Imagine Ecotopia: Reclaiming the Streets for Common People
Ellen Farmer
On Saturday, November 3, 2007, as part of the national Step It Up! Rally for Climate Change Solutions, Santa Cruzans showed our true spirit with the closing off of a city block for several hours that afternoon.
Parking spaces for cars were converted into a park for people, with real sod, trees, and park benches, while hundreds of passersby were treated to smoothies blended by bicycle power, chalk art drawings on the pavement, music, comedy, spoken word, and a youth-powered bicycle boom box.
Energy for all of the microphones was produced by a solar trailer from Independent Energy Systems and a gurgling solar-powered fountain provided more fun for kids. A huge calendar of upcoming environmental education events was displayed on the street along with a pledge, signed by the multitudes, telling local leaders to Step It Up! by promoting:
- Trains and Trails; Not Wider Highways
- Clean Energy Jobs
- Local Solar Rebates for Households
- Local Food Production
Step It Up Santa Cruz 2007. We want our
local leaders to take action on the Climate
Solutions Compact they recently signed.
In the afternoon we paused for a group photo, displayed prominently on the Step It Up! website (www.stepitup2007.org), along with photos from hundreds of other communities throughout the country. The nationwide campaign was inspired by writer Bill McKibben (a passionate climate change activist for over 20 years). Our photo featured a huge grafitti-style banner painted by Cabrillo student Conor Carr. Mother Nature emphasized the urgency of our global warming message by providing 85-degree weather that day.
The local Step It Up! event was organized by a coalition of groups including People Power and our Local Solutions to Global Problems committee, Collaborative Ventures, Ecology Action, the UCSC Student Environmental Center, Santa Cruz Community Credit Union, Eco-Design Resources, Bill's Wheels, the Green Resource Library, True Power, WomenRise, EarthVision Film Festival, Capitola Freight and Salvage, and others.
Thanks to the volunteers, musicians, valet-bike parkers (courtesy of People Power), photographers, and City of Santa Cruz staff members who lent a hand. Celebrating community oneness as we work to solve problems together feels so right. Who knows? Life could actually be getting better!