November/December 2008 Issue

Table of Contents

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the challenge

Can We Save the Planet and Rescue the Economy at the Same Time?

Al Gore on America’s next moon shot.

By Al Gore

The Seven Deadly Deficits

What the Bush years really cost us, and how President Obama can get the economy back on track.

By Joseph E. Stiglitz
Illustration by Guy Billout

turning point

The Most Important Number on Earth

Now that we’re way past the carbon tipping point, it’s time to freak out—and get to work.

By Bill McKibben
Illustration by Sam Weber

Are Shorter Showers Beside the Point?

We did the math.

By Steve Aquino and Gary Moskowitz

A Glossary of Sustainability Lingo

We decode green lingo, from “upcycling” to “LOHAS.”

By Elizabeth Gettelman

lose carbon now

Diet for a Warm Planet

The secret to cutting carbon? A dieting support group.

By Julia Whitty
Illustration by Katy Lemay

Your Top 20 Econundrums—Solved!

Disposable or cloth diapers? Netflix or video store? Our green advice guide goes way beyond paper v. plastic.

By Ben Whitford
Illustration by Mark Allen Miller

Ecogeek Deathmatch: Ed Begley Jr. v. Bill Nye, Science Guy

Which Hollywood do-gooder has the greenest crib? A no-holds-barred fight to the furnished.

By Kiera Butler

industrial revolution

The Truth About Green Jobs

When they’re coming, who will get them, and how to prevent their outsourcing.

By David Roberts
Photo Collage by Tim J Luddy

What About the Dirty Jobs?

Why green-collar gurus should stop condescending to the brown-collar crowd.

By Chris Lehmann
Illustration by Jonathan Twingley

How Ford Lost Focus

For a decade, Bill Ford Jr. talked up fuel economy while his company peddled gas-guzzling SUVs and monster trucks. Is it too late for the automaker to shift gears to alternative fuels?

By Fara Warner

The Science Project

How to kick-start clean tech.

By Chris Mooney
Additional reporting by Sheril Kirshenbaum
Illustration by John Hersey

When Tree Sitters Heart Lumberjacks

America’s most hated loggers are trying to hug change. Does the Lorax need a new BFF?

By Josh Harkinson

Big Green Brother

When Wal-Mart tells its workers to live and breathe sustainability, is it (a) creepy, (b) innovative, (c) greenwashing, (d) all of the above?

By Katharine Mieszkowski

Greens Gone Wild

Who says skivvies, sex, and booze can’t factor into the sustainability equation?

By Elizabeth Gettelman

Ripe for the Pickens

Has legendary Texas oilman T. Boone Pickens really gone green?

By Josh Harkinson

capitol improvements

Earth to Washington

What will it take for DC to wake up to global warming?

By David Corn
Illustration by Steve Brodner

Let’s Go Europe

The EU embraced sustainability. Could Brussels’ green economy sprout in America?

By Mark Schapiro
Illustration by Jean-Francois Martin

The Great Persuader

Can Obama walk his talk?

By Kevin Drum

MacGyver Without Borders

Five cool ideas for saving the world on a shoestring.

By Nikki Gloudeman

Cats v. Dogs: Which Pet Is Greener?

Tallying your best friend’s carbon pawprint.

By Ben Whitford

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payment methods

AN IMPORTANT UPDATE ON MOTHER JONES' FINANCES

We need to start being more upfront about how hard it is keeping a newsroom like Mother Jones afloat these days.

Because it is, and because we're fresh off finishing a fiscal year, on June 30, that came up a bit short of where we needed to be. And this next one simply has to be a year of growth—particularly for donations from online readers to help counter the brutal economics of journalism right now.

Straight up: We need this pitch, what you're reading right now, to start earning significantly more donations than normal. We need people who care enough about Mother Jones’ journalism to be reading a blurb like this to decide to pitch in and support it if you can right now.

Urgent, for sure. But it's not all doom and gloom!

Because over the challenging last year, and thanks to feedback from readers, we've started to see a better way to go about asking you to support our work: Level-headedly communicating the urgency of hitting our fundraising goals, being transparent about our finances, challenges, and opportunities, and explaining how being funded primarily by donations big and small, from ordinary (and extraordinary!) people like you, is the thing that lets us do the type of journalism you look to Mother Jones for—that is so very much needed right now.

And it's really been resonating with folks! Thankfully. Because corporations, powerful people with deep pockets, and market forces will never sustain the type of journalism Mother Jones exists to do. Only people like you will.

There's more about our finances in "News Never Pays," or "It's Not a Crisis. This Is the New Normal," and we'll have details about the year ahead for you soon. But we already know this: The fundraising for our next deadline, $350,000 by the time September 30 rolls around, has to start now, and it has to be stronger than normal so that we don't fall behind and risk coming up short again.

Please consider pitching in before moving on to whatever it is you're about to do next. We really need to see if we'll be able to raise more with this real estate on a daily basis than we have been, so we're hoping to see a promising start.

—Monika Bauerlein, CEO, and Brian Hiatt, Online Membership Director

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