This is the second Green Festival I’ve been too.  The first was in DC in November when I had no idea what to expect.  I have come to learn over the last few months how closely tied our environmental and economic issues are.  If you’re not sure what I mean, check out Van Jones’ GREEN COLLAR ECONOMY, Herve Kempf’s HOW THE RICH ARE DESTROYING THE EARTH,  and John Perkins’ THE SECRET HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN EMPIRE just to name a few.

At first I struggled a bit with the idea of the festival.  Many of the speakers talk about the need for us to curb our out of control materialism and cut back on our consumerism in general, and yet the floor of the conference is filled with companies selling their wares.  (Including us!)  But after my interview with John Perkins this past weekend, I got it.  It’s not about cutting consumerism altogether or never buying anything again.  It’s about buying smarter.  Buying used or re-purposed items.  Buying from B Corporations, fair trade companies, organic companies, etc.  And yes – about buying less.  It’s about knowing the companies that you are buying from and making informed decisions.

Many Americans voted for change in the last election and are being encouraged to stay involved and stay or become more active.  One very simple way is to vote with your dollars.  So – if you missed the Seattle Green Fest (or don’t live anywhere near there)…maybe you can catch the Chicago or Denver Green Festivals coming up in May.  I’ll be there.  Stop by the Better World Books bookstore and say hello!

Join Dana for a chat with French journalist Hervé Kempf about his book How the Rich are Destroying the Earth. Since 1988 Mr. Kemp has specialized in environmental and ecological reporting. He created the environmental magazine Reporterre, and has written for scientific and economic newspapers. He is the Environmental Editor at Le Monde, the most influential French newspaper, where and covers ecological topics, notably climate change and biodiversity. Le Monde now has an entire section devoted to environment and science. Traveling worldwide for his reporting, Kempf makes his home in Paris.

His previous books are La Guerre secréte des OGM (The Secret War of GMOs, 2003), which tells the history of transgenic research and development, and the rebellion against it in Europe, and Gaza, la Vie en Cage (with photos from Jérome Equer, 2005), which tells the daily life of inhabitants of the Gaza strip—it has been translated and published in the U.S. as Gaza, Life in a Cage (Algora, 2006).