Environment

"Green" Inaugural Ball To Celebrate Obama & Promote Initiatives

by lefty_liberated | January 14, 2009 at 05:41 am

322 views | 44 Recommendations | 7 comments

Two environmentally conscious inaugural celebrations will be underway on January 20th in the nation's capital.

The Green Ball: Inauguration of a New Green Economy will be hosted by Vice President and Nobel Peace Prize winner Albert Gore Jr. of Tennessee on January 19th. The event will be held at the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery. The Smithsonian will host several days of related exhibits and events.

Green Inaugural Ball: Maximum Celebration, Minimal Impact is the theme on January 17th and is taking place at the Andrew W. Mellon Auditorium. According to the event's website there will be organic food with vegan and vegetarian selections as well as organic drinks. Minimal decorations will be used, but will include LED decorative lighting and undyed soy candles. Waste will be recycle and composted. All invitations are printed on recycled paper and the website is even hosted by a company that utilizes solar power. The event organizers will also purchase credits from a wind power company to offset the energy used for the ball. Entertainment will included Wyclef Jean formerly of the Fugees and speakers include Graham Hill founder of Treehugger.com

Additionally, the Chicago Tribune reported, the Environmental Protection Agency is working with the Inauguration Comittee to reduce environmental impact from their events. Attendees to all events are encouraged to car-pool and there are even Segways available to rent, the Tribune said. They also reported that styrafoam has been banned from House of Represenative events and replaced with biodegradable alternatives and these events will aslo involve composting.

A related event, The Peace Ball, is an unofficial celebration being hosted by Busboys and Poets and sponsored by groups like Democracy Now, and will also be held at one of the Smithsonian buildings.

PETA is also said to be running a campaign where they will be handing out fur coats to the homeless and hot beverages with anti-fur slogans.

Other Sources: Environmental News Service

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Amy Judd

at 14:34 on January 14th, 2009

Thanks for this story - I needed to know more about these events!

Karenke4

at 15:26 on January 14th, 2009

Good to hear!

Brook Mercedes (not verified)

at 18:44 on January 14th, 2009

My man just surprised me with Green Ball tickets. We are going to party with Wyclef. I am sooooooooo excited.

harringtola

at 13:26 on January 18th, 2009

Brook, Congratulations on being a part of it all. Everything sounds so fabulous.

TFleming

at 14:15 on January 16th, 2009

I came across an article about PETA's involvement and I found it a little bit controversial. The fur coats are being splashed with black paint so that they cannot be resold and the cups read " Thanks for not wearing fur". PETA spokes person stated that, " Hopefully the only people wearing fur on the 21st will be the homeless". Although it is a nice gesture I feel PETA is using the homeless as a billboard for their cause rather than being genuinly concerned with their well being. They are trying to associate wearing fur with being homeless and asking the question, " You don't want to look like a bum, do you?"