Friday, October 5, 2012

Can A Fall Festival Be Greener?

So Manassas is having it's annual Fall Festival tomorrow and I'm wondering about the environmental impact that fall festival will have...yes, that's me, that's how I think.  While most are thinking about hot apple cider or bluegrass music or what freebies will be there, I think about the "greenness" of it.

While a fall festival can provide some wonderful benefits, like teaching my kids about the colors of fall...the red apples, the orange pumpkins...and the "harvest" season as a whole, it still can have quite an environmental impact.  The food waste and packaging, the plastic bouncy house (how is this "fall-like"?), the plastic freebies given out in plastic bags, etc.  And let's not forget that the Chainsaw Chix will be there...how cool?!  Women with chainsaws making art...beautiful sculptures out of wood.  Love it, right?  Well, I do love it actually and can't wait to see them create their art, BUT  if you know me, you know I'm thinking about the trees that were killed for the art and wondering what powers their chainsaws.  Are they gasoline powered or electric?  What kind of carbon emissions do those let out over a whole day of cutting and shaping wood into art?

So the big question for me today is should I go to the fall festival tomorrow and ooh and aah over the incredible artwork and stay quiet or should I speak up and ask the Chainsaw Chix if they can consider powering their chainsaws with sustainably certified biofuels?  What do you think?  Should I shut up or speak up?

4 comments:

  1. Speak up! It never hurts to ask right? Maybe the Chainsaw Chix would be totally down with certified sustainable biofuels.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I agree, speak up! It's something you are passionate about and you should express your concerns and provide some suggestions! You never know.

    I love my festivals as well, but while attending vegfest, I couldn't help but notice how much trash was piling up from plastic containers, utensils, etc. It was kind of shocking. An eye opening point.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Even if the CChix don't yet use biofuels maybe they would be interested in finding out more about where they can buy them locally. Baby steps work!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Thanks for the comments ladies! I'll find out soon enough if they respond to my email letter!

    ReplyDelete

Please leave a Comment! I'd love to hear your thoughts!