interview

Martin Melaver, eco-friendly real-estate entrepreneur, answers questions

Martin Melaver. What work do you do? I’m CEO of Melaver, Inc., which is a third-generation, family-owned real-estate company based in Savannah, Ga. What does your organization do? We really do a bit of everything in real estate, which I guess is typical for a business with roots in a smallish town. We develop, acquire, […]

Jay Tutchton, head of environmental law clinic, answers questions

Jay Tutchton. What work do you do? I am the director of the Environmental Law Clinical Partnership at the University of Denver, Sturm College of Law. We introduce law students to the world of public-interest environmental litigation and train them in the basic skills of the trade, and we file the best lawsuits we can […]

Nicole Rycroft, recycled-paper pusher, answers questions

Nicole Rycroft. With what environmental organization are you affiliated? I’m the campaigns director for Markets Initiative. What does your organization do? We work to completely transform heavy paper-consuming industries in Canada (e.g., book, magazine, and newspaper sectors) — to shift them away from papers originating from ancient or endangered forests and to reduce their overall […]

Lesley Marcus Carlson, cofounder of Carbonfund, answers questions

Lesley Marcus Carlson. With what environmental organization are you affiliated? I am the president of Carbonfund.org. What does your organization do? Very simply, we make it easy and affordable for individuals or businesses to reduce their climate footprints to zero. We help people understand their impact on the climate and mitigate it by supporting energy […]

On framing environmentalism

This is part three of a three-part interview. You can read part one here and part two here.

In this section, Alex and I discuss the way environmentalism has been framed and what greens can do to change those frames.

On green building, urban development, and reviving rural America

This is part two of a three-part interview. You can read part one here and part three here.

In this section, Alex and I discuss green building, urban development, and reviving rural America.

Worldchanging editor discusses optimism and technology

[editor's note, by Dave Roberts] This is part one of a three-part interview. Part two is here and part three is here.

In April, I sat down for a long, wide-ranging conversation with Alex Steffen, executive editor of the (now newly incorporated and redesigned) Worldchanging.com. Gristmill readers likely need no introduction to Worldchanging, an online salon of activists and thinkers dedicated to the proposition that "another world is here" -- that the tools and techniques we need to reverse the global malaise already exist and await only our imagination and willpower. If it isn't on your daily reading list, it should be.

Originally, I was going to run this interview alongside a rather ambitious long-form piece of my own, but as time has passed -- and I really can't believe how much time has passed -- it's become clear that said piece is indefinitely postponed. Since I have a baby due [checks calendar] three days ago, it's unlikely I'll soon have time to return to it.

Lest it get even older, I'm going to go ahead and run it here. There's lots of good stuff in it, but it's very long, so I've broken it into three parts -- I'll publish the first today and the others in coming days.

In part one, we discuss optimism, technology, and the open-source movement.

Louella Hill, local-food ambassador, answers questions

Louella Hill. What work do you do? What’s your job title? I am the director of a program called Farm Fresh Rhode Island. For my work with Brown University Dining Services, I call myself the “Local Food Ambassador.” What does your organization do? At Farm Fresh Rhode Island, we connect local eaters with local food […]

Amanda Lumry, children’s book author, answers questions

Amanda Lumry. What work do you do? I am an author and photographer for the Adventures of Riley children’s book series, which educates children about the environment and entertains them at the same time. I am also the cofounder of Eaglemont Press, based in Bellevue, Wash. How does it relate to the environment? The Adventures […]