Welcome to issue #200!
I spent a lot of time over the past few weeks flipping through the pages of our debut issue. It may sound somewhat self-aggrandizing, but the first Grid was released as a prototype — not an actual issue — because the concept for a sustainable city magazine had no precedent. (Come to think of it, I haven’t seen copycat magazines in our wake, either. Maybe there’s a reason for that!)
At the time, it felt easier to create a prototype than to explain that this new magazine would have environmentalism at its core, but it would also include local food champions, small business owners, clean energy advocates, environmental justice leaders, green architects, gardeners, cyclists and all of the makers and fixers of the region. We would foster a coalition — no, a movement! — that would bring together all of these aligned people on a local level and wrest the power that corporations had snatched from us. On an individual level, our quests to learn to cook, sew and make simple repairs — skills common just a few generations ago — would also make us happier.
They were pretty lofty goals, but they were fueled by a sense of purpose. We knew there were consequences for not acting. Politicians who encouraged climate-friendly policies would often talk about how we needed to protect the planet for our grandkids. Little did they know — or did we — that severe climate disasters were very near at hand.
We decided to update several of the stories we published in that prototype issue. One topic we revisit is the state of our bike lanes, where advocates have been on the offense. Happily, biking infrastructure has vastly expanded and improved. There has been opposition and setbacks, but overall the consistent advocacy for cyclists and safer roads has made impressive gains.
There have been defensive battles as well. Some very powerful interests wish to again dredge the Delaware, even if it wreaks havoc on the river’s ecosystem. Maya K. van Rossum, our cover star this month, has acted as the Delaware Riverkeeper the entire time Grid has been publishing — and 14 years before that!
A story for me that links Grid’s past to its present is the essay by Noah Raven, age 15, born 183 issues ago, about the restoration work that the organization he founded, Monarch Defenders, has done in Wissahickon Valley Park. Over the course of a couple of years, they transformed a space overrun by invasive species and litter into a meadow that supports pollinators.
Noah’s story makes me want to join his group, or at the very least, make my very modest front yard more pollinator-friendly. In that way, it’s a classic Grid story. It’s designed to spur you into action. I hope something in this issue is the catalyst that gets you involved. Who knows, maybe six months from now — that would be issue #206 — we could be writing a story about you.
