Subject: Coffee, tea, and me
From: Chip Giller <[email-masked]>
To: John <[email-masked]>
Date: Sat, 20 Jun 2015 07:00:06 -0400

Dear John,

When I moved to Seattle to start what became Grist 17 years ago, I didn’t know much about the place. Like most people on the outside, I thought of it as a rainy city where people drank a lot of coffee and wore a lot of plaid. Young and eager, but not a lover of lattes, I had no idea what was in store.

Over the time since, we three have changed -- Seattle, Grist, and I -- in more ways than I can count. Grist has grown from an email news digest sent to 100 people to a respected digital-media platform with a monthly following of more than 2,000,000. I got married, bought a house, became a father, and traveled the road from start-up guy to CEO (though I never did develop a taste for coffee). As for the city we call home, well -- where to begin. Grunge has given way to gigabytes, we’ve seen drama ranging from WTO protests to a transportation fustercluck (grist.org/cities/seattles-unbelievable-transportation-megaproject-fustercluck/), and we even won our first Super Bowl (a sure sign we’ve hit the big time … or so they tell me).

At Grist, we’ve just published a special series on Seattle (grist.org/series/seattle-city-of-the-future/) that I hope you’ll check out -- no matter where you live. My team has done great work on this project, which encompasses everything from sustainable transportation to waste disposal, and we think the things going on here offer a few lessons (both cautionary and inspiring) to other places facing similar growing pains. A few of my favorite pieces from the series: 

1. Is Seattle a model for sustainable cities, or just a mess? -- grist.org/cities/is-seattle-a-model-for-sustainable-cities-or-just-a-mess/

2. Seattle’s smart plan to remake its streets -- grist.org/cities/seattles-smart-plan-to-remake-its-streets/

3. Tent cities: Seattle’s unique approach to homelessness -- grist.org/cities/tent-cities-seattles-unique-approach-to-homelessness/

4. Is Amazon’s new Seattle HQ the ultimate tech utopia? -- grist.org/cities/is-seattles-south-lake-union-the-future-of-the-urban-office-park/

To put this package together, our editors worked closely with members of our fellowship program and others to produce thoughtful, often surprising reporting on a complicated topic -- a model Grist will increasingly use as we move forward. Sure, breathless news coverage has its place in the world, but there’s plenty of that online. We want to bring you fresh angles on the sustainability stories that matter most, from voices you can trust. 

Let me know if there’s a story you think we should cover in your neck of the woods. I’ll be sure to give it some thought -- over my next cup of tea. 

Stirringly,

Chip

P.S. If you’d like to support our independent content and the writers who produce it, please be in touch with my colleague Patrick Schmitt ([email-masked]). Every donation helps.

Chip Giller
Founder and CEO, Grist
@cgiller

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