| From organic wine tasting to a fair-trade Carnaval | | | | But to make the message more fun, and less |
| costume show, Bay Area residents will put their own | | | | dogmatic, the staff will sponsor a recycling game in |
| twist on Earth Day celebrations today to mark the | | | | which visitors have to sort chicken bones, plastic bags, |
| occasion's 40th anniversary. | | | | TVs and other items into recycling bins. Winners get a |
| At San Francisco State, cowgirls will promote | | | | canvas bag made of scrap fabric. |
| composting. At the Academy of Sciences, they'll be | | | | At the Blue Macaw nightclub on Mission Street, |
| dancing to a hip-hop DJ. And in the Mission, they'll be | | | | Carnaval organizers are hosting a fundraiser to bring |
| belly dancing and eating organic empanadas. | | | | more recycling, biodiesel floats and fair-trade tacos to |
| "It's San Francisco - people like things more theatrical | | | | make the annual bacchanalian parade more green |
| here. They want to have fun, they don't want to think | | | | through the Mission District. |
| 'Earth Day, oh my God, the sky is falling,' " said | | | | "Carnaval is a celebration of indigenous people, and no |
| Sunshine Swinford, outreach coordinator for the San | | | | one on the planet is more green than indigenous |
| Francisco Department of the Environment. "They want | | | | people," said organizer Douglas Kolberg. "We're not |
| to know there's things they can do that will actually | | | | preaching to the choir here, focusing on, say, people |
| make a difference." | | | | from Mill Valley. We're trying to reach people who |
| Swinford's agency will staff six Earth Day events | | | | might not already know about Earth Day." |
| across San Francisco today in hopes of encouraging | | | | A more high-brow Earth Day celebration will be held at |
| people to recycle, compost, use fluorescent lights, turn | | | | the Mandarin Hotel near Union Square, where visitors |
| off the tap while brushing their teeth, and take other | | | | can sample organic wines and appetizers, with |
| small steps toward saving the planet. | | | | proceeds going to Friends of the Urban Forest. |