FROM THE EDITOR IN CHIEF
T
his issue marks the start of Plenty’s second year. We launched the magazine in November 2004 with the goal of fostering a dialogue on what it means to be green, opening the discussion to environmentally concerned people of all different stripes. Even so, we weren’t quite prepared for the incredible diversity of eco-friendly lifestyles that we found among our readers. Some of you examine every aspect of your life for waste: you bike to work, use limited amounts of hot water and consciously limit the number of things you purchase. Others simply buy the occasional carton of organic milk and recycle when it is convenient. Plenty was conceived for both of you—and for the rest of us, who fall somewhere in between. In our aim to provide a forum for green issues, we have definitely gotten some things right. Plenty’s premier issue focused on the end of oil, predicting that widespread petroleum shortages were likely to set in toward the end of this decade. Now, a year later, international politics and natural disasters like Hurricane Katrina seem only to be highlighting what is clearly an imminent decline in the availability of cheap oil. Of course, Plenty has also made some faux-pas this year—and according to some readers, many of them are fashion-related. While all of the clothes featured in Plenty have been organic, fair trade or vintage, some of you thought that our models should have been wearing, well, a little more clothing, and that our choice of models should have exemplified a more socially conscious ethic. In choosing our fashion spreads, it was our aim to show that green gear can look just as high-fashion as anything on the major runways. Hopefully, we will offend fewer of you next year. No promises, though: if we never offended anyone, the magazine probably would be a snooze. As Plenty’s own growing pains have shown, being green is about day-to-day choices as well as larger gestures. Every time you hit the grocery store, drive (or bike) to work, or get dressed, you have the opportunity to make a statement—particularly at this time of year, as the holidays tend to require a little more consumerism from all of us. With that in mind, Plenty senior editor Christine Richmond has put together a green holiday gift guide (p. 37), featuring items that are both inexpensive (under $50) and eco-friendly. In “How to Regift and Get Away With It” (p. 20), senior editor Christy Harrison writes about the politics and social acceptability of giving your loved ones and friends presents with a past instead of brandnew gifts. Our approach has been unabashedly optimistic, as our name implies—but we are also realists and incrementalists. We know the world won’t change overnight, but we believe that we all can have an impact on the future. In this issue, political editor Richard Bradley polls a number of experts on the issues to watch for in the years ahead (see “Eyeing the Future”, p. 60). Writer Ann Monroe examines recent advances in solar technology (see “Ventures in the Sun”, p. 30) that could revolutionize the market as well as the rooftops. And Stephanie Ray looks at how some cities are reinventing contaminated wastelands as sustainable environments (see “Unpaving Paradise”, p. 64). If 2005 is any indication, there are plenty of surprises ahead that we haven’t yet thought of. But there is also a green movement afoot, one that only has just begun to change how we interact with the planet. Mark Spellun Editor in Chief & Publisher
6 | PLENTY
December/January 2006 www.plentymag.com