Great interview with John and Teresa Kerry in Grist

[Mass]

For a Moment
John Kerry and Teresa Heinz Kerry chat about their new environmental book

By Amanda Griscom Little
29 Mar 2007
The environment brought them together. And now, together, they've brought out a book on the environment. (No flip-flop jokes, please.)

John Kerry and Teresa Heinz Kerry.
Photo: Diana Walker
John Kerry first met Teresa Heinz at an Earth Day rally in 1990. The two reconnected at the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro in 1992, and then, three years later, wed. He continued to focus on the environment as a Democratic senator from Massachusetts, earning the title "Environmental Hero" from the League of Conservation Voters, while she continued her work as chair of the Heinz Family Philanthropies, a major grant maker in the areas of health and the environment.

Now, having survived a failed presidential bid, the political power couple has refocused on the issue that inspires them both. Their new book, This Moment on Earth: Today's New Environmentalists and Their Vision for the Future, highlights more than a dozen grassroots activists, most of whom they encountered on the campaign trail in 2004. The book is emphatically optimistic about the green movement: "environmentalism isn't dead," they write, "it's just being reborn -- the very idea of what it means to be an 'environmentalist' is being revolutionized. People from all walks of life, without concern for party or ideological lines, are coming together in unprecedented numbers across the globe."

This Moment on Earth: Today's New Environmentalists and Their Vision for the Future
This Moment on Earth, by John Kerry and Teresa Heinz Kerry.
The duo introduce readers to people like Ellen Parker, a social worker from Cape Cod who battles cancer-linked pollutants, and Helen Reddout, an orchard owner in Washington state who struggles against fecal runoff from nearby dairy farms. Better-known figures like attorney and activist Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and green architect and designer Bill McDonough also make appearances. Throughout, the authors weave in their own experiences with the natural world -- from Heinz Kerry's childhood in the wilds of Mozambique to Sen. Kerry's environmental advocacy on Capitol Hill.

Last week they spoke with me from their home in Washington, D.C., about the characters in their book, their 2004 campaign experience, and the role the environment will play in the next presidential election.

full interview here

[whometense]

1. What a beautiful picture!!

(great interview too) :-)

[karynnj]

2. agree - on both counts

[ProSense]

3. Very nice interview. Thanks. n/t

[wisteria]

4. That is a very nice picture. n/t

[Island Blue]

5. I think that's my new favorite JK/THK photo.

Nice article too. Thanks for posting.