FROM THE EDITOR IN CHIEF
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LENTY’s mission is to bring green to the mainstream. The million-dollar question is, when are we going to hit the “tipping point,” as Malcolm Gladwell would put it? Social change often comes quickly, with ideas or trends spreading like viruses. So when are all things green going to reach critical mass, becoming as inescapable as iPods or reality shows? On a certain level, we are already there. When GE launches a multimillion-dollar ad campaign called “Ecomagination,” you know something is going on. GE has pledged to increase its level of investment in clean technologies in the years to come, to $1.5 billion in 2010 from $700 million in 2004. While this is an ambitious goal on the part of GE, it is still only a fraction of the total investment necessary to reinvent the global economy into one that’s sustainable.
PLENTY AU G U S T / S E P T E M B E R 2 0 0 5
IT ’S EASY BEING GREEN
CAN REPUBLICANS GO GREEN?
IT’S A SMALL WORLD
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SMALL HOUSES FOR BIG PEOPLE: THE END OF MCMANSIONS
THE BEST PARTIES... AND HOW TO GET INVITED
GOING PLACES:
ROWING IN VENICE EATING IN FIJI LANDSCAPING IN LEBANON DO-GOODING IN DOMINICA
Even if everyone decided tomorrow to minimize his or her impact on the planet, it would take a while for businesses to change their manufacturing processes to coincide with the change in lifestyle. For example, demand for organic milk sometimes outstrips supply. Many grocery stores can’t keep enough of the product on the shelf. Dairy farmers would love to make more, but time and money are needed for new producers to become certified organic. And if existing organic dairies want to add more cows to their herds, they can’t just buy any old cows; they have to buy organic ones, or buy calves and raise them organically. Still, we can all take small steps in our own lives that will make a difference. None of our choices will change the world overnight, but they will bring us a little closer to that magical tipping point. Creating PLENTY was itself an attempt to take us farther down the green path. To help us get there, we offer you tips on how to live more sustainably. We also try to take our own advice to heart. PLENTY is printed on 30 percent post-consumer recycled paper, whereas most magazines that say they use recycled content use only the minimum amount (10 percent). With this issue, we changed our tag line to It’s Easy Being Green. That’s not to disparage Kermit: we face some major challenges as we try to wean the global economy off fossil fuels. But there are still many easy green choices we can make. If converting your car to biodiesel is too complicated, there are growing numbers of hybrid vehicles on the market. Or if something new isn’t for you, check out what’s hot in the latest Retreads column. The next time you’re at the grocery store, buy a few more organic products—the organic milk shortage won’t last forever. Mark Spellun
8 | PLENTY
August/September 2005 www.plentymag.com