Is Earth 'Effed'? Environmental News Leader Grist Offers Hope and Solutions This Earth Week

SEATTLE, April 20 /PRNewswire/ -- As Americans prepare to recognize the 40th Anniversary of Earth Day on April 22, Grist (www.grist.org), the irreverent and influential green news leader, is celebrating some unlikely heroes who are redefining green and helping Planet Earth feel less "effed."

Even though there are plenty of reasons for despair these days – climate change is wreaking havoc and federal politicians are dragging their feet on passing meaningful legislation to put us on a more sustainable path – Grist sees plenty of reasons for optimism. All across the country, communities are taking things into their own hands, finding ways to build a cleaner, healthier, smarter world.

To highlight this good work, Grist is rolling out a heap of new content that includes videos, interactive slide shows, a new open-sourced online community, a media partnership on climate change, even a Grist-driven Facebook page for "Earth" itself.

Grist's Earth Day offerings are sure to inspire, inform and entertain. A slideshow of the "40 Everyday Folks Out to Save Earth's Ass" introduces dozens of unexpected heroes – people who may not call themselves environmentalists, but who are working hard to create a more sustainable world. Grist is also launching HopenSource.org, a Twitter-fed site where readers are invited to submit tangible signs of progress. It is also ramping up coverage of urban agriculture, energy, transportation, design, and green jobs.

"Our future won't necessarily be determined by giant acts of heroism, or sweeping political reforms, but by everyday heroes with a desire to make a difference," said Grist Founder and CEO Chip Giller. "Sustainability is not some unattainable utopia. Quite the contrary:  a greener world is taking shape right before our eyes. And the changes are good for the economy, good for your health, and yes, it so happens, good for the planet."

All around the planet, people are hatching solutions:  more walkable cities, healthful food, efficient homes, and profitable businesses. And this surge of green action has Grist feeling pretty dang hopeful. Here are just a few ways Grist is celebrating this Earth Week:

• HopenSource – www.hopensource.org - an open-sourced online community site launched by Grist to give us all a little needed hope. HopenSource poses a simple question for examples of a cleaner, greener world. Respondents can answer via the Twitter hash tag #hopen directly on the HopenSource site and share inspirational advancements to give us all hope that Earth feels a little less "effed."
• "40 Everyday Folks Out to Save Earth's Ass" – an interactive slide show of the top 40 non-environmentalist making a difference for the planet, going live Thursday.
• "Earth:  FML" – video of a haggard Mama Earth holding on by a thread who receives encouragement from a few non-environmentalists doing their part to nurse the beaten-down planet back to health…plus a few sickos that will just make you laugh.
• Earth on Facebook – Earth will be chatting it up on Facebook. Despite her disappearing polar bears, bald spots, and a bad case of life-sucking humans, she is hoping Facebook friends will help her cheer up.
• The Climate Desk – Grist joins six other innovative news organizations (The Atlantic, the Center for Investigative Reporting, Mother Jones, Slate, Wired, and the PBS show Need to Know) to launch a journalistic collaboration dedicated to exploring the impact of a changing climate.

About Grist

Grist (www.grist.org) is a media organization that shapes the country's environmental conversations, making green second nature for our monthly audience of 800,000. Grist reaches the next generation by cutting through the noise to connect big issues like climate change to daily life, and by spotlighting the people and ideas that are leading us to a more sustainable future. Founded in 1999, Grist partners with major media outlets such as Yahoo! and The Washington Post. Grist has won two Webby Awards in the past and is a Webby Official Honoree this year; it has been featured in The New York Times, TIME, Newsweek, and Vanity Fair, as well as on NPR and NBC's TODAY Show.

SOURCE Grist