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We’ve had several of you ask us “will we see you at Earth Day?” A reasonable question to ask a team of eco-urbanists trying hard to bring about a marriage between natural and urban environments.

Here’s the short answer: Regrettably, No.

Here’s why: We signed on with the Washington Music Festival before we had a date from West Sac and had materials from Earth Day. When the date finally came, it was on the same day. There aren’t enough of us to be in two places at once, so we had to stick with our commitments.

Next year will be a different story…

In the Meantime…
If you are planning to go to Earth Day, SN&R has published the “official program”

You can also read the cover story, “5 Things Sacramento Can Do to Save the Planet,” their response to the City’s new Sustainability Master Plan.

In the absence of our own attendance, here’s a few links to inspire and connect you with a few eco-activities this weekend that specifically relate to eco-urbanism.

Eco-Urban EarthDay Happenings You May Not Know About

The End of Suburbia
Showing at Fools Foundation. $5
1025 19th Street

BTW, if you’re a documentary fan, Fools Foundation is a group you’ll want to connect with. They do exclusive premiers of less-known documentaries and films and often invite “people in the know” to attend/speak.
To get on their distribution list, e-mail Robert at shiny-object dot com.

I talked with the shiny object folks this week and they are looking into doing a showing of Radiant City…if that happens, we’ll let you know.

Urban Sprawl Devours Nature
A collection of six local artists “interpreting their own feelings toward the environmental, economical, and social changes of their hometown.” Through May 10th
Sol Collective
2010 Del Paso Boulevard
916-923-3612

Science Friday on NPR
You can now subscribe to a feed for both audio and video for this show. Today had several notables…

Ethanol Fuel And Health / Solar Technology / Battery Challenges
“A roundup on energy and the environment, from potential health effects of ethanol fuels, to new approaches to solar technology. Plus, building better batteries for future environmental applications.”

Of particular note, the study on ethanol showed some telling data about this questionably “sustainable” fuel alternative. Most notably, the E85 (ethanol) would not improve air quality and in many areas of the US (including California) would increase air pollution. Projections showed an actual increase in ozone-related deaths, hospitalizations and asthma due to increased use of E85.

Parks And Climate Change
“A look at how parks and protected areas will have to adjust to global climate change.”

The show’s SciFri Blog posted some useful links and information about the growing “urban agriculture” movement.

20 Minutes with eco-visionary William McDonough

Architect and designer William McDonough asks what our buildings and products would look like if designers took into account “All children, all species, for all time.”

Cool sites We’ve Come Across this Week.

A 1 minute test to see how you rate ecologically. I tested at 10 acres and 2.3 planets. Yikes.

The Journey of Trash: a simple, interactive site that shows the migration/traffic patterns of trash in the oceans.

Ecolyze your PC (Hey, small changes add up!)

No Impact Man: this guy’s had a lot of (deserved) publicity but, in case you haven’t seen any of it, you can check out his story here.

Happy EarthDay Weekend!

Jason