It was pretty hot on Saturday at the 6th Annual Earth Day on the Promenade in Santa Monica.
I'm not just talking about the unusual summer-like weather. My temper was flaring at the LA shopping mecca event. It's perplexing because I do have respect for the pioneers, organizers and volunteers who take their time on a Saturday afternoon to promote what they deem a 'healthy lifestyle'. My gripe is that the way they do it has become frankly just plain awful and plays into the cliched stereotype.
It's alarming to me that thousands of people walking by the line of standard 10'x10' tents are witnessing the green lifestyle as low budget, half-baked and aesthetically third rate on their way to FootLocker and Banana Republic. The presentation is blatantly what the organizers want 'green' to look like rather than what might be more palatable and engaging for the general public, shopping frenzied and captivated audience to truly connect with and appreciate deeply (and I know for a fact that talented people have reached out to the organizers to help, but have been either been turned away or embarrassed by participating in the event). My argument is that it's not only well past time to preach to the indoctrinated, stale offerings like this event have become detrimental to a collective effort geared towards mass adoption for a sustainable planet.
Fortunately, there are many other promising Official Earth Day Celebration options on April 22 including one on Wilshire (featuring Michael Franti) and the Green Apple Festival in 8 major cities (including LA, featuring Ziggy Marley and Taj Mahal) with A-list speakers and talent.
What I've said may seem harsh, but my wish is that the many people involved in the Promenade event can find a way to get through to the management to make some long overdue changes (music, showcase more innovative products/services, dynamic speakers etc.) to give this event a fresh green start.
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