Posts filed under ‘Eco Sights and Events’
Happy Food Day!
Today marks the first official Food Day, which celebrates and promotes access to healthy and sustainable food nationwide. Started by the Center for Science in the Public Interest and backed by sustainable agriculture heavyweights like Michael Pollan and Alice Waters, Food Day is a reminder that what is on our plates is inextricably linked not only to our personal wellbeing, but also to our local economies, national legislative policies, food access inequalities and overall health as a society.
Food Day’s main goal is to raise awareness around “healthy, affordable food produced in a sustainable, humane way.” Fortunately, there are a number of ways you can participate and make a difference, such as attending organized events happening all over San Francisco and the Bay Area – or join the Marin Organic gleaning team today at Green Gulch Farm in Muir Beach. You can also support the movement by buying produce from local farms (go to LocalHarvest.org to find a farmer’s market near you) or eating at restaurants that offer farm-to-fork options. Check out Marin Organic’s list of Supporting Producers and Business Members for some ideas on where to get delicious, real food!
Disclosure: This post originally appeared on MarinOrganic.org, where I recently became the Supporting Business Program Manager.
Shopping at Urban Bazaar
As I was walking home the other day, I happened to stop by a new shop in my neighborhood called Urban Bazaar. From the outside it looked like a colorful succulent nursery, but on the inside there was a vast selection of fair trade jewelry, home goods, beauty lotions and clothing. Some of the items were made locally, like the Berkeley-based AngelMade infused coconut oil I bought, and the rest was from around the world, including an adorable owl-shaped trivet from India I picked up.
Unlike other fair trade stores I’ve been in before, Urban Bazaar carries items that I would honestly love to feature in my home (or wear!). They are chic, sustainable and, though I think it’s important to support global fair trade workers, it’s just as critical to support the artisans living in our own towns and cities.
Image Courtesy of Urban Bazaar
If you’re in San Francisco this weekend, you’re in luck! On Saturday and Sunday from 11am – 5pm, Urban Bazaar will be holding its “Vagabond Indie Craft Fair,” selling handcrafted goods from dozens of local artists. Stop by for everything from artistic woodworking to vintage steam punk accessories. I know I’ll be starting my Christmas shopping early.
Urban Bazaar is located at 1371 9th Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94122. 415-664-4422. www.urbanbazaarsf.com
Lured by the DIY Life?
Custom Order - Cream Wool Dotted Leg-warmers: From OurSunshine on Etsy.com
Hand-knit mittens and custom-crafted tables are just a few of the unique treasures found on Etsy.com, which connects talented DIY folks with buyers who value handmade products over the generic, unsustainable options found at the mall.
Spending money on commerce that supports small businesses and operates on human-scale economies (i.e. the amount of scarves that Jane Smith in Oregon can sell depends on how quickly her own two hands can knit, as opposed to The Gap who churns them out in third-world factories around the globe) can help shift us to a more genuine and connected way of living. One of my favorite stores on Etsy.com is Soap Walla from Brooklyn, NY, and I can truly say I’ve never been so excited to buy deodorant as I am when I get their Deodorant Cream! It feels more personal and I know I am getting a product that has been thoughtfully made.
But instead of just participating on the consumer end, why not be part of creating the new movement? On September 18, the Hello Esty Summit is coming to San Francisco to help aspiring DIY sellers learn the ropes of setting up their own shop and creating a successful – and sustainable – small business. In addition, thought leaders such as SFMade’s Kate Sofis and journalist Allison Arieff will provide their perspectives on the resurgence of local manufacturing. The summit is currently sold out at California College of the Arts, but another local Hello Etsy event will be happening at TechShop on Howard Street. Register soon and be motivated to follow your dreams. Let the bear in the cute video below be your inspiration!
Hello Etsy Summit events are taking place in cities all over the U.S., including Washington, D.C., Portland, OR, Brooklyn and Los Angeles. And if you’re abroad, there is also one happening in Berlin, Germany! Go to helloestsy.com for more details.
Celebrate Earth Hour This Saturday!
Great success is usually preceded by smart preparation. That is the reasoning behind World Wildlife Fund and Earth Hour’s new “Beyond the Hour” platform, which challenges individuals to reflect and think of eco actions they can take during Earth Month (April) and continue for the rest of the year. Whether it’s expanding the idea of Earth Hour on March 26 – i.e. turning off lights for an hour – and applying that to every Saturday evening, or bringing a homemade lunch to work most days of the week, Beyond the Hour lets families, citizens, companies and even governments publically pick, share and commit to one or more green actions.
Essentially, the online interactive platform takes Mother Nature Network’s recently-launched Idea Lab to the next level, embracing numerous social media avenues to inspire people to proactively think about long-term sustainable living changes and share them with peers around the world. This helps keep us accountable to our eco promises and provides a measuring tool to see which changes are resonating most with individuals and societies.
Beyond the Hour is a great example of how New Year’s goals for the eco-conscious crowd have morphed into Green Resolutions for Earth Month. But these ideas aren’t relegated to personal journals or put up on the home refrigerator. Instead, they’re posted on the web for all to see on Facebook, Twitter, via an iPhone app or even as a blog widget, keeping us honest with ourselves and our fellow human beings who, in the long run, will benefit from our eco promises.
So where to start? Turn off your lights from 8:30 to 9:30 p.m. local time this Saturday, March 26. With households participating from countries all over the world, you’ll be able to see a “wave of darkness” sweep the Earth. For my part, I’ll be lighting a few organic beeswax candles and bringing out the board games!
Must-See Documentaries from the 1st SF Green Film Festival
For its first run, the inaugural San Francisco Green Film Festival was a hit! The topics of the various documentaries – from the rights of butterflies to the greening of Hollywood film sets – showed just how expansive the sustainability sector is and how creative entrepreneurs, hard-working humanitarians and everyday citizens are able to drive change in their own unique way.
The festival, organized by Rachel Caplan, was held at the Landmark Embarcadero Cinema in downtown San Francisco. The location was easily accessible by public transportation and the theater’s concession stand had a selection of vegan and vegetarian sausages from local spot Underdog - a good fit for the green event. The opening night gala and special festival events were hosted nearby at the beautiful LEED-certified Bentley Reserve. The gala was plastic-free – guests drank from real glasses and ate off of compostable dishes – and Bay Area-based food sponsors provided organic wines and appetizers. Vegetarian fare was limited, unfortunately, so hopefully this will be remedied next year.
The wonderful film selections, however, made any first-time-festival glitches unimportant. Below are the must-see documentaries I encourage you to watch. The more we spread the word about these types of important and emotionally-moving films, the greater chance we have of selling out the house at next year’s San Francisco Green Film Festival and opening the eyes of our neighbors, friends and family. So make a big bowl of organic popcorn and get ready to be entertained and enlightened!
Image Courtesy of www.bagitmovie.com/
Bag It! – “Everyman” Jeb Berrier explores the effects of single-use plastic (think plastic grocery bags, the plastic fruit container you get from Trader Joe’s, etc) and how this type of packaging poses serious waste disposal and societal health problems. From the lies behind the ability to recycle single-use plastic, to the politics behind chemical-company-led attacks on phasing out plastic grocery bags, Jeb’s focus evolves as his wife becomes pregnant and their awareness of other everyday toxic chemicals grows. This is a perfect film to show green newbies, as it touches on many of the movement’s most important issues.
Image Courtesy of www.yearoftheflood.com
In the Wake of the Flood – Environmental author Margaret Atwood’s 100-day book tour for her latest novel “The Year of the Flood” is documented as she makes her way around the world visiting her readers. To get the message out, each eco tour stop hosts a theatrical reenactment of her story. The film is touching and lets you see a more personal, passionate side of Margaret. But, after yesterday’s terrible earthquake and tsunami disaster in Japan, it’ll also give you goose bumps wondering if her fiction has turned into prophecy.
Image Courtesy of www.greenthefilm.com/
Green – A film without sound can sometimes say more than a script ever could. Follow the final days of Green, an orangutan whose rainforest home has been destroyed and whose baby is sold into the exotic animal trade. Her depression is palpable as staff at a wildlife rehabilitation center attempt to treat her. However, the images of the decimation of forests in Indonesia for the paper and palm oil industry are particularly frightening. Though the filmmakers do gently point the finger at worldwide consumers for driving demand, we can see firsthand the terrifying impacts of allowing corporations to plunder and pillage the environment as they see fit.
Image Courtesy of www.ifc.com
Into Eternity – “Onkalo” means hiding place in Finnish, which is a fitting name for the nuclear repository hidden deep underground in Finland that contains the radioactive waste generated by the country’s nuclear energy plants. Eerily fascinating and unnerving at the same time, the film explores the potentially-devastating implications if there is a leak and how generations hundreds of years from now may come to see “the hiding place that should never be disturbed” as either a sign of a miracle or apocalyptic.
Image Courtesy of www.bananasthemovie.com/
Bananas!* – Who knew that a sunny-colored banana could have such a dark side. Filmmaker Fredrik Gertten, who is currently being sued by Dole Food Corporation, documents a tense courtroom drama that has a flashy-but-compassionate Los Angeles lawyer fighting on behalf of Nicaraguan workers who have a myriad of health problems – from cancer to sterility – as a result of being exposed to chemicals that Dole’s C-suite knew were toxic. After watching this film, I am only buying fair-trade and organic bananas…that are not grown by Dole. Trust me, it’s worth the extra 30 or 40 cents.
Image Courtesy of www.divethefilm.com
DIVE! – Filmmaker Jeremy Seifert takes viewers on a journey from dumpster to dinner plate as he and his friends pull enough food from the garbage bins of large grocery chains throughout Southern California to feed their families and share with local homeless shelters. The film is a commentary on how Americans throw away 96 billion pounds of food a year – much of it perfectly edible – but still can’t eradicate hunger in society. Hopefully the awareness generated from the movie will help America improve its food distribution system, and have consumers be more mindful of the waste that makes it into our compost bins.
San Francisco’s First Green Film Festival Is Here!
The first San Francisco Green Film Festival kicked off last night! The entire event is plastic-free and launched with an entertaining and enlightening look at America’s addiction to plastic. I’ll be posting my reviews of select films throughout the weekend, but here’s something to whet your appetite: the awesome parody music video “Plastic State of Mind” produced by Green Sangha. It’s time to kick our nasty single-use plastic habit!
