Start Good Blog

Gas Works Park became a comforting home to me while attending the University of Washington.  Named for the former occupant, the real draw is the waterfront view, willingly shared to anyone who steps onto its grassy grounds. With each visit, I seem to gleam a new insight. Some way or another, the park taps into my heart and mind, giving me wisdom through inexplicable and intangible osmosis. Through this, one sunny day at that park turned me onto a journey to become more aware of our world and to want to create change. I saw the gorgeous city of Seattle surrounded by nature`s hills and water, a beautiful amalgamation, brought together seamlessly as if the land had willingly allowed the city inside its doors. The more I looked over the site, the more I realized that people, human beings, with their two fragile hands, created the great city. The power we have to build great towers, expansive streets, shops and residences, not only amazed me but also frightened me. The metropolis, intertwining with the land and water, spoke encouragingly and cautiously: I could do something great with my life, but I could also do nothing and, at worst, I could create much harm.  My two hands, no different than others, could build anything. In my case, I wanted not a city but a better world.

That day my heart became compassionately consumed with the thought that we all have a real responsibility to our planet and who we share it with.  The choices and actions of one does not build a city alone, neither does it destroy the land one hopes to build it on.  However, each person who chooses to lay a brick sets a foundation for the next man, woman or child to stand on.  I asked myself if I wanted to build something great, to allow others to reach higher than myself or if I was going to hope for someone else to do it.  I made a choice that day and I am trying to live up to it.

I love that park, it has comforted me each time I have gone and helped me clear my thoughts and opened up new roads in my mind. Although Gasworks Park may not be the impetus to anyone else`s actions, many have a place, person or thing that inspires them most and I encourage you to find what inspires you.  In the end I hope each person can inspire one another, even if the influence is small, inspiration is not a zero-sum game. Add a drop of inspiration to someone’s life and it will build along with each moment that makes them think a little harder and appreciate life a little more.  Luckily, inspiration is contagious.  Inspire one and they will inspire many.

I don’t believe that one person can change the world by themselves, but I believe it only takes one person to start.

Photo Credit: Kris

Continuing my journey to become a force of change, I attended Step It Up 2007 and it was a great success. News coverage of the event estimated over 1,300 people showed up for the march from Occidental Park to Myrtle Edwards Park. The purpose of the event was to get congress to cut carbon emissions by 80% by 2050. This number is commonly lauded as the amount needed for us to stabilize where we are now with the climate crisis and seen as a reachable goal with less than 2% reductions every year needed.

The numbers can be debated but consensus on the problem of climate change has become nearly unanimous and that could be seen by the support for the rally last Saturday. I met up with fellow UW students in Red Square, and after taking a group photo, we all bussed down to Occidental Park to meet up with the main Seattle cause. Reaching our stop, we walked down to the park, passing rows and rows of Seattle PD and their motorcycles, awaiting to escort us. From afar, I saw a large crowd already there and the energy already was palpable. The view comforted me, with a large cross section of Seattle all coming together to march for the planet. It reminded me of Green Drinks, feeling not so much at home, as at ease and proud of the people I live near.

Music, along with signs, filled the air, building up the level of excitement as the time to begin the walk neared. Eventually, volunteers gathered around and started directing us to the march. A row of children led the procession, carrying a sign with our cry, “Step It Up Congress, Cut Carbon 80% by 2050.” The march was lively, despite Seattle rain, with various chants and cheers keeping the beat of the cause as we walked along against the piers on Elliot. A few people on the sidelines held signs and shouted support; a special toddler held a sign reading “I hope I can snowboard when I grow up.”

A group at Myrtles Edwards Park welcomed us warmly with an audience of applause on our arrival to the solutions fair. A brave person stood in the cold water, dressed as a polar bear and reminding us of what might happen in the future (bringing many smiles too though). Various organizations set up tents and tables with information on their green contributions and educating park goers on their activities. Electric and biodiesel transportation populated the fair, and it was nice to see up close the kinds of alternative transportation being made. Everything from the vegetable oil powered trucks to 100 mpg cars were on display. Other green organizations, from The Sightline Institute to Patagonia to Grist participated in the event also.

CFLs, the twisty lightbulbs of choice today, were handed out and a photo captured a group of us holding them up proudly under the now shining sun. The weather clearing up after the long march, a reward for those that made the trek. Afterwards, I left for home, unfortunately missing out on the speakers lined up for the rally, including Ron Sims, Jay Inslee, and Greg Nickels, among others. The important thing is that the local government is supporting the event though.

Overall, I felt that the day was successful, not just for me, but for the green movement in general. Hopefully events like these will propel the importance of our planet forward and help build the momentum needed to get people and the government to change. At this point though, I am already excited to see what is next.

See more reports of the Seattle event.

My journey towards starting good starts with this blog, but also in my community. This weekend I am going to join Step It Up, as mentioned below and then today I am going to my first Green Drinks. Green Drinks is a casual, group of people that meet once every month to connect with other people in the green industry. The website describes it much better than I can, especially without having gone!

Green Drinks International

Every month people who work in the environmental field meet up for a beer at informal sessions known as Green Drinks.

We have a lively mixture of people from NGOs, academia, government and business. Come along and you’ll be made welcome. Just say, “are you green?” and we will look after you and introduce you to whoever is there.It’s a great way of catching up with people you know and also for making new contacts. Everyone invites someone else along, so there’s always a different crowd, making Green Drinks an organic, self-organising network.

These events are very simple and unstructured, but many people have found employment, made friends, developed new ideas, done deals and had moments of serendipity. It’s a force for the good and we’d like to help it spread to other cities. Contact your local node to get the latest info about coming along.

You can also email edwin [at] greendrinks [dot] org if you want some tips on how to set up Green Drinks in your City.

The one in Seattle is at 6:00PM at 5th and Madison, a new building that was created with sustainability and efficiency in mind. I’m a bit warry because I’m timid around strangers but it should be a good experience regardless.

With Step It Up, I hope I can gain some insight on the pulse of Seattle and climate change this week. Also, I think it will be interesting as I am using Facebook as a tool to get people to go to Step It Up this weekend, we’ll see how successful I am with it. My results will be posted here after the event, along with a review and critique of Greendrinks and a critique of myself!