That Sarah Palin cover on Newsweek is striking, for more reasons than the obvious one–the fact that a politician with national ambitions is being shown in a pair of short black shorts.
The headline is attention-grabbing, too. “She’s bad news for the GOP–and for everybody else, too.” Really? How? The story says that what Obama advisors (!) call “Palinism” has “created a climate of idelogical purity inside the GOP.” I’m no fan of ideological purity but it’s a stretch to blame Palin for the fact that the right-wing is coming down on, say, Lindsey Graham for working with John Kerry to enact climate change legislation.
As a runner, I was also struck by the fact that the cover photo comes from a series of pictures taken last spring for Runner’s World magazine, which are online here. I’m all in favor of recycling but it’s odd that Newsweek turned to a running magazine for its cover pic.
Then Lee Weinstein, a former Nike exec who now runs his own PR firm, told me that Palin is wearing a running top from a very cool startup, based in New Zealand, called Icebreaker. (Maybe she can see New Zealand as well as Russia from the shores of Alaska.) If you’re wondering, she’s wearing Icebreaker’s long sleeve chase zip in salsa and silver, available online here.
It’s made from all-natural merino wool, sourced in the mountains of New Zealand, which is environmentally preferable to the oil-based plastics used in a lot of outdoor gear. Icebreaker’s charismatic founder, Jeremy Moon, spoke last year at Fortune’s Brainstorm Green conference about the company’s deep rooted commitment to sustainability. Icebreaker even attaches a “Baacode” — get it? — to all of its products so that buyers can trace their raw materials back to the source.
As Lee emailed me to say:
It’s great Ms. Palin has discovered the benefits of running in natural, sustainable Icebreaker merino, which doesn’t hold odor like synthetic running tops (made from oil).
As opposed to the ‘Drill Baby Drill’ mantra of the last U.S. election cycle, Icebreaker has been campaigning for consumers to switch from synthetic running tops made from oil.
Palin may be “bad for everybody else,” but she’s setting a good example when it comes to sustainable running gear.
I like the recycling theme on the photo. Merino wool is being used increasingly to displace oil in consumer products; Patagonia has a wetsuit that uses wool to complement the oil-based neoprene to make a warmer suit with less bulk, but again it’s for the elite at about twice the price of standard wetsuits. And hey, what about all that sheep-generated methane!
Do you suppose she paid for it, or did the GOP?!
Thanks for another post about environmentally-minded running! Runner’s World has good resources on this: http://ow.ly/DzuB. I’ve found my shorts and tops at thrift stores and yard sales…greener than new. I choose Patagonia when I need new since they have a lot of 100% recycled items that perform well and last a long time, and they accept worn out materials for recycling. They’ve also mapped the lifecycle of several products and disclose the impacts online. (Re: cost – look for post-season sales and overstocks.)
Melissa, thanks for your comment and the link to the Runner’s World site, which I hadn’t seen before. You are right to bring up Patagonia. They are a wonderful company but, as you note, their gear can be pricey.
Given the fact that runners, by definition, like the outdoors, I wonder if there are other creative ways to link runners to environmental issues.
Hi Marc,
I’ve got to really disagree with your tone on this one — and the headline is misleading. Sarah Palin doesn’t think climate change is man-made, as governor, she sued to take polar bears off the endangered species list, and I just read this today (http://tinyurl.com/ybqltnt) “As former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin launches her national book tour, a former consultant questions more specifics from her record as governor.
Palin, the former running mate to Sen. John McCain during the 2008 presidential elections, continues to claim that she effectively protected Alaska’s environment, but a national academies peer review panel has blasted her oil and gas risk assessment plan, calling her environmental credentials into question.
“A blistering critique of former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin’s game plan for assessing the safety of the state’s oil and gas facilities and operations by a national panel of experts calls into question Palin’s claim that, as governor, she made safeguarding of Alaska’s resources a priority,” veteran Alaska oil and gas analyst Richard Fineberg, who consulted to the Palin administration in 2007 and early 2008 wrote on November 15.
“The public would be well served by examination of Palin’s executive style and performance as governor,” Fineberg added, speaking to Truthout in Fairbanks, “It’s important for people to know she was never there to do work, particularly at this time when she is once again in the public eye claiming to be a hard working Alaskan who cares for people in her state.”
So let’s not gild the poison ivy.
Otherwise, keep up the great work, Marc!
Francesca, I didn’t mean to suggest that Sarah Palin has gone “green” in any substantive way. Only in her choice of running gear.
Mostly I was looking for a catchy headline–but I should have indicated in the blogpost that I wasn’t taking a serious look at her environmental record. Next time, I will put “green” in quotes or qualify the headline somehow…
Hi Marc,
You might be much better served by reading the Fareed Zakaria piece in this issue, “Is America Losing It’s Mojo?” which focuses on America’s legacy of innovation and entrepreneurialism, and what we must do to keep it strong in changing times. Far more substantive and worthwhile to those focused on climate, energy and business than Palin’s “green” top, IMO.
http://www.newsweek.com/id/173014
Cheers,
Jesse Jenkins
p.s. in a nod to our more substantively focused overseas friends, the International Edition of Newsweek features the Zakaria piece and their global innovation survey on the cover, not Mrs. Palin.