“SolFest, the Greenest Show on Earth”

Root Concepts is committed to promoting sustainable ways of life, so we could not pass up the annual opportunity to visit SolFest 2007. Hosted by the Solar Living Center, based in Hopland, California, SolFest, “the Greenest Show on Earth,” is packed full of green wisdom, innovation, education, nourishment, and, last but not least, inspirational fun! For each and every ecologically or socially unfriendly issue, there is a sustainable green solution.

Our first stop was the all-around sustainable Thanksgiving Coffee stand, where we were served great coffee in recycled ceramics mugs with a smile - we dunked delicious organic oatmeal cookies. Bellies full, we cruised past a multitude of attractive booths featuring sustainable ideas, services, and products presented by friendly knowledgeable vendors. The newly opened Green Building Exchange based in Redwood City, California, for instance, was actively fulfilling its mission to connect the public with sustainable, green building professionals while promoting its Green Seed Radio show. Nearby, an earnest young woman was surrounded by sustainably-produced clothing and accessories, handmade by women’s cooperatives in Guatemala. The Presidio School of Management’s presence was outstanding with one of its students who wisely summarized the reason for sustainable living as such:
“We’ve got to look at the triple-bottom line, valuing people, profit and the environment equally.”

We couldn’t pass up the delicious smelling pizza baking at 350 degrees in the solar oven before having a private interview with Amy Goodman of Democracy Now. Amy succinctly defined sustainability for us: “Sustainability is about non-violent living in the world, whether it’s in relation to people or the earth…Sustainability is about not only maintaining the earth but allowing it to thrive. Sustainability is about sustaining all of us…I think that if we deeply believe in sustainability, we can abolish war in the twenty-first century.”

Joyous, young girls proudly explained that they were running “the only solar-powered carousel in the world,” as they sipped on their organic grape sodas. We caught up with Serge Labesque, a remarkable beekeeper running a workshop at SolFest this year. Together we visited one of the Solar Living Center beehives while he summed it up: “Without them (the bees), we would not have the plants, the food, the life that we have. It would be totally different. We would not be here.”

As the sun began to set, we found our way to the sustainable wine-tasting tent. We stumbled upon Stephanie Jarvis of Mendocino Farms who was sampling its exquisite biodynamically produced wines. “Biodynamic agriculture is about producing not only in harmony with the earth, but with the entire cosmos,” explained Stephanie.

And what would SolFest be without its Moondance, the big Saturday night bash of of green fashion, veggie-oil wrestling, belly dancers and inspiring hip tunes?!

We left exhilarated and inspired. if we want to improve our ways toward a sustainable future, a multitude of creative and affordable solutions exist for each and every facet of our lives.

If you missed SolFest this year, be sure to bookmark your 2008 calendars!

No Comments »

Pimpin’ the G life

In a year when every major magazine has featured a green issue, and the world’s pop star elite gathered for Live Earth around the globe, those who have made it their life’s mission to acquire the celebrity zeitgeist are bound to take notice.

Just as the flower power days of the 1960’s, when it became fashionable to talk about revolution, the “man”, and fighting the power, we can now fast forward to 2007 to those re-dressed archetypes speaking refrains like: sustainability, organic and carbon footprint. How many of you have had an experience in the past year where you knew the person you were speaking with had no knowledge whatsoever regarding “green” issues, nonetheless, spouted greenthink slogans they think you want to hear?

But hey why be uptight, can’t hedonism and ecological activism mix? The revolution must not be devoid of pleasure.

But if this is an age crying out for authenticity, the only genuine article parlayed by Paris Hilton and Ron Jeremy et. al. is the art of the “put on”.

If they really wanted to work for change, shouldn’t they work within their realms of influence - develop an ecocondom, make a home permaculture video, or at least follow the example of this young, idealistic and very sex positive couple in giving to the green porn cause?

Instead they pose like a Jeff Koons tableaux of Hollywood glitterati struggling for tenancy in the garden of Eden, sculpted in green plaster of Paris that ages in real time.

It is precisely the aging part that gives one pause. If our celebrity-obsessed culture cannot accept the maturing of human flesh, how can it live in harmony with nature’s cyclical acceptance of decay and rebirth?

The Diesel clothing company’s campaign, “global warming ready” exemplifies this irony.

What is the message behind these images of the thin, mostly white and homogeneously beautiful in nonchalant repose amidst a flooded, world in crisis? What were the memos that must have been flying around ad-strategy boardrooms and marcom sticky pads? “Buyer persona - young, aspirationally affluent, environmentally “aware”, but loves the thought of rockin’ in an 07 Hummer limo. So why don’t we create an “aspirational” tableaux of a post-apocalypse that can be, well…. glamorous?”

cool…?

Are we flashing the ultimate cynical sign, a kind of “bling uber alles”?

We say nah. Make friends with reality. It is coming, and without a stylist in tow.

The signs do seem to read that a “tipping point” has been reached. The “Green” label will become something else, all the eco terms will fall away to be more about being a conscious and awake human being, whose green/eco status will be based simply on their actions.

The issues will still be there, in spades.

Keep it real.

No Comments »