Welcome to URTH Guy

This new blog owes a hearty tip of the (upcycled) hat to Starre Vartan of Eco-Chick, Greenopia, and TDG (yes she's very busy); and Remy C. of Lu Magazine (sorry Rem, umlauts mess up too many browsers). Without them URTH Guy never would have been pushed through the heady birth canal known as the Hearst Digital Production Department.

I had heard Starre complain about the lame lack of an "Eco-Chick for guys" on the Intertubes so many times that I finally took the half-broken iPod bugs out of my ears long enough to do something about it. Hey, am I the only one worried about getting part of a headphone cover lodged in his ear? Star Trek II messed me up as a kid.

Anyway, some of you may be wondering why this blog will include such topics as the latest green fashions (for men, duh) and cool green gadgets, when the eco lot is often told that what we really need to do is buy less stuff. Very good sir, that is a great point. In fact it reminds me of a friend of mine, who frequently refers to a ball cap he picked up in Quebec, especially when we're strolling past the glittery windows of a tony boutique, or killing time flipping through a glossy magazine. The hat reads "fuck la mode."

But the truth is style, design and even fashion matter... much more than most people think. Just ask Steve Jobs, Marilyn Monroe or even Che. Green fashion doesn't have to be about buying more stuff you don't really want... but it can help you put your best sustainable foot forward, and maybe even impress a few cute eco-chicks (simple demographics are in our favor, after all).

So no this blog isn't just going to be about hemp manbags or organic cotton skinny jeans. It's also going to be about tech, the Internet, cool parties and hilarious youtube videos. But I figured I didn't have to sell you as hard on those other things. But most of all, please tell me what you want to see! (Besides exclusive photo shoots of Julia Butterfly Hill among the trees).

Thanks again to Starre and Remy for inspiration, ideas and encouragement. Without Remy's regular bombardment of deep green (and random) info, and long talks over soy lattes and organic spirits, I would still be blind to whole layers of understanding. I wouldn't have met a lot of life-changing, pioneering green folk either.

Of course I wouldn't be typing here today without receiving so much guidance and support over my happy years at E/The Environmental Magazine, learning from founder Doug Moss, Associate Publisher Karen Soucy, former Editor (and TDG contributor) Jim Motavalli and others. In many ways E remains THE place for detailed environmental info.

There are more corners of the web than ever sportn' the green, so I'm not going to try to reinvent the wagon wheel. I do hope I can build on some of the sites I admire, like the venerable Treehugger, Inhabitat, Earthfirst, Environmental Graffiti, Webecoist and many more.

Also major props are due the beyond-stellar TDG crew, from founder Deborah Barrow to Dan Shapley, Annie Muzaurieta and Gloria Dawson (who designed the bitchn' URTH Guy graphix). Fives will also be slapped to producer Erin Johnson, maestro Rob Keane and ubereditor Erin Dailey. Big up to Chris Johnson and Beth Ellard for giving the green light.

Peace, and let the good (green) times roll.