Saturday I didn't
take my camera. I spent four hours as a volunteer doing crowd control
at the Gift Center, which is where the speakers were doing their thing.
First I heard John Francis talk about the 17 year vow of silence that an oil spill in San Francisco Bay inspired him to do. He explained that he hadn't meant to go beyond one day, but he had learned so much about listening from that day that he kept it going. During that time he got an advanced degree and helped the Coast Guard write legislation about oil spills. He also stayed out of cars for 23 years straight, another remarkable accomplishment.
Lawrence Lessig explaining how the creative commons and the climate change issue are the antidote for federal government over-control of our system. He had a remarkable power point presentation that was well synchronized with is speech. I remember being impressed by seeing words on the screen exactly when he said them more than I remember what was said.
Lynne Twist explained how children's games like musical chairs channel them into seeing the economy as a win/lose environment. She feels that we need to change that. A better paradigm would be one that sees that there is enough to go around, and that what is important is caring about other people and our environment instead of your bank account.
Carolyne Casey and her drummer made me laugh many times. Storys like the one about those spiders in Texas that had cooperated to build and 80,000 pound web, just to show the humans that cooperation is possible. Unfortunately, I couldn't listen to that one as well as I would have liked because the auditorium was so crowded that I had to keep asking people to move their butts off the staircase I was supposed to keep clear.
Next year I might pay the price of admission, just to hear the speakers. They were worth going up for.
First I heard John Francis talk about the 17 year vow of silence that an oil spill in San Francisco Bay inspired him to do. He explained that he hadn't meant to go beyond one day, but he had learned so much about listening from that day that he kept it going. During that time he got an advanced degree and helped the Coast Guard write legislation about oil spills. He also stayed out of cars for 23 years straight, another remarkable accomplishment.
Lawrence Lessig explaining how the creative commons and the climate change issue are the antidote for federal government over-control of our system. He had a remarkable power point presentation that was well synchronized with is speech. I remember being impressed by seeing words on the screen exactly when he said them more than I remember what was said.
Lynne Twist explained how children's games like musical chairs channel them into seeing the economy as a win/lose environment. She feels that we need to change that. A better paradigm would be one that sees that there is enough to go around, and that what is important is caring about other people and our environment instead of your bank account.
Carolyne Casey and her drummer made me laugh many times. Storys like the one about those spiders in Texas that had cooperated to build and 80,000 pound web, just to show the humans that cooperation is possible. Unfortunately, I couldn't listen to that one as well as I would have liked because the auditorium was so crowded that I had to keep asking people to move their butts off the staircase I was supposed to keep clear.
Next year I might pay the price of admission, just to hear the speakers. They were worth going up for.
Sunday I went to
check out the tables. On the way in I saw many bikes parked outside.
Admission to the green festival was half off if you came by bicycle.
Lots of us did.
