Open Green Map

Green living is all around us—not just on Earth Day! As we celebrate the 40th anniversary of Earth Day, perhaps this is a chance to seek out something "green" in our neighborhood.



Using familiar Google map technology, Open Green Map is a collection of 10,235 green living sites around the world. From buildings to local markets to hiking trails, this small but growing database was created by Green Map® System in hopes to "make these places part of your life, and help your community become a greener and healthier place."

Also check out Green Map® System homepage to see their collection sustainable maps.

But celebrations aren't over yet!
Here are some notable Earth Day events on the weekend.

Earth Day at Grand Central Terminal:
featuring the annual The Giant Earth Images, exhibits at Vanderbilt Hall and outdoor celebrations on Vanderbilt Avenue

NY's greenest at Battery Park:
art installation in the World Financial Center and workshops during the day

NYC Grows Festival at Union Square:
gardening and tree-planting workships, organic cooking demonstrations and hands-on urban farming activities



-Julie

The History of Earth Day

As we prepare to roll home after a delicious Earth Day luncheon, let's take a few moments out of our dessert-induced stupor to reflect on the history of Earth Day itself.

The push to recognize the need to do something to address the steadily-worsening environment was initially made as early as 1962 by Senator Gaylord Nelson. (Now there's a name you don't hear much these days.) He even got President Kennedy on board, but, unfortunately, the issue didn't really take off.

Over the next few years, Sen. Nelson drew inspiration from the anti-Vietnam "teach-ins" taking place on college campuses around the country, and had the idea to stage his own environmentally-themed teach-in. In September 1969, he announced plans for a nationwide grassroots demonstration on behalf of the environment and invited everyone to participate.

On April 22, 1970, the event that Sen. Nelson initially called the National Environment Teach-In but was quickly dubbed Earth Day took place. On this first Earth Day, 20 million people across the U.S. participated. According to this account by Sen. Nelson:

Earth Day worked because of the spontaneous response at the grassroots level. We had neither the time nor resources to organize 20 million demonstrators and the thousands of schools and local communities that participated. That was the remarkable thing about Earth Day. It organized itself.

By 1990, the 20th anniversary of Earth Day saw global participation, with over 140 countries involved. By the 30th anniversary in 2000, that number had swelled to 184 countries.

In recognition of his environmental work, Sen. Nelson was given the Presidential Medal of Freedom—the highest honor given to a civilian—in 1995. Although Nelson died in 2005 at the age of 89, he would no doubt be delighted to see that the cause he supported and tradition he began 40 years ago has been taken up so fervently by so many.

For a more thorough timeline of Earth Day history, take a look here. To learn more about the Earth Day Network, the organization that coordinates Earth Day events and helps found local Earth Day groups worldwide, check out their website.


-Kaitlen

Film Screening Tonight 3/23: PLASTIC PLANET

Another good reason to check out our recently installed work at Lincoln Center. Plastic Planet is being screened tonight with the following panel discussion:

"In this playful look at a serious subject, Werner Boote exhaustively examines the far-reaching effects of plastics on the environment. Can we curb our love for this ubiquitous material, or do we still need it despite the problems it causes?

Screening followed by a panel discussion with: Elisabeth Royte, author of "Garbage Land and Bottlemania: How Water Went on Sale and Why We Bought It" and Michael Rieser, Staten Island Recycling Outreach Coordinator, Office of Recycling Outreach and Education Council on the Environment of New York City."


- Anna

This Weekend: Go Green Expo

So this is pretty exciting: This Friday through Sunday, the Go Green Expo is happening right here in New York City. (Friday is the business-to-business portion of the expo, but Saturday and Sunday are open to the public.) Admission is complimentary all weekend long for b2b participants, and you can get a discount on general admission with the code GGENYC. I'd love to see Saturday's keynote speaker, Ed Begley, Jr., but I'm unfortunately busy all day, so I'll have to content myself with Mariel Hemingway on Sunday instead. Though, honestly, I'm interested in more than just the keynote address—several of the seminars sound intriguing, and there are more than 200 booths and exhibits to check out. My suggestion? If you decide to go, wear comfy shoes. You might be walking around for a while.


Thanks for the heads-up, Sarah!


-Kaitlen

Suggested Viewing: Food, Inc.

If you have time this weekend, you might consider taking in a showing of the film Food, Inc. It's an examination (one might say exposé) of "America's industrialized food system and its effect on our environment, health, economy and workers' rights," according to the official website. It's been getting fantastic reviews (see David Edelstein's unqualified endorsement in New York Magazine) and sounds quite informative, if potentially frightening.

-Kaitlen