Monday, 24 May 2004

All That Glitters Is Not Green

Advice on How to Be Pretty and Eco-Conscious, All at Once

The days of the dowdy, earth-mama environmentalist are passing. Today's hip, eco-friendly gal wants to look good while doing good. How does personal beautification fit into the eco mix? Even the most committed green grrrl -- or eco-metrosexual, for that matter -- may occasionally want to gussy up with some hair dye or makeup, or party down with a little glitter. Are such titivating activities harmful to the earth? Can they be made less so? Our dedicated research guru has the answers in Ask Umbra -- today on the Grist Magazine website.

Russian Coquette

Putin Commits Russia to Kyoto Protocol

Well, we'll be damned: Kyoto might just happen. After an international courtship worthy of a Harlequin romance, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced on Friday that his country "will rapidly move toward ratification of this [Kyoto] protocol," putting an end to months of teasing and contradictory signals (such a coquette!). Putin's thaw on the issue came in response to a deal with the European Union, which will now back Russia's entry into the WTO. The announcement stunned international observers, as Putin's economic advisor and a panel of top Russian scientists had recently warned the president that signing the protocol would be against Russia's interests. Enviros praised the decision, but after watching Putin vacillate more than Axl Rose, they remained guarded: "I'm cautiously optimistic. It's not a cut-and-dried promise, but it will be much harder for Russia to decide 'no' to Kyoto now," said Steve Sawyer of Greenpeace. Russia's commitment would be enough to put the protocol into effect; it would also further isolate the U.S., which has refused to ratify the treaty, if that's possible.

Carbon Neutrality: the New Black

Celebs Pay Up to Be Carbon-Neutral

It's the latest hip trend in the entertainment world: carbon neutrality. Celebs from Brad Pitt [sound of young girls screaming] to Orlando Bloom [more screaming] to Bernardo Bertolucci [confused silence] are supporting Future Forests; the U.K. company promises to calculate a star's total emissions of carbon dioxide for a year and plant the number of trees required to absorb that much CO2, thus neutralizing said star's effect on the atmosphere. Brad's having forests planted in the Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan; Jake Gyllenhaal's are in Mozambique. It's easy to mock the idea. See, watch: It sounds an awful lot like the for-profit company is playing on the guilt of celebs who would rather write a check than change their behavior, enriching itself while pursuing a strategy -- planting trees -- that has little hope of solving the climate-change problem. "To deal with the increased carbon dioxide emissions we face over the next half century, you would have to cover Europe -- from the Atlantic to the Urals -- completely with trees," said Roger Highman of Friends of the Earth. Still, he credits the group with raising awareness, saying, "We are going to need the Brad Pitts of the world if we are going to save it from overheating."

London Calling

Eco-Focused Art Educator Peter London InterActivates

Have you ever considered the connection between creating art and respecting the earth? Well, it's time you did. Peter London is an artist, art therapist, art professor, and author of books about art -- all of which, he says, is driven by a concern that modern life has distanced us from the natural world we live in. He's a pretty even-keeled, philosophical fellow, but the Zen slips a little when the subject of President Bush comes up. Witness the yin and yang as London answers our questions in InterActivist -- only on the Grist Magazine website.

Table Talk

Environment May Play Key Role in Presidential Election

While it's true that the environment ranks low on the general public's list of concerns (eighth, according to a recent Gallup poll), in a presidential election widely expected to be a squeaker, every lever that can move a few votes is getting pulled. John Kerry is honing his environmental strategy: Instead of talking about big, abstract issues like global warming and endangered species (close to the heart of previous Dem candidate Al Gore), he will focus on "kitchen table" issues that directly affect voters, like mercury in their food and asthma caused by air pollution. Meanwhile, a coalition of national enviro groups called the Environmental Victory Project is targeting advertising and door-to-door efforts on four swing states -- Florida, New Mexico, Oregon, and Wisconsin. On the GOP side, Republican pollster Ed Goeas believes that President Bush has environmental achievements he can stand on: "I think now Bush has enough he's done to go back out there and talk about the environment."