TPR Home Gardening Event

“Grown in Your Own Backyard” at the Pearl Stable

The Slow Food movement is picking up speed as farmers markets sprout up across San Antonio. Fortunately, Texas Public Radio is here to harvest hints and tips on buying local produce and planting abundant backyard and community gardens. Join us for “Grown in Your Own Back Yard,” on Sunday, August 30 from 1 to 4 p.m., at the Pearl Stables. Gardening experts will be sharing advice on soil preperation, sustainable water practices, community gardening and more. The Culinary Institute of the Americas will also be on hand with cooking demonstrations on how to prepare your local produce. Full details about this event can be found at www.tpr.org.

Solar Fest 2009 is Off The Grid this Saturday at Maverick Park!

Solar Fest this weekend will be solar and biodiesel powered! (No extinct reptiles will be utilized in the making of this event!)

GreenCamp San Antonio will be there, literally in the center of the action. Look for us in the middle of Maverick Park. We’ll be the ones with the GreenCamp San Antonio banner!

Here’s more information about Solar Fest 2009

• 8 am “Run on the Sun” 5K
• 9 am - 4 pm Festival & Expo

Maverick Park (Broadway and 10th Street)

About Solar San Antonio

We are a non-profit advocacy and resource center dedicated to renewable and sustainable energy applications. Through community outreach, we strive to decrease energy costs and improve the quality of life in South Texas.

Mission Verde Consultant at 3 Free Events

Jeremy Rifkin, founder and president of the Foundation on Economic Trends, will be in San Antonio April 5 through 7 as a consultant for the City of San Antonio in its MISSION VERDE sustainability project. The opening session of Rifkin’s consultancy will be at 5 pm April 5 at the Hyatt Regency Hill Country Resort, 9800 Hyatt Resort Drive. Free and open to the public.

Rifkin is the author of 17 best-selling books on the impact of scientific and technological changes on the economy, the workforce, society, and the environment. He considers the four pillars of the Third Industrial Revolution to be renewable energy, buildings as power plants, energy storage, and the transformation to a smart grid, using plug-in vehicles, etc.

The second session, on April 6, will go from 8 am to 5:30 pm, and the third session, on April 7, will go from 8:30 am to 3:30 pm, when there will be a final press conference.

Ride My Bike; Hear Me Roar!

Here’s a chance to have your bicycle voice be heard.

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Bicycle Mobility Advisory Committee (BMAC)

Wednesday, April 8, 2009

Open House:  6:00 p.m. – 6:30 p.m. (Light refreshments will be served)

Meeting will begin at 6:30 p.m.

Meeting location:  VIA Metro Center Community Room located at 1021 San Pedro, San Antonio, Texas 78212

Please join us and bring your friends.  Bicycle Parking will be available.

Green Spaces Alliance Kid’s Event

This from our friends at Green Spaces Alliance. This sounds like TOO much fun. (I wonder if they’ll let adults play?)

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Go green with Green Spaces Alliance at
Leilani’s Garden Adventure!
Take the bus, ride your bike, or park a little distant and walk to Leilani’s Garden Adventure!

This Saturday from 3 to 6 p.m., join us at Green Gateways Preserve (2120 Nacogdoches Rd. — entrance on Toftrees).

• Cave Tours - Every 45 minutes from 3-5:30 p.m. (14 and older only)
• Piñata - 3:30 p.m. (9 and older) & 5 p.m. (8 and younger)
• Cascarone Hunt - 3:30 p.m. (4 and younger) & 4:30 p.m. (ages 5 to
• Scavenger Hunt & Sculpture Building - 4 p.m. (8 and older)
• Nest Building, Bean Bag Toss, Cupcake Decorating, Coloring, Fishing, and More! - 3-6 p.m. (all ages)
• Food, Drink & Fun!

Entry costs only $2 per child and $5 per adult.

Call 210-222-8430 or reply to this e-mail with any questions.

A Couple of San Antonio Bike Events

This from Lydia Kelly at the Metropolitan Planning Organization.

There are two great opportunities for public involvement in support of cycling in the region in April.

• Please join our MPO’s Bicycle Mobility Advisory Committee on April 8^th for BIKE NIGHT.  We had 70 participants at our last meeting.  I hope those who joined us felt it beneficial and will return and bring a friend or two.  If you couldn’t make it to the last evening meeting; please join us for this meeting. The doors open at 6:00 p.m. with light refreshments and exhibits.  The meeting begins at 6:30 p.m. We have kept the agenda short (and very informative) with plenty of time for citizen comments.  There will be bicycle parking. The meeting will take place at 1021 San Pedro in the VIA Community Room.
• Then on April 20th, consider joining “Bexar Trails” members, the Texas Bicycle League and other cyclists from the San Antonio region and ride a bus to Austin for Cyclists in Suits on April 20^th.  See the flyer and the attached email below for additional information. Make your voices heard in San Antonio by coming to our Bicycle Mobility Advisory Committee Meeting and make your voices heard in Texas by participating in the Cyclists in Suits day.

I’ll see ya at the BMAC meeting!

The Spirit of DC, a Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle visits San Antonio

The Spirit of DC a Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle travelling All Around America and its driver, Jerry Asher will be available sometime Thursday evening through Saturday presented by the Alamo City Electric Automobile Association.

Read on for more info and his website:

The Spirit of DC - PHEVA3 and energy independence

The Spirit of DC (Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle All Around America) gets up to 101 miles to the gallon and fueling it is cheaper than gasoline. It’s environmental friendly and reduces greenhouse pollution.

Launched from the Nation’s Capitol during the last day, Tuesday, 22 April 2008, (in commemoration of Earth Day) of the EPA 4th National Sustainable Design Expo, this car is being driven all around America to let the public know about plug-in vehicles and the power of electricity in automobile transportation.

The Father of the Modern Plug-In Hybrid, University of California at Davis Professor Andy Frank, said, “A long electric range PHEV is first an EV,” and we consider our PHEV “The Spirit of DC” in the same way. We believe PHEVs provide an alternative to using gasoline at $4, $5, $6 … a gallon, by providing the choice of plugging-in at 60, 70, 80 cents worth of electricity for gasoline gallon equivalent (GGE). In brief, it’s about our freedom of choice.

More information at http://spiritofdc.com.

In San Antonio:

From 9:30 -11:30AM, on Saturday, 14 March 2009, The “Spirit” will ’show & shine’ at Alamo City Electric Auto Association VP, Gary Krysztopik’s ZWheelZ Shop at the San Geronimo Airpark at the 2nd Hanger.

Address: 15474 FM Road 471, about six miles out on Auto Loop 1604 on West side of San Antonio. Please come and use the Parking Lot (avoid parking in front of any hangers!).

(Gary is also a member of the Experimental Aviation Association — another EAA. And yes, there are electric airplanes!)

Come on out and meet Al Rangel, ACEAA President, Gary, EVJerry and other ACEAA’rs and expound upon what the FuturEV is where America has her energy independence once again! See also Alamo City EAA’s website: www.ACEAA.org. After a super time with North Texas EAA’rs, the “Spirit” is really taking a shine to Texas! Second sidenote: NTEAA Prez, John Brecher, is also a dual EAA’rs, and he actually does build airplanes in addition to electric vehicles! See also www.nteaa.org

Note: There will be other plug-ins — pure electric RM2, a Porsche and many more! Gary Krysztopik’s phone: (210) 722-2977 just in case.