eric Mann first encountered environmentalists, he saw them as a bunch of “arrogant, racist airheads.” When Frances Beinecke first encountered environmentalists, she felt she’d found her cause. Frances Beinecke. Nearly four decades later, both are tireless proponents of environmental sanity, but they work in very different ways. Mann is director of the […]

Jason Edens, rural solar advocate, answers questions

Jason Edens. Where do you work? I work at the Rural Renewable Energy Alliance, a grassroots nonprofit organization whose mission is to make solar power accessible to people of all income levels. What does your organization do? At RREAL, we install solar heating systems onto the homes of low-income families qualifying for energy assistance. In […]