February 27, 2008

Have you been thinking about visiting Washington DC to see the sites, enjoy the great entertainment, talk with your representatives, advocate for a better environment, or maybe just join in on some interesting events, then this April seems to be the time to do it.

• The Alliance to Save Energy will be hosting its’ Great Energy Efficiency Day for 2008 on Wednesday, April 16th. It will be held on Capitol Hill at the Dirksen Senate Office Building, Room G-50, from 8:00am – 3:30pm. It was first held in 2004 and is propertied to have become a “must attend” , drawing more than 400 stakeholders from different sectors, such as industry, business, government, academic, media and public interest. It is designed to be a “discussion” on the need for, and benefits of, energy efficiency. This event will feature leading voices in energy and energy efficiency, addressing current and timely issues and provide insight from Capitol Hill itself from congressional members. This is a free event but you must register as space is limited. The Off-Grid Home is planning to have a presence there so if you can’t make it we should be reporting about it shortly after the event, if all goes as planned of course.
• April 19 is Children’s’ Day at The Accokeek Foundation at Piscataway Park. This is a chance to learn not only about colonial farming but organic farming with your children. You also will be able to hike through the park and purchase seedlings from the museum garden. They are offering free membership to 25 visitors. This event is free for members.
• The Earth Day Network will be sponsoring Earth Day on the Hill on Sunday, April 20 as well as events in 7 other US cities. The event at the National Mall is to be their flagship event and as such is scheduled to include A-list celebrities as well as elected officials/candidates, community speakers, and major musical performances. Educational displays and voter registration is also to be included. They are hoping for hundreds of thousands participants for their combined events in DC as well as New York, Chicago, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Denver, Dallas and Miami. These events are being sponsored by Chase and produced by Green Apple Festivals, they are FREE to attend. They are encouraging everyone who can to walk, bike or even row to an event near them to show your support for dealing with global warming.
• Earth Day Network is also calling for a day of action following these events. On Monday, April 21 they are asking for Americans to contact their elected officials and let then know how important improving our environment is to us. If you are in the US you are able to call the White House at (202) 456-1111 and/or Capitol Hill at (202) 224-3121 and ask for your elected official. Their goal is a million calls, I