City Sol 2009

Corrie got involved in a green-builders non-profit organization called Solar 1 a few years ago, after moving to the City. Once a month the group organizes a thing they call "Green Drinks", an event that many of us like-minded folks can go to and meet others like us, conversing about our industries and our industries' fight to "go green" as it's called today.

Solar 1 also offers a series of free lectures, when in season I think it's every week, or every other week, around 7 in the evening at their location at 23rd Street and the East River. They occupy a tiny sustainable wooden hut of sorts, similar to a trailer used in elementary schools, but possibly smaller and more permanently built.

Each year they put together a free concert on their grounds and call it City Sol. I imagine the bands are donating their time...in this way most people who show up, whether they're musicians, volunteers, or fans will be of a similar attitude concerning environmental policy.

Corrie volunteered two years ago and worked the beer stall (maybe the musicians get a few points off the beer sales...) and made a tidy sum in tips, even though it was unexpected.

This year she volunteered again, and was helping out at the letter-writing table. One of the Solar 1 organizers had the idea that this year an attempt would be made to get lots of handwritten letters to respective state senators and assembly persons demanding that they vote for an initiative that's been introduced in NY State's legislative chambers. The initiative in question has to do with supporting a push to move to solar power.

How do you get a bunch of hipsters to sit and follow a carefully planned rubric and handwrite letters in a stiff wind? Easy answer on that one: Hand out free beer tickets. I wrote two letters, one to a County of Kings State Senator, and one to my Bed-Stuy Assembly-woman, and got two beers as a result.

Corrie also scored some swag for volunteering most of the afternoon. Solar 1 was offering for sale smallish balsa wood RC cars, that you make yourself, but have the novelty of being powered by a small photo-voltaic cell, a PV cell...no batteries necessary and all that. Pretty cool, and they gave Corrie two packets. We're thinking of giving one to the niece and nephew, so they can have some fun in the sun. Corrie wanted to make one herself.

Here's some pictures...in the first on the left side you'll see two strange arcing things...those house the PV cells for the laptops that are on the other side.