One certainly hopes so, but much remains to be seen, including The New Republic’s annual Environment Issue. Editor Franklin Foer says it’s on the way, and “will probably be the same size, if not bigger” than last year’s. We’re also still waiting to hear from Fortune. In 2007, it published a full-fledged Green Issue, which it demoted to a green section in 2008. Whether or not it will disappear entirely this year is unclear, but on Wednesday, the magazine was wrapping up its second-annual Brainstorm Green conference in California.
Given the current political and economic importance of energy and environmental issues, the decline of magazine Green Issues this year is disappointing. One can only hope that editors are true to their word and make these topics a focus of coverage throughout the year. After all, shouldn’t every day be Earth Day?
Curtis Brainard contributed reporting for this article.
Elizabeth Kolbert is wrong. I've been around for '35 years', and environmental politics was never much of a response to 'the public mood', unless you mean the public mood of people in Malibu and Martha's Vineyard, eager to protect their views and the value of their property. The recent cutbacks cited in this article are just visible exposure of how negligable this issue is to the marketplace and the ballot box.
For the same 35 years that Kolbert refers to, the public has been inundated with truly cynical predictions of catastrophe unless - when it is boiled down - liberal Democrats of a certain social class are elected to positions of political authority. Kolbert's own employer, The New Yorker, was caught out by real scientists peddling the theory that electric power lines cause cancer. Beyond that, the public has heard all about over-population, 'the limits to growth', the threat to world peace of Reagan's arms buildup, the threat to ordinary Americans of AIDS, the threat of toxic chemicals per Love Canal (another astounding media myth), Sarin, avian flu . . . it's not 'science', it's the sensibility of the urban chattering classes. Media people who have hyped the threats posed by 'growth' have only themselves to blame if consumers are jaded.
#1 Posted by Mark Richard, CJR on Fri 24 Apr 2009 at 12:38 PM
I happen to like this quote from the first earthday:
“Demographers agree almost unanimously on the following grim timetable: by 1975 widespread famines will begin in India; these will spread by 1990 to include all of India, Pakistan, China and the Near East, Africa. By the year 2000, or conceivably sooner, South and Central America will exist under famine conditions….By the year 2000, thirty years from now, the entire world, with the exception of Western Europe, North America, and Australia, will be in famine.”
- Peter Gunter, professor, North Texas State University
#2 Posted by Mike H, CJR on Fri 24 Apr 2009 at 03:49 PM
How about we all take personal responsibility for our own area(s) of influence. We personally won't litter, graffiti, will recycle, and take to task our own, family, company or organization for waste and trashing the environment. Common sense and no legislation, we can even teach it in our schools. Of course, enforcement will always have to be there, but we could start right away if for instance we only got rid of all of the marketing packaging and double packaging of products. There are a lot of personal green initiatives we could have. Then the man made global warming, excuse me, "climate change" may not be such a devisive issue. Take the money away and the crisis will pass without incident just as the predictions of the first earth day prognosticators seem ludicrous now. Man is not that powerful. Stupid, messy, ignorant, lazy, spoiled, self involved, power hungry and in many cases pure evil, but overall not that powerful at all. Obama is nothing more than a politician. When the rubber meets the road he will say anything and buddy up to who ever will vote for him. We (the people) on the other hand are the driving force in the culture and our Republic needs us now more than ever. Get to work America you won't find personal responsibility in a politician. Just flip flopping like a mackerel on dry land.
#3 Posted by paul, CJR on Fri 24 Apr 2009 at 10:49 PM