Sustainable City

Amid all the booking in previous months, Jean Mazzei and I came up with a handful of East Coast dates and the Great Idea Tour would go to Phoenixville, PA before Brooklyn. The town, we found out, was indeed named for the mythical bird, having risen from many steel-factory related fires. Hence the name of the venue as well, Steel City Coffeehouse. Phoenixville was exceedingly friendly and welcoming as has been Pennsylvania in general. Having never been there before, I decided to stay on in Philadelphia for a few days before heading to NYC & I've been totally taken in by a progressive, hip, accessible and environmentally savvy city. Most restaurants and cafes cater to vegans (the joke being that some places label things 'non-vegan' rather than the other way around), the subway/trolley system is easy to learn and the mayor, Michale Nutter is evidently dedicated to making Philly the most sustainable city in America and it shows. Composting, car-sharing, wide bike lines and bike-share program are in full evidence. I'm visiting during Earth Week so there seems to be Green celebrations on every corner... as well as flags, former home as it is to Ben Franklin, Betsy Ross & the rest of revolutionaries. Thus far, I've balanced out my viewing of of the Liberty Bell & Independence Hall with one of Philadelphia's Magic Garden, a crazy quilt block of mosaics by Isaiah Zagar. Likewise, the musical landscape is just as diverse: indie bands at Mill Creek Tavern, a smoking Latin Jazz jam at Cafe Clave & an impromptu house mini-concert at my host's place scratching some of its surface....

Homebody: Earth Day/Earth Expo

I've been a total homebody since I got back from tour, thoroughly enjoying spring, biking and fresh produce, encouraged by the general green, healthy foodie Bay Area vibe. As April is host to Earth Day (April 22), many organizations are gearing up to celebrate our lovely and fragile planet, including, the City of Oakland. Before I hit the road again, I'm checking out Oakland's annual EarthEXPO, 14th, 10am -2pm, a 'festive lunchtime environmental fair and the region's lead-off event connected to Earth Day.' It promises to be a happy, healthy community celebration.

First pink, then green?

I did a wee bit of tabling on Sunday for Code Pink, the women-led grassroots peace & social justice movement, who were among the many exhibitors at the Green Festival. The Green Festival was a hall of good intentions. People sharing, selling and talking about raw food chocolate, organic cotton, co-housing, and green building materials crowded the Expo Center to its gills. It was groovy, it was inspiring, and it had its contradictions. Consumerism is consumerism, green or no, which isn't saying the Green Festival wasn't environmentally friendly, but true sustainability is a much deeper issue than wearing hemp.
A relatively slim corridor of Community Action exhibitors addressed many of these stickier aspects of humans attempting to live sustainably. Code Pink could be found in this area of the expo hall, and deep issues are what Code Pink, is about: stopping wars, respecting human rights, moving toward peace for all. What a tireless crew of women speaking out and finding creative ways to work toward a peaceable world! Perhaps a Pink Festival is needed? In the meantime, the CP site is a great resource.

finding the green

Green business, green design and sustainability are buzz words these days. SF is even hosting The Green Festival this weekend to showcase all the ways you can lesson your carbon footprint, go organic and eat healthy for the planet, etc. I was planning to go to the Green Festival—Deepak Chopra is talking and a lot of the YogiTimes crew will be in attendance—and then I saw the news. All the talk in the world can't make the oil spill in the Bay any better...major bummer. I felt the way I did in my environmental studies classes at UCSC back in the day--where to start when things are so dire?
I was overwhelmed looking at the photos of oiled birds this a.m. but I know, with concerted effort, progress can be made. I live in a now-hip neighborhood that was a pile of rubble after the 1989 earthquake; in college, I spent summers helping the Predatory Bird Research group with falcon releases, eventually helping get peregrines off the endangered species list (there's another reason this blog is called Bird in the Tree). So this weekend, pre-show and maybe instead of the Green Festival, I'm looking into what help the Bay clean up crew needs- maybe I can help de-oil a scoter or two.
"I've seen people try to change/and I know it isn't easy" sings Norah Jones on a recent release...a line I know and understand very well. But just because change ain't easy don't mean it ain't possible!
Above and beyond ER triage for Bay cleanup, I hope those who use cars to question their transportation options today, and everyday forward. Oil barrels are moving toward the $100 mark, Gore won the Peace Prize for his pretty darn alarming environmental doc, and a lot of the sky is falling-so what else does it take to wake up?
Bike. Walk. Use Biodiesel. Take the bus. Carpool. And check out these organizations.
Save the Bay
Marine Mammal Center
San Francisco Bike Coalition
and
Ecotality
Baykeeper