"It's a misconception that plastic will break down eventually in a landfill," says green businessman Erik Taylor. "What happens is that it degrades and breaks into smaller and smaller pieces, but the individual molecules never go anywhere. Every bit of plastic that has ever been made still exists."
A scary thought to contemplate as you polish off some fast food and dump the container and throwaway utensils in the trash. But if you visit Lake Tahoe's Earth Day celebrations in April, you'll be able to bypass the guilt as you learn about conservation and alternative energy while munching food served in containers made of vegetable-based material. Even the plastic-looking knives and forks will be made from potato starch, cornstarch and other compostable materials says Taylor, a partner in Green Tahoe Inc. of Truckee, brokers of biodegradable products.
Taylor's bio-packaging is just one element of the festivals being held April 18 at the Village at Squaw Valley and April 25 at the MontBleu Resort Casino & Spa in South Lake Tahoe. Earth Day is April 22.
Started eight years ago by the nonprofit Tahoe Earth Day Foundation, the events are designed to provide information about global climate change, recycling, water conservation, sustainability, energy production, composting, trash reduction and carbon footprints. The programs will tell you how you can help protect and improve the environment, says Suzanne Wilkins, chairwoman of the Squaw Valley event. But to make it fun and to celebrate the earth in a positive way, she says, musical and other entertainment will be offered as well.
Contests and activities for children and dozens of booths focused on the environment will be part of the festivities. Organizations sponsoring displays will include government agencies, public utility companies, water districts, environmental nonprofits, and commercial vendors offering recycling and conservation products and services. Exhibits and entertainment venues will fill the central courtyard at the Village at Squaw Valley, a chalet-style condominium and shopping complex.
Ecology-themed entertainment at Squaw Valley will include a Trashion Show and vaudeville, Wilkins says. Haute Trash, a Nevada City artists group, will present a runway fashion show featuring garments made from recycled materials. Pacifica's EarthCapades will perform variety shows with a message.
At the South Lake Tahoe festival, exhibitors will be housed in large tents in the casino parking lot and vendors will offer food and beverages. Electricity will be provided by solar panels and biofuel generators. According to Shelly Barnes, who is in charge of the South Lake Tahoe event, children's activities will include crafts and costume making. Five musical groups will offer continuous entertainment.
Two film festivals (April 17 and 24) preceding the events will look at environmental issues from different perspectives. Excerpts from the Patagonia Wild and Scenic Environmental Film Festival will screen in Olympic Village at Squaw Valley. In South Lake Tahoe, the EarthDance Film Festival, says Barnes, "will feature short films, from 30 seconds to 30 minutes, that are fun, funny and provocative ... to make you laugh and celebrate your relation to the natural world." The EarthDance films will be shown at Lake Tahoe Community College.
Admission to the Earth Day festivals is free; the north and south Tahoe film showings are $12 and $7, respectively.
"Earth Day reminds people of the natural beauty that surrounds us and focuses on preserving and protecting," Barnes says. "It led to the Clean Air Act and the Clean Water Act, which changed the way cities function."
Armed with biodegradable food containers, Tahoe event organizers hope their festivals will have only a limited effect on the environment. Waste station volunteers will separate trash. Most of the trash generated by the Squaw Valley event last year was recycled or composted - only 7 percent when into landfills.
Lake Tahoe Earth Day: April 18 at the Village at Squaw Valley, 1750 Village East Road, Olympic Valley. April 25 at MontBleu Resort Casino & Spa, 55 Highway 50, South Lake Tahoe. Hours for both: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Free. (530) 542-8366, www.southlaketahoeearthday.org; (530) 584-6266, www.tahoetruckeeearthday.org.
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