The hands-on event will showcase hybrid, electric, ethanol, biodiesel, natural gas, hydrogen and other vehicles. Among the cutting edge cars to be offered for free public test drives are prototypes of Toyota’s Plug-In Prius, yet to arrive in showrooms, and exciting new technologies from Ford and Mitsubishi. Private owners are invited to show off their vehicles in the Owners Showcase, spotlighting everything from homebuilt cars to Tesla Roadsters.

The event’s panelists will include industry executives, grass roots advocates and nationally renowned experts. Attendees will learn where, when and how they can expect to purchase the hottest eco-friendly vehicles, the latest on consumer incentives for clean cars, and updates on alternative fuel technologies. Speakers will also address pressing climate legislation and the future of green vehicles.

“Americans spend a lot of time complaining about our ‘addiction’ to oil,’ ” says Oakland-based author Lisa Margonelli, author of “Oil on the Brain” and director of the Energy Policy Initiative at the New America Foundation. “However, the next two years are a frighteningly important time. It’s up to us to exercise our enormous power—as both consumers and voters—to change our relationship to oil and carbon, and ensure that our economy remains competitive.”

Margonelli will take part in an on-stage discussion about petroleum, politics and electric cars with Chelsea Sexton, a key figure in the 2006 documentary, “Who Killed the Electric Car?” Sexton is a consulting producer on the film’s follow up, “Revenge of the Electric Car,” slated for a 2011 release.

Green Drive Expo founder Eric Powers has staged a similar expo in Madison, Wisc., for five years. He saw a need to bring the event to the Bay Area, a national hotspot for green car activity. “The expo is a place where people can learn about and drive vehicles that are available right now,” Powers says.

Powers teamed up with Berkeley-based green car expert Brad Berman, founder of HybridCars.com and PluginCars.com, to organize Green Drive Expo-Bay Area. “For anybody interested in electric and hybrid cars, or other alternatives like bicycle commuting, this event is going to be very informative and a lot of fun,” Berman says.

Local exhibitors will include Luscious Garage, Pat’s Garage and 3 Prong Power, all of which convert hybrids to cleaner, higher-mileage plug-in electric hybrids. Other participants will include the Biofuel Oasis, a biodiesel co-op, Clean Cities East Bay and Hybrid Battery Repair.

San Francisco resident Marc Geller will be among local owners providing ride-and-drives. Geller’s only car has been a zero-emission Toyota RAV4 EV for nearly a decade. He is a co-founder of Plug In America, the nation’s leading plug-in vehicle advocacy organization, and president of the San Francisco Electric Auto Assn.

Geller will join others discussing real-life alternative fuel driving experiences during hourly “Talk to an Owner” sessions. Green Drive Expo is designed to give enthusiasts the opportunity to meet, greet and share nonstop shoptalk.

Tickets to Green Drive Expo-Bay Area are $10 for adults; no charge for youths 16 and under. For free passes and more information, visitwww.GreenDriveExpo.com. Craneway Pavilion is located at 1414 Harbour Way South, Richmond, CA 94804. Event parking is $5. Information: 510-621-7803.

Green Drive Expo-Bay Area sponsors include Toyota, Ford Motor Company, Mitsubishi, the City of Richmond, Clean Cities East Bay,plugincars.com, hybridcars.com, Plug In America, Enginer and Linear-Logic.

We had a good meeting at Warehouse on August 4 – great food and drinks and wonderful space – THANK YOU Richard and Ryan! The only drawback was that it was a bit difficult to hear those who needed to share information with us, and I apologize for that to Robert Pearce, who brought us up to speed on the Koppers/Cabot Superfund Site; Rick Nesbit, who told us about his run for Alachua County School Board (vote August 24!); Kevin Veach, who told us about his new business, Green Energy Options, which provides a comprehensive energy and efficiency audit and advice on cutting your carbon footprint; and Annie Pais, who told us about The Blue Path, now on exhibit at Florida Museum of Natural History. Thank you all and all others who shared your sustainability initiatives with those of us who are forging a green road to the future.

Next up, Green Drinks Gainesville will meet at The Original Pizza Palace, 604 NW 13 St., 6-8+ p.m. on Sept. 1.  Mike Amish of Indigo Green Store and the U.S. Green Building Council will share his experiences building shelters in Haiti with Barrels of Hope and Jacob Cravey of EarthGivers. Come see how they did it and who they were able to help with this innovative design!

Join us to share news about your own green projects and help us build a more sustainable community! Bring your friends, cards, brochures, fliers; wear a name tag!

See you there,
Trish*
–
Trish Riley
954-384-9466
Director: Cinema Verde: Gainesville’s Second Annual Environmental Film and Arts Festival
Publisher, www.GoGreenNation.org: Environmental news and resources to create a sustainable world
American Society of Journalists and Authors – Society of Environmental Journalists
The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Green Living (Penguin/Alpha Books 2007)
The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Greening Your Business (with Heather Gadonniex, Penguin/Alpha Books 2009)
Palm Beach, Fort Lauderdale, Miami and the Florida Keys (W.W. Norton/Countryman Press 2005, 2009)
The Explorer’s Guide to South Florida (with Sandra Friend, W.W. Norton/Countryman Press 2010)
www.trishriley.com
www.gogreengift.com
www.teddistails.com

EPA – Cleanup Not Coverup Koppers Superfund Site!

Thursday, August 26^th, 7PM – 8:15PM,  Have-Some-Fun-and-Get-It-Done Speed-Commenting Party!

More productive than speed dating!  More fun than a meeting!  More important than anything!  Dramatic surprises and refreshments!

Parkview Baptist Church, 3403 NW 13^th St, Gainesville 32609

Monday, August 30^th, 5PM on, Joint City/County Commission Meeting on Koppers

City and County Commissioners will receive Local Intergovernmental Team recommendations and public comments to inform their response to EPA’s proposed cleanup plan.

County Administration Building, 12 SE 1^st St, Gainesville 32601

http://protectgainesville.org

Facebook : Protect Gainesville’s Citizens & Protect Gainesville’s Citizens Organizing Team: Click for a Cleanup

Twitter: ProtectGville

organize@protectgainesville.org

352- 328-7474

Please copy, paste and forward this widely!  Use it for your own signature panel!  Leaders and helpers wanted!

Carbon Footprint and Greenhouse Strategies Seminar: August 26

Participants will learn how to measure GHG emissions

CarbonSolutions and International Carbon Bank Exchange will present “Organizational Greenhouse Gas Accounting” seminar in Atlanta, GA at Atlantic Station, 8 a.m. – 5 p.m. on Thursday, August 26, 2010.

Organizational Greenhouse Gas Accounting focuses on training individuals to measure, manage and report greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The course provides an overview of carbon markets, offsets, and the current state of climate policy, critical information for those tasked with GHG management. The training is essential for government officials, environmental managers, sustainability officers and consultants

The course will be led by President of International Carbon Bank Exchange, Mark van Soestbergen, a nationally recognized lecturer on climate change adaptation strategies and carbon footprint training. “By the end of this course attendees should have the skills necessary to create a GHG inventory, an understanding of GHG policy as well as regulations, and strategic implications of carbon in the business world,” said van Soestbergen.

Carbon Solutions associate Tony Mullersman will be co-instructor. Founded in 1998, Carbon Solutions was one of the first firms in North America to specialize in carbon accounting and management.

The seminar will be held from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., August 26, 2010, in the Wachovia Building at Atlantic Station, 171 17th Street NW, Atlanta, Georgia 30363.

Special rates offered for members of Non Government Organizations (NGOs).

For more information contact:

Seth Keller

CarbonSolutions

352-367-1144

seth@carbonsolutions.com

http://carbonsolutions.com/Training/atlanta.html

http://icbe.com

# # #

–
Trish Riley
954-384-9466
Director: Gainesville Environmental Film and Arts Festival
Publisher, www.GoGreenNation.org
American Society of Journalists and Authors – Society of Environmental Journalists
The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Green Living (Penguin/Alpha Books 2007)
The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Greening Your Business (with Heather Gadonniex, Penguin/Alpha Books 2009)
Palm Beach, Fort Lauderdale, Miami and the Florida Keys (W.W. Norton/Countryman Press 2005, 2009)
The Explorer’s Guide to South Florida (with Sandra Friend, W.W. Norton/Countryman Press 2010)
www.trishriley.com
www.gogreengift.com
www.teddistails.com

Looking for something to do tonight? Check out the trailer below:

Gasland: “Halliburton has developed a way to get more natural gas out of the ground—a hydraulic drilling process called hydraulic fracturing, or “fracking” for short. Energy companies across rural America are attempting to lease property from residents in order to drill for natural gas.

Filmmaker Josh Fox received a lucrative offer from an energy company wanting to lease his property to tap into a reservoir of natural gas. Fox decided to take his camera and meet other rural residents on the front lines of fracking. He traveled to 32 states and discovered toxic streams, ruined acquifers, dying livestock, brutal illnesses, and kitchen sinks that burst into flames. He learns that all water is connected and perhaps some things are more valuable than money. (Info from sundance film festival).”

WHEN: Monday, August 16th @ 8pm

WHERE: Civic Media Center, 433 S. Main St.

COST: $3-5 donation requested

https://www.civicmediacenter.org/event/2010/08/16/gasland

Weekend Without Oil www.weekendwithoutoil.org is asking Americans to spend the weekend of August 21-22 oil-free. The initiative’s goal is two-fold: to spread the message of how much oil is used in everyday products, and to get at least 166,000 people to join the campaign by committing to 11 actions. Those 11 actions include walking or bike-riding; using reusable bags; not buying new make-up, clothing or DVDs; and drinking tap water during the weekend of August 21-22.

via Living Green Magazine – Weekend Without Oil: Youth Group Finds Allies to Avoid Petroleum Consumption on August 21-22.

Just go to the website, www.nianow.com.  Read about Nia is the newsletter on the home page!  You can also find Nia on u-tube.  Then, type in United States, then Florida, and scroll now to Gainesville ….. click on my name and you will see where I’m teaching Nia now.

This meeting will be conducted as a workshop, where members of the Local Intergovernmental Team will present an overview of the EPA’s proposed plan and preliminary issues and recommendations to the public for discussion and input. At the second meeting, which will be held on Monday, Aug. 30, the team will present its issues and recommendations to the Gainesville City Commission and the Alachua County Board of Commissioners at a joint city/county commission meeting.

The public is encouraged to submit written comments on the proposed plan for the Cabot-Koppers superfund site directly to the EPA at:

Scott Miller, Remedial Project Manager
United States Environmental Protection Agency
Region IV, Superfund North Florida Section
61 Forsyth Street, SW
Atlanta, GA  30303

Location: Alachua County Farmers Market on North 441