CONTRIBUTORS LISA SELIN DAVIS “If Wal-Mart stores will inevitably dot the country, they might as well look good,” says Lisa Selin Davis, who writes about the big-box retailer and its attempt to blend into the neighborhood (see page 66). Selin Davis has a keen eye for how architecture shapes society and last wrote for Plenty about the small-house movement. She also recently published her first novel, Belly (Little Brown, 2005), which is set in Saratoga Springs, New York, and delves into the impact of consumer culture on the community. Selin Davis lives in Brooklyn with her partner, his four-year-old daughter, and a cat named Hugo.
CHRISTY HARRISON Plenty senior editor Christy Harrison explores the environmental philosophy of filmmaker Chip Proser, who is on a galactic mission to find renewable energy (see page 76). Forget earth, Proser and others say, and move to space. “I’ll admit that at first I thought these people were all going to be kooks,” says Harrison, “but the research was fun.” While captivated by the science behind the ideas, she is still hoping we can stay on the planet a little longer. Harrison is originally from the San Francisco Bay Area.
AMY CORTESE Amy Cortese can attest to Niman Ranch organic meats. “They are soooo good!” she says. In this issue Cortese profiles five of the top environmental CEOs, including Niman Ranch founder Bill Niman (see page 61). “I was surprised at how down-to-earth they were—for CEOs,” says Cortese. A former editor at BusinessWeek, she is a frequent contributor to the New York Times. Writing about eco-friendly corporations was a pleasure, she says. “It’s nice to finally write a positive story about business.”
FRED ASKEW Fred Askew has been snapping pictures of anything and everything since age 12, but recently he has focused his lens on antiwar protests and other forms of political dissent. During the past two years he has shown his work in Bucharest, Milan, and Paris. In this issue Askew captures images of New York City’s Critical Mass, the monthly bike crusade to promote alternative transportation (see page 80). Askew says he has been surprised by the city’s reaction to cyclists. “The only word to describe the way the police have handled the bike riders is ‘absurd,’” he says. 12 | P L E N T Y
October/November 2005 www.plentymag.com