Chip Giller

You started Seattle-based Grist in 1999 to lighten up a movement that you said was taking itself too seriously. How do you tow the line between humor and disseminating accurate information?

I don't see any real conflict between that. We use a tone of irreverence to get through the crust of cynicism or jadedness some people might have around these issues and then we provide substance. We call ourselves a beacon in the smog, gloom and doom with a sense of humor. To get people to engage is really important to us—to get people to laugh, to get people to groan at some silly captions, funny headlines. I think the two really go hand-in-hand.

Could you describe for me the typical Grist reader?

The typical reader is someone in their twenties and thirties who might have a "light-green" approach to the subject matter. Another term I use for "light-green" is a "sprout." Maybe someone who has seen An Inconvenient Truth or grown up recycling but has only had a starting engagement on environmental issues or a new awareness. We want to spark that awareness, excite them about these issues, find out a way to connect the environment to their daily lives, and bring them along a spectrum so that they're thinking about the environment in terms of politics, in terms of other parts of life as well.

While we have 800,000, going on a million readers right now, I'd like us to reach two million people over the next couple of years. It's important to me to have almost all walks of life represented in our pages. Our readers aren't necessarily employed by environmental groups—they're lawyers, architects, designers, people in the fashion industry. They're people trying to figure out how to bring green into their lives and into their workplaces.

What's your favorite Grist story?

Our response to the Katrina tragedy was to do a whole series on poverty and the environment. In some sense, the Katrina victims were the first climate refugees this country has encountered. So often it's the poor who are most impacted by environmental degradation. On the lighter side of things, we have a wonderful advice columnist, Umbra Fisk, who lives in the library stacks of Grist magazine. She takes all manners of questions from readers. Can one recycle a beer bottle if there's a lime wedge stuck in it in it? We love answering questions like that—in some sense it's kind of irrelevant, but you've got to meet people where they're at and we try and do that with our content.

What's a story that Grist would never do?

One thing we're trying to do is de-bunk this notion of environmentalists as a self-righteous person who tsk tsks if people aren't recycling the right way or don't have a worm bin. We try and stay away from stories that reinforce that image. We are trying to contribute to a next-generation understanding of environmentalism—something that is more connected to everyday life and to other issues. We'd shy away from stories that play to that old-school stereotype of an environmentalist.

We're seeing these "green issues" everywhere we look. What do you make of that trend and do you think it's likely to continue?

The last year with An Inconvenient Truth and Gore winning the Oscars and now we're seeing green in Vanity Fair and Newsweek and now the launch of Sprig—it's such an exciting time. And it's my hope that it wouldn't be a repeat of the dotcom boom and then bust cycle. We'll see if what's coming out of this period of trendiness and hipness is real systemic change—probably that means action on the federal level around climate change, for example. Where we're heading with Grist is to help make green normal, not thought of something exceptional, but just as second nature. Sort of an analogy, something like, it wasn't always common for people to wash their hands so frequently and now hygiene is just such a regular, accepted part of life, it's second nature. And that's what I hope green becomes.

Let's go back in time for a moment, when your hair was a bit longer, when you were working on an organic farm, and when you hiked the Appalachian Trail. You've since become somewhat of a media darling. Is there anything you won't do to promote your cause?

I wouldn't want to spend a week driving an SUV around the country to publicize Grist. There are just some things I wouldn't do.

What are three things you can recommend to people who want to lead more sustainable lives, but don't know where to begin?

First of all, don't sweat all the small stuff. Don't fret things at the paper versus plastic level, but if you're making a big purchasing decision, like an appliance or a car makes a much bigger difference if you can buy green in those cases. Second, it's really important to stay informed—one can do it via Sprig or Grist, mainstream media is covering these issues more. And third, when you go and vote, that's another time to take green into consideration. But really, you don't have to fret the small things all the time, really just sweat the big stuff.

What does "green" mean to you?

I think there's a growing awareness of the ties between environment and health. As a new parent, I am aware that my daughter is constantly surrounded by plastic items and I wonder if plastic is this next generation's new lead. The ties between environment and health are only going to be made more clear by scientists over the next upcoming years. And that's going to be an issue to look for.

What green products do you use?

I have to say, this will be kind of dorky, but I love my energy efficient washer/dryer. I sit in front of it as if it were a TV and I just watch the spin cycle. I love it! I love it! Burt’s Bees diaper cream—good stuff. It entered my life when my daughter did, just to be clear.

How has having a child changed your relationship to being green?

I live on an island off of Seattle, Vashon Island, and it's really restorative for me to leave the city and go to this rural place after work. I love the hip, urban green scene, but I also love the fact that my daughter is going to grow up and walk in the woods and go down to the beach and pick up a rock and play with crabs and be exposed to the outdoors in that way. Having a child has increased my appreciation for where I live and the wonderful community that surrounds me.

What is your eco-sin?

Among my eco-sins are travel. For my work I'm frequently flying across the country. My wife and I, every couple of years, like to take a trip that involves hiking in Hawaii or Italy or Chile. Air travel, you can't buy your way to heaven. These carbon offsets, I think, are a little bit of a crock. Air travel is among my top eco-sin.

Would you be friends with someone who isn't green?

I have lots of friends who are not green obsessed. But I do like all of my friends to be critical thinkers, skeptical thinkers, people who have a political lens and think about their role in causing change in the world. But not all of my friends rate the environment as one of their top priorities.

Are there any green habits that you sometimes do that strike you as absurd but you do them anyway?

My wife and I have a worm bin, that we refer to as our pets, which we feed fastidiously all our scraps. They eat all of our leftover vegetables. I don’t know what a difference it’s making in the world, but it makes me feel good and I like worms.

I hear there is an official Grist Haiku. Could you recite it for us, please?

A frog in water
Doesn’t feel it boil in time
Dude we are that frog.