Keith Rockmael

Rock 'n' roll, rap, hip hop, and funk filled the air of the Outside Lands festival but while the throngs packed San Francisco's great Golden Gate Park, we took time from the audio overload to explore the some of the green aspects of the festival.

It actually didn't take long as a set of solar panels sat just outside the main entrance. After that, we hit the Eco Lands. The PG&E sponsored area offered up booths (organic farmers market, solar cell and wind powered phone charging station), tents, exhibits (like solar education classes) that one doesn't normally see in a rock 'n' roll venue. We grabbed an Eco Lands Passport, an inspiration from Jack Johnson’s All At Once Community, where green minded rockers could obtain "stamps" for doing certain activities such as as recycling cell phones, using the bike valet (we did), to calculate your carbon footprint, or donate to a non-profit so they could could win concert tickets and other green schwag.

We found ourselves super impressed with the Panhandle Stage not only because we saw the politically and socially charged K'Naan here but the stage actually ran on solar. That's right, all the amps, mikes, lights, everything off the grid.

Not until the event concluded did we even realize that people could win prizes for recycling bottles and cups. If we would have picked up 250 bottles then we could have snagged some organic jeans. It didn't seem like many people knew about this eco-barter system. Too bad because a lot of plastic littered the grounds over the three days.

We're already psyched not only for an even greener version of Outside Lands 2009 but for other event concerts and what green, social and political action they will take to raise the bar.

This is The City. A city with lots of old appliances that seemingly get discarded onto the street or simply get tossed in the city dump. Not a pretty picture for the numerous washing machines, refrigerators and other large appliances that not only create a landfill nightmare but could seemingly be put to use.

So what do we do with our old washing machines and such? We stumbled upon a place that picks up washing machines and other appliances. For free. Could this be real? This place called Rancho Grande, located in the Mission near Bernal Heights picks up appliances (and recently picked up some of our non working washing machines) for free. But where's the Green slant? In the case of washing machines, they fix the machines (often with the used parts they have collected) and resell the working machnies for a susstantial discount verses new ones. The people at Rancho Grande say that the used machines from the 70s and 80s often last longer than the new ones because the current models have so many plastic parts that don't last.

For machines that can't be repaired (or the cost is too much) they first drain the oil (which is then reused) then take the appliance to a local metal yard where it finds new life as crushed metal scrap. Sure, the newer Energy Star models use less energy but like cars it's probably a better bet to use the old one to its final days before buying a new, more energy efficient version.

When San Franciscans and anyone else living in the Bay Area hear about Richmond the first thing that comes to mind certainly isn’t anything related to Green, Eco, or Sustainable anything. That will hopefully change as the semi-rural farm Eco Village Farm Center, which already teaches sustainable farming and growing practices to underprivileged local youth, recently added a solar system to power the farm.

In a not so pastoral location surrounded by freeways and railroad tracks, the Eco Village offers a green sanctuary to local youth who wish to find a green place to learn and relax. The farm grows a variety of vegetation including: fruit trees, Oaks, Beach, Banana, California Buckeyes, Bay Laurels, Blackberries and Walnuts.

The recently added solar system not only will decrease their energy bill but many young Richmond residents received an opportunity to help install the system. The program sponsored by Solar Living Institute, Solar Richmond, Rising Sun Energy Center, Sun Light & Power, SunPower Corporation and Bay Area Air Quality Management District brought a human element to the system by providing access for disadvantaged children to gain skills and interest in the green business movement.

We’re big fans of this project not just because of the reduced carbon footprint but the program gives youth an opportunity to become more eco-literate, as it creates a cross cultural dialogue and moves across economic lines as well. Learning about Green power, grey water harvesting and urban food production isn’t just for people who can afford it.

We’d like to see more solar training and eco-literacy spread from the suddenly Green city of Richmond.

Down in Menlo Park, where Tesla Motors recently opened its industrial chic showroom, people might not think “Who Killed the Electric Car?” but rather “Who Can Afford the Electric Car?”. Nevertheless we’re totally juiced about the nearby showroom that displays a half dozen juicy Tesla Roadster electric car models that make the Prius look like a gas guzzling Hummer. It’s our checkbooks that aren’t as excited.

If you happen to be one of the numerous stars like Matt Damon or green politicians (like Arnold Schwarzenegger or Gavin Newsome) then it’s easy to tool around in one of these electric beauties but with the current $98,000 price tag (going up to $109,000 for the 2009 model) it isn’t exactly priced like a Buick. Even, with the cash, the waiting list sits at about 1100.

At least these guys continue to drive in the right direction instead of General Motors, Ford and DaimlerChrysler which, according to The Detroit News, spent more than $15 million in the first six months of 2007, mostly to lobby against large hikes in federal fuel-economy standards.

We know what you’re thinking, you want to just stroll in and ask for a test drive. The local dealership will offer test drives with a $5000 deposit or a convincing story that you are a legitimate buyer. We plan to re-visit the showroom soon after we scrape up $5,000 from our sustainably built sofa.

Photo courtesy of Tesla Motors