Every year I pedal to Green Festival/D.C. The growing diversity of valet-parked bicycles — some with gear shifters costing more than my entire bike — is one sign of eco-appeal’s spread throughout the socio-economic strata. Another sign: the proliferation of hip products for greener homes, furnishings, clothes, meals and kids.
The Green Fest zeitgeist: consume mindfully. Amid detox teas, hemp frocks, sportscar-mounted solar arrays, and thousands of festival-goers, I offer some festival samplings:
» Green architect/designer William McDonough spread his “Cradle to Cradle” gospel that’s mesmerizing visionary CEOs worldwide. Redefining good design, he creates buildings as “closed-loop” ecosystems that turn waste heat into fuel, eliminate pollution and cut operating costs. Windows become functional again — for daylighting and ventilation (yes, they open!). And why blacktop huge buildings with asphalt when you can create rooftop energy-savers and habitats? One of his slides showed an egg-filled bird nest on a green roof.
Cradle-to-cradle products eliminate waste and pollution, harness renewable resources, prohibit chemicals that cause endocrine disruption, birth defects and disease … and use infinitely reusable materials. Citing examples from edible fabrics and nontoxic carpet, he inspired a standing ovation.
» Sustainable Design Group President John Spears shared lessons from nearly 35 years building energy self-sufficient homes. His modern twist on ancient methods repurposes excavated dirt to form compressed-earth bricks that passively heat and cool. The Maryland building maverick has used the technique in buildings from 475-square-foot cottages to a 14,000-square-foot Virginia villa.
» Nutrition guru Marion Nestle discussed “Pet Food Politics: The Chihuahua in the Coal Mine.” Melamine, an industrial chemical, drew global attention with the 2007 pet food poisoning scandal. Used to boost foods’ apparent protein content, the toxin has turned up in pig feed, farmed fish food and, recently, baby formula. Melamine adulteration, she said, enabled China-based manufacturers to offer wheat gluten at one-fifth the cost of U.S. and European competitors. Takeaway points: When toxins get into animal feed, they’ll get into the human food supply, government agencies can’t be relied on as food safety, police and there are costly, deadly downsides to demanding cheap food.
» Long lines formed for samples of … water! Kangen ionizers purify alkaline water from plain tap. Wayne Danzik (title: “Health & wellness advocate”) explained this “hydroceutical” maintains proper pH balance, preventing overly acidic blood in which nutrients back up, leading to ailments from eczema, asthma and acid reflux to kidney stones and high blood pressure.
» Dried sweet potato and hemp dog chews from Animals Healing — a safe alternative to risky rawhides that can cause digestive problems.
Sampling Wheeler’s frozen dessert, a woman asked “What’s ‘vegan’ mean?” Told it’s dairy-free: “Unbelievable!” Here, learning is a sense-surround experience.
Comments? E-mail Robin at [email protected].
