Earth Day visited the Third Street Promenade on a near-record-setting weekend, temperature-wise – talk about global warming – as over 70 organizations set up booths promoting everything from hemp clothing to environmentally friendly toys, waterless car washing to sustainable home refinancing, and IonLite’s negative ion generator (kills E. coli and other bacteria) to the Truth about 9/11.
Although the official Earth Day this year is Tuesday, April 22, Santa Monica’s Third Street Promenade celebration was an all-day affair (10 a.m. to 7 p.m.) on Saturday, April 12, as many cities and organizations promote ecological recognitions from April 12 onward.
The Promenade was crowded with booths from the Jane Goodall Institute’s Roots and Shoots program, which will be planting 100 trees in Griffith Park May 17, to the Los Angeles County Department of Public Works, promoting a variety of environmental programs (888cleanla.com). The Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition was there, promoting the LA River Bike Path, as was the Marine Mammal Care Center at Fort MacArthur in San Pedro, which rehabilitates rescued sick, injured, and orphaned marine mammals.
National organizations like the Peace Corps and the Surfrider Foundation were on hand, as wells as regional groups like Friends for Expo Transit, and Santa Monica locals like Heal the Bay and Sustainable Works. And, of course, there was Jerry Rubin and his hundreds of bumper stickers and buttons (this reporter’s favorite: “Well Behaved Women Rarely Make History”).
There was entertainment throughout the day on the Solar Stage between Santa Monica Boulevard and Arizona Avenue, featuring music and speakers.
The event was presented by Earth Day Los Angeles, which presents several “Earth Day” events this spring, with contributions from the Bayside District Corporation, the City of Santa Monica, and several sponsors including the Santa Monica Mirror.
