Whole Life Times: Green is the New Everything

April 2008 | From the Editor

Green is the New Everything

April is upon us once again, and environmentalists and magazine staffers alike have one particular day circled on their calendars: Earth Day. For environmentalists, the April 22nd holiday is a chance to celebrate nature, raise awareness for looming eco-crises, and voice concerns for endangered species (namely us). For magazine people, April means it’s time once again for the newfangled tradition of the “Green Issue,” an ode to all things eco-anything — ideas, thinkers, products, you name it.

Here at Whole Life Times — where, incidentally, we’re in the business of planetary preservation and magazine publishing — we could argue that every one of our issues is a green issue. While those glossy mainstreams pubs with their smirky “green is the new black” clichés deserve some credit for bringing eco-awareness to the masses, WLT is hopefully (at least we think) always bringing you the brightest green thinkers, ideas, businesses and enviro-smart solutions. We wouldn’t have it any other way.

For instance, this month we talk with consumerism critic and eco-advocate Annie Leonard, the brains behind the hit webumentary The Story of Stuff. Her entreaty to curb the urge to splurge reminds me of how every month my mailbox is bombarded with a coupon from a particular big-box home wares emporium (which shall remain nameless). About once a year — in an apparent bout of amnesia that causes me to forget why I’ve previously sworn off this store — I visit said big-box, coupon in hand, with a vague itch to buy some junky trinket, like a shower radio or a noodle canister. Once I’m there, I remember why I can’t stand the place: the vast majority of what this store is hawking is toxic plastic, fall-apart, made-in-China crap. It’s such a symbol of what is wrong with the U.S.

The truth is we’re all tempted by the siren song of shopping, but after watching The Story of Stuff, you may think twice about why you’re forking over your hard-earned green for stuff that’s built to end up in the landfill in six months. Also in this month’s issue, we help you unearth the real green goods from the greenwashed sales pitch in “Spin Cycle” (page 48), so when you do need some retail therapy, you spend wisely.

By now you’re probably wondering who I am and what the heck did I do with former WLT editor Eliza Thomas? Before you mourn her departure, know that she’s still editorial director, tending to our happy family of magazines from her San Francisco office. I’m stepping into her role after having written for the magazine for three years, and watched its growth from my days as a newbie intern in the old Malibu office years ago to its recent incarnation as a burgeoning multimedia company in downtown LA.

I’m proud that this — the Earth Day issue — is my first as editor of WLT. There are so many amazing thinkers and innovators out there facing down the environmental problems before us. Call me crazy, but I have tremendous hope for what the future holds, and I’m looking forward to many more Earth Days with you.

Jessica Ridenour, Editor

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