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

We’re falling behind our online fundraising goals and we can’t sustain coming up short on donations month after month. Perhaps you’ve heard? It is impossibly hard in the news business right now, with layoffs intensifying and fancy new startups and funding going kaput.

The crisis facing journalism and democracy isn’t going away anytime soon. And neither is Mother Jones, our readers, or our unique way of doing in-depth reporting that exists to bring about change.

Which is exactly why, despite the challenges we face, we just took a big gulp and joined forces with the Center for Investigative Reporting, a team of ace journalists who create the amazing podcast and public radio show Reveal.

If you can part with even just a few bucks, please help us pick up the pace of donations. We simply can’t afford to keep falling behind on our fundraising targets month after month.

Editor-in-Chief Clara Jeffery said it well to our team recently, and that team 100 percent includes readers like you who make it all possible: “This is a year to prove that we can pull off this merger, grow our audiences and impact, attract more funding and keep growing. More broadly, it’s a year when the very future of both journalism and democracy is on the line. We have to go for every important story, every reader/listener/viewer, and leave it all on the field. I’m very proud of all the hard work that’s gotten us to this moment, and confident that we can meet it.”

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