Stay cool

Earth day is in danger of being rendered meaningless by the weight of corporate messages attached to what was once a purely environmental celebration.

Take the New York Times so called Green Issue last Sunday. Key advertisers included Delta Airlines, Chevrolet and Starbucks – Starbucks – have they no shame? — now I know the paper has to keep making money, but isn’t that rather like having a Holocaust issue and featuring an ad from Daimler Benz?

Other advertisers included: ABC Home Furnishings, Inc.; Advanced Micro Devices; The American Clean Skies Foundation; American Committee for the Weizmann Institute of Science; Bessemer Trust; Bose Corporation;Carlyle Custom Convertibles, Ltd.; Chevrolet Motors; Country Home Products, Inc.; Delta Air Lines; The Durst Organization; Dyson; Eileen Fisher; First Republic Bank; Ghirardelli Chocolate Company; Hofstra University; InterContinental Hotels & Resorts; Liberty Mutual Group; Lindal Cedar Homes; Lumber Liquidators; Merck & Company, Inc.; Patek Philippe & Company; Presto Services, Inc.; Room & Board, Inc.; Campari for Skyy Spirits; Starbucks Corporation; Walpole Woodworkers; White Flower Farm; and Winslow Management Company.

Meanwhile on a brighter note – the first totally off-grid building in the city of San Francisco has its groundbreaking today, 22nd April.

The Literacy for Environmental Justice group will break ground for the Ecocenter at Heron’s Head Park, the first 100 percent off-grid building in San Francisco and the First Environmental Education Center in the city’s Southeast Sector. Mayor Gavin Newsom scheduled to attend.