interview

Rob Elam, biodiesel buff, answers questions

Rob Elam. What work do you do? I’m a cofounder of Propel Fuels, a biodiesel services and distribution firm. Biodiesel is a vegetable-oil based fuel for diesel engines. Using it significantly reduces greenhouse-gas and particulate-matter emissions. What does your organization do? Our mission is simple: fill tanks with biodiesel. We’re approaching this in three ways: […]

Eco-designer Clare Cunningham answers questions

Clare Cunningham. What work do you do? I am an eco-designer. My specialty is in designs that are socially and environmentally responsible. How does it relate to the environment? “Products are the source of all environmental problems,” says Edwin Datschefski. Eco-design tries specifically to lead products and services away from overconsumption and environmental degradation, and […]

Milenko Matanovic, community-based planner, answers questions

Milenko Matanovic. What work do you do? I run a nonprofit organization called Pomegranate Center. We specialize in involving people in creating gathering places, thereby integrating art into the fabric of the community. We help develop plans for neighborhoods that are safe, humane, environmentally excellent, and filled with character. I founded Pomegranate Center in 1986 […]

Green architect Raphael Sperry answers questions

Raphael Sperry. With what environmental organization are you affiliated? I’m the president of Architects/Designers/Planners for Social Responsibility, which is a small nonprofit with a national membership and active local chapters in Northern California, Seattle, and New York City. What does your organization do? ADPSR has a broad mission of advancing peace, environmental sustainability, and social […]

Jamie Rappaport Clark of Defenders of Wildlife answers questions

Jamie Rappaport Clark. With what environmental organization are you affiliated? I’m the executive vice president of Defenders of Wildlife. What does your organization do? We work to protect native plants and animals and their habitat. Our work takes us all across the U.S. — from the halls of Capitol Hill to the mountains and plains […]

Seth Heine of CollectiveGood answers questionsSeth Heine of CollectiveGood answers Grist’s

Seth Heine. With what environmental organizations are you affiliated? I’m the president of CollectiveGood and RIPMobile.com — mobile phone recyclers. What do your organizations do? What, in a perfect world, would constitute “mission accomplished”? CollectiveGood recycles mobile devices (phones, pagers, PDAs) and all of their related accessories, usually in partnerships with charities, companies, and/or governments. […]

An interview with activists at the Prison Moratorium Project

Khaleaph Luis (left) and Prince S. Say “criminal justice” and very few people think of the environment. But in reality, there’s a complicated relationship between the work of environmentalists, who are trying to encourage a more responsible attitude toward our planet and everything on it, and those moving in and out of the prison-industrial complex, […]

Al Norman, anti-Wal-Mart activist, answers questions

Al Norman. With what environmental organization are you affiliated? I’m founder of Sprawl-Busters. What does your organization do? We help community groups fight off big-box sprawl — strategize their battles, understand key objectives, and develop a game plan. What, in a perfect world, would constitute “mission accomplished”? Getting people to stop shopping at these giant […]

An interview with Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels on his pro-Kyoto cities initiative

A Nickels’ worth of free advice … Meet the pied piper of one of the most exciting green grassroots uprisings to hit the U.S. in years: Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels (D). He’s managed to get roughly 300 mayors nationwide — from the Northwest to the deep South and everywhere in between — to agree that […]