Southern Sierran
Emerging Green Media Amplifies the Environmental Choir

By Nate Springer

Humor, investigative journalism, daily news, and an online forum are keys to the trend’s virtuoso, Grist Magazine. A free online magazine that describes itself as “Doom and gloom with a sense of humor,” Grist provides in-depth environmental analysis in its “Muckraker” column, news from “Daily Grist”, tips on eco-living in “Ask Umbra”, as well as contributions from environmental icons like Bill McKibben and Paul Hawkin. “We walk a line that is a combination of reported fact checking, opinion, commentary, and product i.nformation,” states Grist CEO Kendra Howe. The winning combination earned Grist an Utne Independent Press Award and a Webby, the Internet’s Grammy. 

Last March, a special series entitled “Poverty and the Environment” attracted 2.6 million readers as well as national attention with sections reprinted in MSNBC.com, About. com, and The Nation. The series characterizes Grist’s goal to connect environmentalism to other important issues such as national security, the economy, and poverty. 

“We’re trying to make the environment relevant by connecting it to current events and popular culture,” explains Howe of the approach that has garnered them a monthly readership of 600,000. The impact, claims Grist, is that 58% of their readers say it motivates them to act on behalf of the environment at least once a month. 

“People just want to make a change in their daily lives,” contends Plenty Editor-in-Chief Mark Spellun about the two-year-old magazine whose motto is “It’s easy being green.” Part cutting edge technology, part green movement trends, and part eco-lifestyle, Plenty combines the most exciting elements of the environmental movement. “The front of the magazine is about our technological and business future, the back is about what people can do in their daily lives,” says Spellun. Recent articles covered futuristic flying electrical generators, evangelicals who champion solutions to climate change, and ecofriendly sunscreens. Launched in Fall 2004, Plenty Magazine already outpaces most start-up magazines with a circulation of 100,000.

“Our best distribution network is through the natural food stores. We have a much more viable distribution model,” Spellun describes their winning growth strategy. Widely visible through an agreement with health-food purveyors Whole Foods and Wild Oats, Plenty readership continues to grow after two years. “We’re there because we think green is a mainstream movement today and we’d like to speak to a broader audience” 

Every mainstream movement needs style. That’s where TreeHugger sounds the call. Founded by selfdescribed “designpreneur” Graham Hill, TreeHugger is an online encyclopedia of all news and products green.

“We’re not just focused on environmental news, we’re focused on lifestyle,” says Hill of the online magazine that now boasts 500,000 readers each month and employs 30 part-time writers. With cutting edge layout to match its focus on modern design, TreeHugger is one of the largest online sources of environmentally friendly consumer news and information. Hill sums up the mix of environment and style: “How people dress, what people drive, what people listen to sort of represents who they are.” 

TreeHugger boasts that it is the most effective way for people to find well-designed products that are ecologically sensitive. “If we aggregate information, it makes it easy for people whether they’re thinking about their house, work, or clothes,” says Hill. Some of Hill’s favorite products include a fuel cell motorbike, a “wind up” remote control, and a green gym where participants burn calories by performing environmental service projects. Links to sites selling toothbrushes made from yogurt cups, organic juices from Brazil, and Amish-made hemp furniture smatter the website. News articles on the latest environmental issues include links to environmental products and services. 

Nobody knows the environmental audience better than one of its leading voices. Since 1893, when it was a bulletin with tales of climbing, Sierra Magazine has provided news on conservation and enjoyment of the outdoors. The tune changed in 1977, explains Editor-in-Chief Joan Hamilton, to reach a broader audience. 

“We’re about getting people together to improve the world they live in,” Hamilton describes the goal of the magazine that reaches 1.4 million people and has won numerous awards for reporting and outdoor photography.

“The prospect of new players in environmental media is uplifting,” says Hamilton, who took the helm of Sierra in 1994. “I think it’s wonderful because the environmental movement needs to reach more people.” With their own voices and points of view, she explains, they speak to their audience. “That’s what we need in this country: people willing to speak up in their own way and on their own issues.”

The crescendo of environmental media is real. Readership of Grist and TreeHugger jumped from several thousand a few years ago to several hundred thousand today. In a time when many believe traditional media fails to report on environmental issues, new environmental media fills the need for accurate information and analysis of these issues. There couldn’t be a better opportunity to grow the choir.

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