Forbes hires environment editor

Todd Woody, a former business editor at the San Jose Mercury News, has been hired by Forbes to be its environment editor.

Woody writes, “My title and full-time focus on green technology signals the importance Forbes is placing on issues that increasingly have become part and parcel of business, not a once-a-year opportunity to proclaim your green cred. Use water and energy? You’re in the environment business.

“Climate change, regulatory change and technological change will affect the fortunes of companies big and small in the coming decades and create the business titans of the 21^st century. (Check out my colleague Kerry Dolan’s list of the top 10 green billionaires to see who’s already is cashing in.)

“In recent years, the environment has become a big business issue and environmental issues are being been driven by technological innovation in renewable energy, electric cars, green chemicals and efficiency.

“We’re stepping up the pace to grapple with an increasingly complex environment, as it were, through in-depth features in the magazine that you won’t find elsewhere and daily coverage on Forbes.com from our staff and a growing cadre of contributors.”

Read more here. Until recently, Woody had been writing the Green blog for the New York Times.