So a quick rewind to last year... I had the great good fortune to attend this conference, one of the best (and most tiring) that I've been to. At this conference, another stroke of fantastic coolness, I was able to hear inspiring presentations by representatives from some unique activist organizations, 350.org and Carrotmob, and have been following them since. This year, 350.org has declared Sept. 24 to be Moving Planet Day! A day to bring fun and peaceful awareness to moving away from fossil fuels.
350.org is an interesting NPO in that, rather than doing all the work themselves, they reach out to people all over the world, offering education on issues and acting as facilitators to help guide others on organizing their own grassroots campaigns. Acting in this way, they've been able to pull off some creative large-scale efforts and global demonstrations... like this one, where people in different countries created huge works of art that were photographed from space! But I digress. That's just a little background on the parent organization for this event, and why these events are both locally sponsored and part of a global initiative.
Oklahoma currently has two registered Moving Planet Day events, one in Oklahoma City and one in Norman. The OKC event looks pretty fun, and I'm looking forward to seeing more details on it. For this one, they ask that you sign up if you are participating in the walk/run/bike/skate part of the event and sign in at 9:30. At 10:30, everyone gathered will travel from the coolness that is Womb Art Gallery (approximately NW 9th and Broadway) to City Hall (2 miles distance). After this, there is a festival in Automobile Alley featuring free beer, not-free food, bicycle workshops, and music. The Norman event starts at ten (no sign-up necessary) and moves from the OU Energy Center to the Severe Storms Laboratory.
I think it sounds like a fun way to show your support for clean transportation and whatever other eco-agenda you have, as well as a good way to enjoy a Saturday morning outdoors! Watch the promo video for Moving Planet below. And if you are outside of Oklahoma, you can find your nearest Moving Planet event here, and if there are none near you and you feel inspired, you can start your own event here.
3 comments:
Sounds like fun! I posted it on the DemoOkie site and emailed my action list. There is also an event in Tulsa. The official ODP site doesn't even have Labor Day marked on their calendar. What does that say?
The most inspirational film I have ever seen is, "Waste Land," by Independent Lens. It was made at the largest landfill in the world, in Rio. Vic Muniz is a well known fine art photographer who made portraits of several of the trash pickers, then helped them use the recycled materials to make large scale reproductions of the images and auctioned them for thousands of dollars in London. Seeing themselves as worthy of fine art changed the lives of most of them and funded an education program for them for when the landfill closes.
http://www.google.com/search?q=waste+land+independent+lens&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&hl=en&client=safari
(I grew up in Sao Paulo, so it probably meant a lot more to me than most.)
Happiness. 6 billion others. Okay it's closer to 7 billion, but who is counting?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vLGlMbi7w3g&feature=youtube_gdata_player
This is part of an exhibit on now at the Sao Paulo Museum of Art.
Yes, I saw Waste Land, and yes it was excellent! I did not expect to like it, but gave it a chance, and found it fascinating and beautiful.
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