What better way to grab public attention then with a couch installation? This past Friday, November 17th, that's exactly what PG&E did to promote their website venture with ReadyMade magazine called www.letsgreenthiscity.com. Roughly two weeks before this, you might have noticed the "Green Is" ads placed around the city. This was yet another tie-in to this project. At the Green Festival on November 10-12, if you stopped by the PG&E booth, you could write what you believe "green is" on a board and you'd get a tote bag. I was one of the many that joined in on this, happy to express my ideas and get another free bag for the grocery store. Those "Green Is" ads have since been replaced with complete ads, all of which you can see here.

On Friday, the idea was that passer-bys could get a Polaroid picture taken of themselves on the grass couch. Also provided where recent copies of ReadyMade magazine and info about the letsgreenthiscity website. The new online portal is a community-based site with resources, articles, and videos about how to make our city greener - hence the name. The goal is to make San Francisco the greenest city in the nation; in my opinion, a lofty but honorable goal (according to SustainLane, we are currently 2nd behind Portland).

Are a one-day display of green couches and a website really going to be enough to make us number one? It's been scientifically proven that it takes at least three months to change an ingrained habit. How do we get the folks who couldn't give two shits about recycling to be green? I don't think just a website is going to do it, but it is a good resource for those that are already eco-inclined (or at least interested) to find out how they can further their influence and lessen their footprint on the planet, or at least the city. The events section of the site is one of the most established, with events listed half way through December. As a city that is already green-focused compared to other metropolis, becoming the greenest city in the country shouldn't be all that difficult. After the grass couch installation, I am curious to see what other public stunts PG&E has lined up to draw attention to the website. If you can't trust an eco-site from an electric company, then who can you trust?

I've noticed a number of "Let's Green this City" ads at bus stops and assumed they were SF Department of the Environment house ads. The images are eye-catching, but also seemed like an odd set of messages/framing, i.e. "green is different", "green is hard", "green means expensive", which is exactly the opposite of general campaigns about how efficient, inobtrusive, effective, durable, quality green can be... that's the focus of the Green Building Professional training I recently got from Build It Green. As you note in your closing, it is important for us in the movement to keep people asking themselves and each other: "who can you trust?"

Posted by: Raines Cohen on November 24, 2006 7:56 AM