Greening the Beige builds environmental awareness
Green activists of all kinds are popping up around Beijing like baby saplings on a corporate tree-planting weekend. Carissa Welton's Greening the Beige (GtB) project unites such activists, artists and environmental policy experts for a week of environment-related events aimed to entertain as much as educate. "The objective," says Welton, "is to creatively contribute to the environment of the city we love, through art and culture."

With an annual week of green events and “eco-savvy activities” kicking off this month, GtB is an ongoing celebration of eco-minded thinking whose basic aim is to foster eco-positive and responsible city living, while at the same time connecting creative thinkers, socially responsible organization, and other supporters for a "greener" Beijing.

GtB 2008 promises to be a fascinating mix of art and science-on the same night that two of Beijing's biggest live bands, Junglecat and Ziyo take the stage at Yugong Yishan (Saturday, July 12), Vance Wagner who works with the Vehicle Emission Control Centre at China's Ministry of Environmental Protection, shares his passion for and inside knowledge on the impact of transport energy use in Beijing. Wagner is an enthusiastic supporter of both a greener Beijing and GtB, which believes that one of the biggest threats to modern society is a lack of creative solutions to environmental problems.

"GtB is a fantastic concept," he says. "It speaks positively about creative solutions on China's environment when the word crisis is thrown around a lot, and it can help transform the discussion in a creative and artistic way." There has never been a better time to inspire Beijingers to drive less and love the city more. Buoyed by a blanket government awareness campaign that includes slogans such as "Save a drop of oil," Olympic citizens have been infused with a palpable and heartfelt passion for making Beijing the universe's most admired city.

And, according to Welton, it's with the community that the future rests. "There's absolutely no way I could make Greening the Beige happen on my own. I depend and rely on the talent and creative wits of the GtB team members, contributing artists, and key participants to breathe life into this project and develop it as their own. It's a community effort and we can't wait to get it going."

Christian Edwards

Details: Greening the Beige
When: July 11-18
Where: Venues around town
How: See Community listings for details
Web: http://www.greeningthebeige.org