Monday, February 26, 2007

Green Carpet, Brown Skies


An adventure to Los Angeles this past week resulted in my walking down the "green carpet" at a Global Green Party, standing idle on the 405, indulging in too much faux meats at Papillon in El Segundo, and weeping over my idiotic decision to only pack 2 pairs of not yet broken-in shoes from Payless. L.A. is great to visit, but I am not sure how people live there. I shake in my PVC boots when processing thoughts of daily driving in the city o' smog.
My husband escorted Chris Paine (one of the nicest men alive, directed the documentary, "Who Killed the Electric Car') down the green carpet after cruising up in the Tesla Roadster. I winced at the prospect of walking down that green carpet. Terrified, I stood back like a dog in the vet parking lot until I realized that my only way in to the party was on my husbands arm. No wonder celebrities wear shades 24-7 because without any camera's flashing my eyes were being sizzled out by all of the flashes bright and eager to go off. On my trail was Petra Nemkova, James Blunt, Penelope Cruz, and Chevy Chase. The food offered still featured meat items (which I think is hypocritical because meat consumption and production is largely responsible for destruction of the earth/ greehouse gases) like chicken skewers. I ate some veggie skewers with eggplant, bell peppers, onion & the other one had purple potatoes, yellow squash and onion. The marinara sauce on the veggies was loaded with garlic, I am sure I offended plenty of people that night with my dragon breath. Purple potatoes are likely flown in from South America, as they are not in season until fall. Squash is in season during the summer, so I am not sure if those are flown in from warmer climates at this time of year. Bell peppers are also summer season veggies. I am certain that the food was provided by Whole Foods yet again, so I will check on these items at the store tomorrow and find out how much jet fuel was needed to provide the food at the party. People need to learn about the benefits of eating seasonally and locally. That doesn't mean eating at the corner donut shop every morning. The food at the party was tasty, and I must give the planners "props" for providing three vegan options to eat, but honestly I wish they would take advantage of their platform to teach people about the food side of things when it comes to contributing to global warming.

Besides reporting on this party, I was interested in sharing some highlights of the March '07 issue of Natural Health magazine. First, there is a new line of CHAMPION sportswear that features an eco-friendly collection of workout tops, shorts, pants, and sports bras. These sporty digs are made from coconut shells, otherwise discarded as the fruit is used for food in Indonesia. Other features of Cocona (this fabric) are: it naturally wicks away sweat, traps odors and shields against harmful rays. Awesome!
I can only keep up hope that more locally made fabrics and clothing come our way soon. I wish there were clothing farmers markets where you could go in and buy pants, tops, skirts, jackets that were made from eco-fabrics from local farm by- products. Hey, if they are making workout wear from coconut shells, I think my hopes are not far fetched!

No comments: