Volunteers push green living at city expo

By Andrew FitzGerald

BOSTON (Sept. 28, 2008)- Perpetually gray skies were not enough to dampen spirits at Boston's first GreenFest, a showcase of environmental issues and job opportunities held last weekend at City Hall Plaza.

Though a nongovernmental organization held the event, staff members said City Hall threw its full support behind the convention as part of a long-standing commitment to green policies. Mayor Thomas Menino launched a number of environmental initiatives during his latest term, including buses at Logan International Airport that run on compressed natural gas and the appointment of a "bike czar" to encourage cycling in the city. A small wind turbine, one of many of Menino's widely publicized testaments to the idea that Boston takes environmental concerns seriously, peeks above the roof of City Hall from the edge of the plaza.

Dozens of groups manned tables under a sea of damp white tents peddling everything from organic food to Zipcars to massages. Some offered for-profit services while others simply came to spread awareness about a particular environmental cause.

At her table, Boston Vegetarian Society president Evelyn Kimber talked of "devastating impact" meat production has on the environment, including wasted foodcrops, excessive water use and the spread of diseases. The group supports any degree of meat-free eating, though a vegan diet free of all animal products is the best, she said.

Though she rented a table at GreenFest for an environmental cause, Kimber also advocated vegan meals because of the implications meat, dairy and egg production have for the treatment of animals. Her table was covered with literature depicting cruelty to animals at slaughterhouses and dairies around the world.

"The pictures are hard to look at, but it's important that people know," she said.

Some of the images of animal mistreatment may have been disturbing, but Kimberly remained outwardly upbeat. People can eat just as much good food without animal products, she said. Those who attend the Boston Vegetarian Food Festival in November always say they are surprised by vegetarian options.

"They think it'll be hard or austere or sacrificial, and they come to these events and find it's not hard at all," she said.

While Kimber touted the benefits of a meat-fee diet, her friend Janie said little but nodded approvingly from her perch cradled in Kimber's arms. The 17-year-old Yorkshire Terrier was there "for outreach," Kimber said, just like her.

The environmental showcase was the first of its kind for the newly minted nonprofit Foundation for a Green Future, a coalition of local environmental groups founded less than a year ago by Roslindale activist Karen Webber. Foundation board member Jennifer Boudrie, who directs the city's Sustainable Business Leadership Program, estimated thousands of people came to see the dozens of covered tables at the convention throughout the weekend despite the dreary weather.

The event was specifically geared to appeal to Bostonians from many different communities, not just those who are already interested in sustainable living, Boudrie said.

"It's not just for people that are tree huggers," she said. "This is for everybody."

Brittany Myers, a sophomore at Lasell College in Newton, said she came to the event to find out new ways to help the environment as well as to network with other students with similar goals.

Myers said she started her own environmental student group last week when she found her college was not helping its pupils recycle. Armed with a mission and a handful of eager volunteers, the group went to the local recycling center and demanded their own bins, Myers said.

Myers beamed as she walked toward a live band playing on amps powered by two men leisurely pedaling on stationary bicycles. As a gospel singer took to the stage, Myers said she couldn't see why youth her age would rather sit at home than work to help the environment.

"You could take about a half hour out of your day, and it wouldn't kill you," she said.