This past Thursday, despite a bad cold, being unable to breathe, and a pounding headache, I got myself out to Waltham (which, I might add, does not seem so different from Watertown, where I got lost first. Neither have street signs) at 8 am to check out the Bentley Leadership Forum for social entrepreneurship, with Van Jones as the morning keynote speaker. And though I felt awful, I was so glad I did!
Van Jones is the author of the Green Collar Economy. He's also the creator of Green for All, which Green on the Inside supports. A few years ago, I didn't know who he was, though I should have. Now he is the Special Advisor for Green Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation at the White House Council on Environmental Quality. His mission is to link clean energy to the need for jobs, thereby creating green jobs and healing both the economy and the environment. Right on. I already believed his work to be excellent, and his address was wonderful. However, what I had not imagined was the fact that he is superbly hilarious. I mean really funny. You could tell he just really loved being up there and having an audience, in a very likable way. But even more so, could go off on bizarre hilarious tangents, make everyone crack up (I had tears in my eyes at one point) and still come back to his point brilliantly and succinctly. He answered a lot of questions about green power, green jobs, and how the plans he has would work. I was left inspired and very impressed. (He's also very, very handsome.)
His arguments were dead on, but with my foggy mind and stuffed sinuses, I couldn't completely remember enough to convey the strategies here just yet. I know some of it included the concept of driving down costs for solar so it's "as cheap as paint", creating the smart grid for electric cars to run off of solar (yes!) and creating ecological opportunities for work and health in all sectors. He spoke about the Clean Air Act as an example of "fear mongering" that we experience today from oil and big polluters, and gave a great example (I may try to put it in here later, or just ask me about it! Say, "gum wrapper"!) of how the system currently works, and why we shouldn't accept it. I personally thought it was amazing, but also was feeling like we need an even bigger vision- not just one that keeps cars on the road, sprawl sprawling, and roads expanding. What's going to happen to the car? To public transit with this model? To communities? What's the real vision this administration has for the country longterm- even if it's not quite politically smart to disclose...yet? Because while we can't run on oil forever, the model of newer American cities is failing, and we need to look at how our communities are built and how they will be built in the future around clean energy.
Finally, Van made a really terrific suggestion. He said, "Here's what you do- If you live in China, leave your village, leave your language. Go crowd yourself in a megacity, and make crap for us that we'll buy. Then lend us money so we can buy more crap! It'll work out great for everybody."
Go here to watch the whole thing.
Sunday, April 19, 2009
D2e and winning the contest!
As I've mentioned here before, I had entered a competition through the City of Boston and D2e Boston with my idea to green the city with a public awareness campaign. I was also part of D2e (Down 2 Earth Boston) April 3, 4 and 5 as an exhibitor for Green on the Inside, and a featured speaker on Saturday, where I taught a workshop on going green affordably. And on the sunday of that weekend, I was to present my idea that made it to the finals for the Pitch the City contest before a panel of judges, Mayor Menino, and the public: Get a Little Greener- Boston's Public Awareness and Action Campaign. So it was a busy weekend for me! I've been meaning to update this blog ever since, but have been busy just catching up on everyday work!
D2e, the sustainable living expo, was great this year for Green on the Inside- I got some great people coming by the booth asking fascinating questions and signing up for the mailing list. It was pretty vibrant and energized throughout the weekend, although I would say the economic impact was visible- it was definitely quieter and less pumped than last year. That said, it was a great event, and it was fabulous to see all the green businesses and services coming out to be part of it and get the message to the Boston community. The workshop I taught on Saturday gave practical advice for going green without spending much money, endless suggestions for how to cut costs and negative impact, and ways to preserve the most important parts of your life while simplifying and minimizing what you don't need. People seemed to find it really valuable and left with a renewed perspective.
Finally, on Sunday I would pitch my idea that made it to the finals for the contest to a panel of judges, Mayor Menino, and the public at the Hynes Convention Center. I spoke, brought ten or so friends onstage to act out part of the idea I was suggesting, and showed the film we made for the submission!! It was a blast and went extremely well, and I felt happy after it was finished before I heard the results. It felt like we did a great job presenting, so that was a relief! A lot of time and energy had gone into that event before it happened. So of course I was thrilled to learn my idea had won! They selected my idea and one other out of hundreds, and it was an honor and quite fun to speak to the Mayor, the judges, and convince them to take it on! So hopefully the city will be strategizing and planning the beginnings of the campaign I came up with in the next few months!
I'll be adding some great pictures of the event here soon, including some of the making of the film, and all the folks who rocked it onstage with me- but for now, feel free to check out the press page of greenontheinside.net and click on the link for the slideshow, or go to jessmakespictures.com/jesslerner.
Read previous posts or visit www.changents.com/jessl to learn more about the winning idea, "Boston's Get a Little Greener Campaign: Green a Little, Change a Lot."
D2e, the sustainable living expo, was great this year for Green on the Inside- I got some great people coming by the booth asking fascinating questions and signing up for the mailing list. It was pretty vibrant and energized throughout the weekend, although I would say the economic impact was visible- it was definitely quieter and less pumped than last year. That said, it was a great event, and it was fabulous to see all the green businesses and services coming out to be part of it and get the message to the Boston community. The workshop I taught on Saturday gave practical advice for going green without spending much money, endless suggestions for how to cut costs and negative impact, and ways to preserve the most important parts of your life while simplifying and minimizing what you don't need. People seemed to find it really valuable and left with a renewed perspective.
Finally, on Sunday I would pitch my idea that made it to the finals for the contest to a panel of judges, Mayor Menino, and the public at the Hynes Convention Center. I spoke, brought ten or so friends onstage to act out part of the idea I was suggesting, and showed the film we made for the submission!! It was a blast and went extremely well, and I felt happy after it was finished before I heard the results. It felt like we did a great job presenting, so that was a relief! A lot of time and energy had gone into that event before it happened. So of course I was thrilled to learn my idea had won! They selected my idea and one other out of hundreds, and it was an honor and quite fun to speak to the Mayor, the judges, and convince them to take it on! So hopefully the city will be strategizing and planning the beginnings of the campaign I came up with in the next few months!
I'll be adding some great pictures of the event here soon, including some of the making of the film, and all the folks who rocked it onstage with me- but for now, feel free to check out the press page of greenontheinside.net and click on the link for the slideshow, or go to jessmakespictures.com/jesslerner.
Read previous posts or visit www.changents.com/jessl to learn more about the winning idea, "Boston's Get a Little Greener Campaign: Green a Little, Change a Lot."
Earth Hour Update! From 3/28
So as you know, Saturday, March 28 at 8:30 pm was Earth Hour. On friday night, I stopped by some local businesses and asked them to consider turning off unnecessary lights for Earth Hour. Some agreed, some seemed skeptical and looked at me like I was crazy. But most excitingly, the Coolidge Corner Theater said they would! They agreed to not only turn off some indoor lights, but also their entire marquee for the hour! They loved the idea and were psyched they could do something to contribute. On Saturday night, it was very cool to walk down Harvard Street and see the Coolidge marquee dark against the sky! I have some great pictures I'll drop in here shortly.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
