On climate bills, Bill McKibbon & local action

"If you’ve been a little paralyzed by the sheer size and horror of global warming, now is the time to start moving forward, fast." — Bill McKibbon

Having written my representatives and senators on the matter, I was happy to see the House passed the Climate Bill yesterday even if many are saying it will mess up the economy further. I'm not sure what part of the widespread consensus that global warming is happening now people don't get with natural disasters, failed crops, lack of potable water for many people, and extinctions running amok. If all these events continue unabated money won't mean a thing. I suppose this is where education comes in. I 'forget' I got a degree in Environmental Studies 20 years ago when recycling programs and the ill effects of pesticides left most people scratching their heads (including my family as I recall after explaining these issues having come home impassioned&outraged from all I'd learned). I've known about this stuff long enough that it's second nature to ride my bike to work, separate the plastic from the paper, and buy local as much as possible. Yes, it's hard to remember these acts may make a dent when I pedal past a person pulling out of a driveway in a Lambourghini (the great thing about city living is you truly do have the all of humanity in full view), every action does count. There's plenty more I could do that really doesn't interfere with enjoying one's life. Given that, I found some great tips and and resources at American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy' site (they host theBehavior, Energy and Climate Change Conference).
For more on the complexity of the economy & action, the brilliant author Bill McKibbon has a new title "Deep Economy," which explains issues of growth, sustainability, & oil economies far more expertly than I can. You might want to pick up his "Fight Global Warming Now" while your at it.

Stop the Spray... again

I really don't have more to say on this other than it's bad, we'd all be healthier without pesticides and YOU have the power to prevent this.
STOP THE SPRAY

Land's End

The Hayes Valley Neighborhood Association was out in force at Nickie's last night, a new Lower Haight bar/nightclub, to support the fundraising efforts of Muir Elementary School. District 5 Supervisor Ros Mirkarimi made his way down to the club as Halloween bedecked Critical Mass riders filtered through the streets, Alex and I played a set in the corner, and the Nickie's staff served school teachers and their supporters an array of appetizers. After chatting with some HVNA board members and Ross about the upcoming election and UC extensions, we found the streets were alive with the evening's second shift of entertainment seekers, many in costume.
It's taken me two years to claim San Francisco as my own since I came "back" to the city in 2005, after spending nearly a decade hemming and hawing about whether to move here or somewhere else. While I was born and raised in Santa Cruz County, both my parent were born in San Francisco and my childhood was marked by drives up the coast to visit a place rife with family baggage, err history. So I didn't trust that SF was a pretty cool city that I might choose on my own when I was initially pulled back to California a decade ago by family after living in Colorado. So I went all over the world checking out other places. While I still think of moving to Paris or Austin or NYC and spending more time in Mysore someday, more often I'm loving SF on my own terms. So it was fitting that earlier in the day, Steven sent me new mixes of songs written amid all this deciding, Land's End and Raising Cain, which both mull personal aspects of San Francisco. I'm always struck by the unpredictable, but apt timing of work getting completed and out into the world...

Critical Mass 15th Anniversary

Allegra sent some shots from the party on wheels a couple of weeks ago-our pack Greg, Chris, moi, Allegra, Emily pre-ride and mid-mass...

Cornelia Parker @ De Young, etc.

I was happy to see Cornelia Parker's "Anti-Mass" was recently acquired by the De Young during my latest visit yesterday. I caught her exhibit at Yerba Buena a couple of years ago. Only wish they placed the work in the center of the room (the photo is from a previous show). Must have been hell to install....

also talked to singer/songwriter/jazz gal and pal Jean last night who just wrapped up some sessions in L.A. She's playing a "soul-lo" show as she puts it next Sunday at Bazaar Cafe. I may do a guest turn on a song or two...

According to three sources I made the KRON news Friday night and during a Sunday rebroadcast representing the peaceful Critical Mass participants. I was interviewed while I was waiting for the event to roll off. I was glad the quote that survived the q&a was "I believe cyclists and cars can co-exist."

Critical Mass and the Blues

After work on Friday, I met up with friends at Justin Herman Plaza* for a happy hour of social cycling: it was the 15th anniversary of Critical Mass on Friday, the controversial monthly bike ride which puts rush hour traffic at a standstill to give bikes the right of way. The event gets a bad rap but it's generally a peaceable party, really a parade to celebrate two wheels rather than four. And for every aggressive cyclist there may have been (I didn't see any), there were a dozen or so unofficial marshals, dedicated to communicating to the pack about pedestrians and safe-guarding potentially dangerous cars. It took Allegra, Chris, Emily, Greg and I an hour to pedal with the mass down the Embarcadero and back up Market St. to my doorstep where I bid adiu as they continued on down Octavia Blvd. After 15 years of calling attention to urban cycling concerns, cyclists now number 30,000 in San Francisco and the city leads the country in bicycle signage (how can you not love a "Sharrow"). The San Francisco Bike Coalition is one of my favorite causes.

*earlier at the Plaza I attended a noon-time kick-off concert for the San Francisco Blues Festival.

Listening to: a remix of Feist's "My Moon My Man"