GreenFest Boston



Among speakers, performers, and eco-fashion shows, there’s a one gallon challenge that asks teams to build vehicles that travel 110 miles from Northampton, MA to Boston on only one gallon of gas; the vehicles will be on display upon their arrival to the festival site:

We are looking for vehicles that are light weight, have good aerodynamics, and use very efficient propulsion systems to stretch the energy which fuels them, while at the same time allowing passengers the safety and comfort we insist on.

Sounds like a great event to get people active, conscious, and involved with changing their everyday habits for a greener life. Hope to see you there!

It’s funny. According to Wikipedia, in the past few years, “Beijing has added 3,800 natural gas buses, the largest fleet in the world. 20% of the Olympic venues’ electricity comes from renewable energy sources. The city has also planted hundreds of thousands of trees and increased green space in an effort to make the city more livable.” But when I moved into my new apartment back in July and was instructed about trash removal, there was no recycling available. I asked the agent about it, and even mentioned it to my roommate (a local Chinese), both were not really conscious of the idea of recycling: “just throw it in the trash.” In public spaces there are recycling bins, but they look JUST like the trash bin, so I’m sure the two containers are not differentiated when one throws away trash. But what’s more interesting, is that recycling is something that the Chinese have done… forever…? We see bike peddlers with their stacks and stacks of styrofoam, or rubber tires and metal scraps; is recycling only for those who need to perform manual labor to make a living? What about the everyday people that make up so much of the population and could be contributing to such a huge cause? Mind boggling…



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