Come See the VW Tiguan in San Francisco Tomorrow!

On Thursday, June 12, Volkswagen will host an exclusive media preview to showcase the latest innovations toward environmental sustainability. The event is the debut for the Tiguan HyMotion, the company’s first fuel cell hybrid compact SUV concept vehicle, powered by a zero emission electric motor.  Those attending the event will have a rare opportunity to view and test drive the HyMotion prototype, one of only two hydrogen powered compact SUV’s in the world.  As an added bonus, Volkswagen’s new “Clean Diesel” Jetta will also be available to test drive.  This sounds like a great opportunity to check out Volkswagen’s efforts to develop their own line of fuel efficient vehicles!

*If you are interested, RSVP to lzantop@mww.com

Thursday, June 12 2008
12-1 PM (Lunch)
1-4 PM (Press conference, demonstration, Q&A, test drive)

W Hotel
181 3rd Street
San Francisco, CA

6 Pack Wine Rack

This fun and efficient wine rack is made from 100% wool felt and manufactured locally in Massachusetts. The felt is reclaimed from post-industrial scrap and consists of about 85% factory excess wool and 15% mixed fibers. Etcetera Media, the design firm that created the wine rack, is based in Boston and was founded in early 2005 by Chris Grimley and Kelly Smith. It holds up to six normal wine bottles and collapses flat to be shipped and stored easily. It’s available for $40 through their website or if you’re on the west coast, through Branch Home based in San Francisco. Comes with the option of orange or green stitching.

Compostmodern in San Francisco

The one day AIGA event brought together some artistic and practical minds to talk (green) shop. While we were in Chicago spreading the word with NAU, Unbeige attended and posted some indepth Compostmodern coverage.

http://www.mediabistro.com/unbeige/compostmodern/default.asp

West Coast Green September 20-22, San Francisco

One of the largest event on residential green building on the west coast will take place at the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium of San Francisco.

The program and speakers promise this conference to be quiet exceptional :

“Central to the success of this conference are the exceptional speakers and presenters who will share their technical knowledge, on-the-ground expertise, and visionary wisdom on a wide range of topics from building science and public policy to technology and global ecology. This year our programming will expand to offer over 150 new presentations and pre-conference workshops and will reach over 14,000 people with incredible ability to affect change”

the program of the conference

the speakers

West coast green website

Rebar’s PARK(ing) Event, September 21

More than 70% of outdoor space in the city of San Francisco is dedicated to vehicular use. That leaves little space for public activity, public play, and public human parking. This very idea sparked an inspiration in a few young men in San Francisco who decided to intervene by paying the meter to create temporary public parks. Rebar group is what they call themselves and the event is called PARK(ing).

The first event took place on November 16, 2005 when these guys and their buddies rolled into town with a truck bed full of sod. They identified a parking spot in a part of downtown San Francisco that was lacking any sort of public outdoor human space, put some quarters in the meter (thus renting the downtown real estate), rolled out their sod, “parked” a bench, and enjoyed their afternoon in the park (until the 2 hour meter ran out). They invited all passing pedestrians to enjoy a little time in the sun with them, and take a rest. “By our calculations, we provided an additional 24,000 square-foot-minutes of public open space that Wednesday afternoon,” says Rebar member.

In its third year, Rebar’s spectacular PARK(ing) event will take place in cities all over the world. Friday Sept. 21st, while tromping around a participating city, take a break, and park it (your rear) on a PARK(ing) benck. The Trust for Public Land is heading up National PARK(ing) day in more than a dozen U.S. cities: NYC, LA, DC, Seattle, Portland, Chicago, St. Paul, Boston, Austin, Salt Lake City, Tampa, and Miami. In addition, a slew of international cities are lined up to participate on this monumental day including: London, Paris, Barcelona, Valencia, Munich, Toronto, Melbourne, and others.

ReBar, myself, and your community is calling on you- artists, activists, and citizens to temporarily take over private city parking space and turn them into ephemeral public parks. Get in touch with your local coordinator, invent your perfect mini park, and build it on September 21 along with other enthusiast worldwide.