July 2005 | Dock of the Bay
Breasts Not Bombs
What to do on Memorial Day if you’re a pacifist? In downtown Santa Rosa, a committed group of mothers answered that question by shucking their shirts and waving signs that read “Breasts Are Beautiful,” “War Is Indecent” and “Honk for Peace.” Among them was the star of the longest-running female solo show in Off-Broadway history, Sherry Glaser. The Mendocino feminist/writer/actor is used to being the center of attention, but this was different. “It’s an extraordinary experience to stand out in public exposed in this manner,” said Glaser of her one-piece peace protest. “At first, it is a feeling of fear but that is quickly replaced by liberation and power.” Since political nudity is protected under the First Amendment, the police were content to watch — very content — as the ladies stood their ground and put their breast feat forward. But, alas, though the topless demo took place directly in front of the Santa Rosa Press Democrat, there was no coverage of the uncoverage. For the skinny on the next demo (July 4), see: www.sherryglaser.net — Gar Smith
Mimes Doing Good
It’s official. A peer-reviewed city survey conducted by SustainLane — the “community-generated guide for living a better life” — has voted San Francisco the country’s most sustainable city. (Berkeley placed third, after Portland.) The Bay Area is so verdant that even its artists are fashionably sustainable. Take the SF Mime Troupe, whose new show, Doing Good, is inspired by John Perkins’ best seller, Confessions of an Economic Hit Man. A recent tour of the Mime Troup’s digs reveals that they’ve turned their Treat Street retreat into a mini-Green City. The two-story building sustains an entire artists’ village complete with rehearsal space, offices, a fully equipped woodshop, kitchens, a second-floor outdoor deck and — trompe de troupe! — a sunlit park. Hidden smack in the middle of a Mission District block, the park sports its own outdoor rehearsal stage. The troupers — who’ve been entertaining us with free agitprop street theater since 1962 — grow their own apples and compost their organics. And they’re looking for a grant to install roof-top solar panels! Doing Good, isn’t just the name of their new play, it also could be the motto for the company’s castle keep.
Doing Good debuts in Dolores Park on July 2. For more info, check: www.sfmt.org —GS
Little Green Schoolhouse
A new report by the SF-based Green Schools Initiative (GSI) reveals how “our current school systems are threats to our children’s health” and proposes a series of steps to transform schools into “models of sustainability.” The March 2005 Report, subtitled Thinking Big about Ecological Sustainability, Children’s Environmental Health and K-12 Education in the USA, provides blueprints and tools designed for parents, teachers, school officials and environmental leaders to create healthy, resource-wise urban campuses.
GSI argues that adopting its action-plan will not only “protect children’s environmental health and improve student achievement,” it will also “save school districts money.”
Joshua Karliner and co-director Deborah Moore head the Green Schools Initiative. “We hope this sparks interest among more and more school districts,” says Moore. “Imagine if all schools in California become toxics-free, use recycled paper, conserve energy and serve healthy food!”
Last May, the Emeryville Unified School District became the first to adopt a Green Schools Resolution. “Kids and teachers spend most of their day at school,” EUSD Board of Education President Forrest Gee stated. “We want our environment to foster their health and well-being — from the food they eat to the air they breathe, and even to the paper and pencils and energy they use.”
More schools are expected to pass Green School resolutions within the next few months. www.greenschools.net — GS
Triple Bottom Line: People, Planet, Profits
Ah, the sweet smell of sustainable success! Presidio World College’s (PWC) inaugural class in the first-ever accredited Sustainable MBA program graduated recently, and the new eco-grads are already making real changes in the business world. Unlike conventional business programs, the SF school integrates ecology and humanity into all of its teachings. “Sustainability is the hallmark of good corporate management,” affirms Hunter Lovins, a renowned sustainability champion and PWC professor. “It needs to be in the DNA of a company, and I’m counting on these graduates.”
And she certainly can, according to a recent venture showcase at Fort Mason where graduates presented their future business plans, ranging from an eco-friendly home improvement store to tailored suits. “Though there’s a common thread of shared values, there’s still a lot of diversity,” says Dean of Students Alison Weeks.
Graduate George Kao likes Presidio’s contrast to traditional business school settings. “I didn’t have to defend myself every moment,” he says. “I could go deeper into my values and see how they could be implemented.” Kao is already getting his chance, currently doing environmental reporting for the pharmaceutical giant, McKesson.
In such an unprecedented cirricula, normal teacher-student lines are blurred, allowing a collaborative sense of creation. “We are a learning community,” Lovins insists. “I tell my students: ‘If you have an idea, I want to hear about it, because you could well have the next piece of the puzzle.’”
So far, fall admissions have nearly doubled from the first class of 21. “The second class is even stronger,” Lovins says. “My goal is that the students that can go to Harvard, or Kellogg, or Stanford, or Haas, [will] choose to come here, because they know it’s a superior education.”
The way things look now, Lovins’ goal is on the fast track to realization. For more information, visit www.presidioworldcollege.org — David Sason
The Hempire Strikes Back
Nutiva, the Sebastopol company whose mission is “nourishing people and planet,” recently won an Honorable Mention in Fast Company magazine’s “Milestones” competition. The other winner was IBM. Not bad for a company targeted for destruction by the US government.
Nutiva roused the ire of the US Drug Enforcement Agency because its product line of nourishing treats included protein powders, oils and food bars made from hempseed. The hemp plant has a long and honorable history as a source of rope, paper, plastic, cloth, fuel, paint and food (it is endowed with heart-healthy omega-3 essential fatty acids).
In 2001, the DEA announced plans to declare hempseed a Schedule One drug (the most restrictive category), which would have outlawed Nutiva’s energy bars, protein powders and kitchen oils. Nutiva joined forces with other manufacturers, including Nature’s Path and Dr. Bronners, to challenge the DEA. They appealed the ruling and won last September.
In March, Fast Company honored Nutiva over thousands of competitors, in recognition of their David v. Goliath struggle. A beaming John Roulac, Nutiva’s founder and CEO, told the crowd at the awards ceremony: “It’s highly satisfying to receive this honor after the battle for survival that we and our industry fought and won.”
With Nutiva’s sales soaring, Roulac has turned his attention to passage of the Hemp Farm Bill (AB 1147), which would free California farmers to grow hemp for food and fiber. Thirty-two countries, including Germany, France and Britain and Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger’s home country of Austria, already encourage hemp farming.
Nutiva expresses its corporate citizenship by donating 1 percent of its sales to organizations that support sustainable agriculture.
Nutiva (800) 993-4367. www.nutiva.com — GS
Green Scenes — the DVD
Need a Green film for a class, workshop or home viewing? If so, Green Planet Films is not far afield. Suzanne Harle and Chen-Ley Ong started this Marin-based rent-a-green-flic company to benefit filmmakers, producers and audiences looking for “informative and compelling” eco-cinema. Oderering a film is as easy as baking an organic apple pie. Pick a film online, and the DVD arrives in the mail, complete with free return shipping. And you can keep the film for up to a month. Think of it as NetFlicks for the eco-centric.
Films range from the hardcore do-it-yourself (how to brew biodiesel fuel; build your own straw-bale house) to loopy delights like “Toucans in the Wild” and “French Fries to Go” by eco-rap artist Charris “The Ayatollah of Canola” Ford.
The Green Planet team has clearly found a nifty niche to fill. A kick-off barbeque benefit at the Corte Madera Rec Center — dubbed “Eco-a-Go-Go” — brought leading lights of the Bay Area’s arts scene who gyrated to the vibes of Bohemian Knuckleboogie and imbibed the hip micro brewed hops of the Broken Drum Brewery. The festive eco-fandango was co-sponsored by Chelsea Green Publishing, Green TV, the Lark Theater, Blue Waters Kayaking, the Marine Mammal Center and Environmental News Network (how’s that for eco-diversity!).
Green Planet Films (415) 383-0484. www.greenplanetfilms.org — GS
Plastic, Not-So-Fantastic
Sound like a good idea to make baby bottles, teething rings, and children’s toys with potentially deadly industrial chemicals? State Assemblywoman Wilma Chan (D-Oakland) doesn’t think so. Chan has introduced a bill (AB 319) to prohibit the use of two harmful chemical additives in toys and child-care products for kids under three. A recent research review co-authored by neurobiologist Dr. Frederick von Saal links the endocrine-disrupting additives, bisphonel-A and phthalates, to male reproductive deformities, early-onset puberty, obesity, cancer, asthma, ovarian diseases, impaired brain development and behavioral problems like Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). Plastics industry spokespersons dispute his study.
Phthalates, used in soft plastics and PVC, are found in most personal care products, and twelve countries have either banned them or are phasing out their use to protect children’s health. Bisphenol-A proliferates in the hard plastics used for microwave ovenware, eating utensils, and clear plastic baby bottles. Though two manufacturers, Sassy and Medela, have removed bisphenol-A from their baby bottles, most major US bottle makers continue using it.
Nalgene water bottles labeled with the triangulated recycling code “7” most likely contain bisphenol-A, especially if the letters “PC” are visible. Nalgene jugs labeled “5” are not made with bisphenol-A, but they may contain other potentially harmful, untested additives that manufacturers are not obligated to identify.
“We are trying to stay away from saying ‘these numbers are safe,’” explains Rachel Gibson of Environment California (EC), the organization working with Chan on AB 319. (EC previously won a statewide ban on toxic flame-retardants used in children’s clothing.) “We know that the unsafe numbers are “3” (PVC) and ‘7’ (usually polycarbonate plastic). ‘1’ and ‘2’ contain additives about which we know very little.”
While exposure to toxic plasticizers affects everyone, repeated exposure at an early age poses the greatest risk. EC believes that Federal limits on phthalates and bisphenol-A are much too high for children who frequently put everything they touch in their mouths.
After an interim hearing later this year — during which scientists and industry lobbyists will duke it out — the bill heads to Appropriations and then to a vote on the Assembly floor. In the meantime, the best way to nurture your inner and outer child is to store your drinks in uncoated stainless steel or glass containers and wrap your snacks in waxed paper.
For more information, go to environmentcalifornia.org and click on Children’s Environmental Health” to send a letter to your representative. — Jason Victor Serinus
DON’T JUST GET MAD...
Take Action
Remember those goofy government anti-marijuana ads on TV during the Super Bowl, like the one that warned: “That-joint-you’re-toking-on-funds-Osama-Bin-Laden"? Well the studies are finally in and, to no one’s surprise, they don’t work. An independent study of anti-marijuana vs. anti-tobacco TV commercials by Texas State University, found respondents reacted favorably to 3-out-of-4 anti-tobacco ads, as opposed to only 1-out-of-4 of the anti-marijuana ads.
The Marijuana Policy Project, which is dedicated to drug law reform and medical marijuana accessibility, has a fiscally sensible solution for such campaigns: “Ideally we would like them to de-fund the boondoggle entirely,” says Bruce Mirken, MPP communications director, “but any reduction would be a step in the right direction.” The ads are funded through the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP), whose budget is up for review in July. You can help by contacting your congressional representatives and asking them to cut the ONDCP line item for their ads. Logon to mmp.org to sign up for email updates or call (415) 668-6403. —Tim Kingston
Nonprofit News
Fancy getting your feet wet? It’s July and the San Francisco Bay water has finally warmed up enough for you to wade in and join Save The Bay ’s (www.savesfbay.org ) summer shoreline restoration projects. Canoe or kayak out to Bair Island and Marin Island, which are otherwise off-limits to the public. Canoe to Bair Island on July 16 for a morning and afternoon of restoration. Or join the July 30 kayak to Marin Island, which boasts the largest egret and heron rookeries in the Bay. Cast off from San Rafael’s Loch Lomand at 9:00 am. Part of the work involves pulling out invasive species like ice plant so indigenous plants get a chance to prosper.
Other restoration outings include shoreline restoration on July 9 near Oakland Airport, organized by Save The Bay and the Earth Island Institute team of Bay Area High Schools. And on July 23, you can help restore San Francisquito Creek in the South Bay. For info, call Theresa Galvin at (510)452-9261 or email her.
Wondering what to do with a sudden windfall or your recently arrived tax refund? If altruism inspires you to donate to nonprofits, check out the Charity Navigator (www.charitynavigator.org ). This website helps you evaluate the fiscal health of nonprofits. You can look at their expenses vs. programs breakdown; find out the executive director’s salary; compare their efficacy to similar nonprofits; and learn about their donor privacy policy. They even have a top ten list of slam-dunk four-star nonprofits. Before you write that check, check out the Charity Navigator. — Tim Kingston
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