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Green Living in Minnesota

Minnesota's Living Green Expo 2007 1

Guest-Blogger Tami Molitor sent this report from Minnesota’s Living Green Expo. I think it’s fantastic to hear about all the green stuff happening in places other than the East and West Coasts, and there’s plenty of it. All Americans need to be involved in building a sustainable world, because pretty much all of us have been involved in getting us to this ecologically precarious and dangerous place that we are now. -Ed.

By Guest-Blogger Tami Molitor

My husband and I headed to the Minnesota state fairgrounds in St. Paul the first weekend of May to attend the Living Green Expo. Our first greeting was that of electric cars and a variety of bikes to promote travel without gasoline. Organic Valley family of farms (from Wisconsin)was giving samples of milk and coupons. College “kids” from Macalester were sharing a slideshow from their travels to ice-covered parts of the world to learn more about global warming with world reknowned Minnesotan explorers.

Organic Bob gardening and a variety of organic and natural lawncare, landscapers and gardening cmpanies were exibiting along with green roof promoters, natural skincare companies and small home-based soap makers.

We missed the eco-fashoin show….check the site for more on that. The Waldorf School promoted their Earth-friendly curriculum and trendy South Minneapolis was also well represented with Linden Hills area natural foods coop and home store.

The City of Minneapolis officials participated in presentation of ” An Inconvenient Truth”
via slide show. Clean energy was well represented with local and national energy companies and wind energy groups.

A kid’s area included creative arts, a compassionate kids presentation, recycling games,
visits form the raptor center and healthy toys and snacks. Lots more to see, do and learn for kids and family.

This event is getting bigger every year. We only had time for a three-hour stay, and I feel like we barely sratched the surface. Our goal is to review the handouts and start adding more green living options to our lifestyle. It is great to live in an area that offers this type of event. Be sure to check out the main Living Green expo site for all the details!

Minnesota's Living Green Expo 2007 2

Starre Vartan is founder and editor-in-chief of Eco-Chick.com and the author of the Eco-Chick Guide to Life. She's also a freelance science and environment writer who has published in National Geographic, CNN, Scientific American, Mental Floss, Pacific Standard, the NRDC, and many more. She lives on an island in Puget Sound with her partner and black cat. She was a geologist in her first career, and still picks up rocks wherever she goes.