Oakland Earth Expo

Oakland Earth Expo

Yesterday was the Oakland Earth Expo, a public fair for Oaklanders looking to be more green. There were a number of groups and companies I'm familiar with there, including:

• TransForm
• Walk Oakland Bike Oakland
• East Bay Bicycle Coalition
• Habitat for Humanity (thanks for the donations!)
• Greening Oakland Homes
  
• East Bay Depot for Creative Reuse
• Ella Baker Center
• SunPower Solar

There were also a number of groups I wasn't familiar with:

• Friends of the Morcom Rose Garden - There's a nice post on the rose garden at Oaktown Art
  
• Universal Waste Management - electronic waste recyclers based here in Oakland
  
• B Spoke Tailor - custom and individualized cycling clothes
  

There appeared to be a good turn out for the event. I was there after noon so I missed the special Earth Day 2010 photo shoot that was planned, but I saw lots of people checking out the booths.

In a bit of irony, PG&E was there trying to to drum up some good press for smart meters after the problems they've been having with smart meters in Bakersfield; a couple of booths down was a group encouraging people to Vote No on 16. Prop 16 is sponsored by PG&E to the tune of millions of dollars, and they're putting it forth as a "keep governments from spending unlimited funds without a vote". In reality, it's because PG&E doesn't want municipalities like Marin becoming power producers and thereby competing with PG&E. On one hand, I love that PG&E sponsors the solar panels for Habitat for Humanity homes around California, but then they pull stuff like Prop 16. Sigh.