Treehugger.com published this very thoughtful piece about Al Gore's interview in Rolling Stone. While my criticisms of Rolling Stones paper choices were harsh, I'm glad the substance in the magazine reflects some important aspects of the fight against climate change. While most interviews with Al tend to read the same way, this one's different--and worth your time. Pay attention:

AL GORE'S FIGHT AGAINST THE CLIMATE CRISIS IN ROLLING STONE. Rolling Stone magazine has devoted a sizable portion of their latest issue (on newsstands until June 28) to talking about the dangers we face relating to global warming. They've enlisted help from some heavy hitters, including media juggernaut and "environmentalist-in-chief" Al Gore, who's been making the rounds lately. In an interview with the mag, Al talks about the rising tide of support for the climate crisis, whether or not we've reached a tipping point, and how events like Live Earth can help his cause. One thing he said really resonated with TreeHugger; when asked if he believes we can be saved by Priuses and new light bulbs, Gore said, "I agree that we're not going to solve this problem by buying Priuses and changing our light bulbs. But driving hybrids and choosing better technology is still important in two respects. First, it makes a small contribution to reducing CO2. And second, when people make changes in their own lives, they are much more likely to become part of a critical mass of public opinion and to support the bigger policy changes that are going to be needed to really solve the problem."

This is an important point: individually, or as individuals, solving the problem isn't as easy as getting a new car or buying some new light bulbs, but it's an important part of the evolution of the idea that everything we do and everything we buy and consume has a carbon cost. While buying a hybrid won't stop global warming, support of cleaner technology and greener practices is not only a way to reduce an individual's carbon footprint, but a way to begin to engage in social, moral and political activism that represents the "sea change" that Gore references several times in the interview. And he's still optimistic; About his current attitude toward the problem (including his vision for the short term) Al says he still thinks we can turn the ship around: "I will 'fess up to the element of 'hope being father to the thought' here. But I don't think it's an unrealistic hope at all. I believe that it's much more likely than not that we will see within the next few years a very dramatic political change in most of the world, including in the United States, that will sharply reduce CO2." Hmm... read (or listen to) the rest of Al's thoughts, including his latest answer for the million dollar question about returning to politics. ::more ::Rolling Stone

Labels: Al Gore, carbon neutral, Live Earth, Rolling Stone

Rolling Stone announced that their June 28th issue will be devoted to climate change and will be printed on carbon neutral paper. The magazine's explanation of their choice of carbon neutral paper over recycled paper is just plain ridiculous: (from the New York Times) Eric Bates, deputy managing editor of Rolling Stone, said, "We think recycled paper is great."

But he added, "we are publishing some of the greatest photographers and artists, and the print quality on recycled paper does not do them justice."

If that was true, I'd probably be writing a very favorable post right now. However, it is obvious Mr. Bates and the Rolling Stone production team have not done any comparison prints. There are plenty of paper options out there that offer the benefit of being produced with low levels of greenhouse emissions AND boast high levels of recycled content---without any loss of quality! GreenBase details them here. New Leaf Paper, for example, has an extensive line of great sustainable papers that I've used in commercial print jobs with great success and no loss of quality. Check out their Eco Audit that explains the sustainable qualities of the paper:

For a publication that advocates turning it up to 11, Rolling Stone's effort could definitely use a good hard clockwise turn.

Labels: carbon neutral, recycled paper, Rolling Stone