Alternate Green Festival

There is more to preserving life on planet Earth than hemp jewelry! Now that the Green Festival is happening twice a year in SF, we think it's time to ask some serious questions about the message that the festival is sending to the wider society- namely that if everyone drove a Prius, put solar panels on their home, and offset their annual flights to Thailand, that we could "save the planet." The reality is that nothing could be further from the truth.

How did the term "environmentally friendly" come to mean "slightly less environmentally destructive"? The truth is that human beings have the ability to be truly "friendly" to the environment, crafting a new reciprocal relationship with nature rather than the current exploitative one, based on wisdom from indigenous cultures we've nearly wiped out.

What would such a modern world that prioritizes environmental health and human welfare actually look like? How do we get there from here?

Though many of the individuals who put on the festival are well intentioned, trying to "green" a fundamentally destructive culture can only perpetuate the damage and delay real solutions.

Promoting false solutions like "green" cars and carbon offsets is counterproductive to the cause. With the threat of climate catastrophe looming, it really is all or nothing if we want to avoid dangerous tipping points. Nature-unlike the federal government- doesn't do bailouts

We want to create a space outside the "Green" Festival where ideas about real solutions can be shared, music is made, dancing is encouraged, and a culture of resistance is nourished. Come and bring your ideas (to voice, or printed on leaflets). Bring instruments, signs, and other fun stuff. The space will be welcome to all.

At 6pm, the people will enter the festival to attend a debate about carbon offsets, and whether green capitalism is a real solution or a distraction and oxymoron.

http://www.greenfestivals.org/speaker-directory/san-francisco-spring-2010/2053-hart/view-details/

Note that this event is not sponsored or condoned by either Global Exchange or "Green" America. It will be what you make it!