Temple Nightclub named 2008 Small Business of the Year

Last night the Chamber of Commerce of San Francisco hosted the Ebbies the award ceremony for excellence in business (somehow they get Ebbie's from that.)   Zen compound/Temple Nightclub  was nominated to be a finalist in the small business of the year category.   

 

CRITERIA - "Awarded to a small, San Francisco business that exemplifies the diversity of products and services that give San Francisco's neighborhoods their special flair and/or is an example of the entrepreneurial spirit, that demonstrates  an investment in the city's future"

The awards dinner was at the Hilton was attended by over 1500 people all wearing suits, a far departure from the usual suspects to inhabit the compound.   We were seated at head table #1 right in front of the stage so we had a good feeling.   The whole event was a bit surreal with live band and video intros that resembled the Academy Awards. When it came time for small business of the year then compound/temple nightclub was declared the winner. Owner, Paul Hemming, delivered a heartfelt message to all in attendance. "For as long as I can remember I have understood the world to be one living organism and one family quote" Paul stated in his address to the business community. The trophy is a kaleidoscope.

 The other winners from the night included the California  Academy of Sciences, Kaiser Permanente, DIGG,  Pacific Gas and Electric Co. and QB3.  

It was a great honor to receive this award having only been open  to the public for one year.   The San Francisco  business community has always been one of innovation.  Now that the environmental externalities ignored since industrialization are becoming more apparent,  the business community  is saying that the environment and business are linked. Organizations like the Chamber of Commerce lookout for business interests.  I think it's fair to say  that the business community has spoken  and they are honoring and seeking how to best to minimize their impacts and increase their benefits to the community.  

Link to the Winners

Homeless Labor Force

When walking into work today I ran into one of the neighborhood homeless people named Mike. Living in an urban environment which is often completely devoid of people it is important to develop relationships with your neighbors even if they don't have a home. I often stop to talk with him and his friends and tell them that the projects that we are working on for the community. This morning he stop me to say that he's been talking to his friends and they feel that they would be able to organize and pick up the Flyers on the streets before Monday morning business starts and they are able to make their way into the sewers and eventually the ocean. He said that he cleans an entire parking lot half the size of football field for $10 and would also be able to do with few blocks for that same price. The venues that choose to advertise using the wasteful ways of flyers should foot that bill.
Clubs often purchase 1000-3000 flyers for one event and canvass the city. There is a special UV coating that can be applied and make the cost of flyers go down substantially. However these flyers cannot be recycled because they are a combination of plastic and paper which cannot be sorted from each other. Not only can I not be sorted but if they wind up in the ocean via the city sewer system they will not fully decompose and wind up as added plastic to the great Pacific garbage patch or the Pacific Geyer. With collective action and pooling venues order needs we should be able to find a vendor which will match the price of UV coating to street paper flyers assuming we have a large enough volume. Just another example of how industry communication and collaboration can help us do the right thing without breaking budgets.

Generation We

Today the video for generation we was launched.  The video that goes with the book that supports the website to create a network of young people to form a youth movement.   Putting a message out here like this on the Internet for the international community to see that we are not all the same and a peaceful adjust future is possible.  and the timing of this movie is right before the most important election in a generation.  

Clean Tech 4 Obama - Fundraiser Event

Monday October 20th Temple Nightclub/Prana Restaurant hosted Clean Tech Industry Leaders, VCs, politicians, grass roots organizers.  The event was one of 4 Galas nationally and part of 220 house parties national in all 50 states.  Obama delivered a message via satellite and here is the video below.  

Temples Director of sustainability not so sustainable

My name is Mike...and I kill plants. I'm the director of sustainability, but I have a black thumb. One of the projects that I am trying to help manifest is vertical gardens. We bought them about a year ago and they have survived through some tough times of adjusting to the vertical surface the shipping some hot weather some overwatering an adjustment to the trip system but I think. I may have finally done them in. The stupid timer made by dig irrigation products has stopped working just in time for a heat wave. So basically I'm in big trouble because my boss likes it when I keep the plants alive although I do lots of things that is one of my main responsibilities. Here are some pictures of the vertical garden as they were being assembled and here's how they're doing now I will keep you posted as to if I'm able to revive them a bin watering them a lot and using a gross solution from general hydroponics. May God revive the use plant souls.

Music, Technology and Social Activism Panel

On Friday October 3rd,  Director of Sustainability, Mike Zuckerman spoke on a Panel at the Get Connected Summit on "Music Technology and Social Activism".  What a powerful combination of things that work synergistically with each other to create change.  Change and Action come from either crisis or inspiration.  If we wait till there is a crisis that means we waited too long, ignored the warning signs and have dug a hole to crawl out of... instead if we can leverage music and technology to inspire people to take action and unite we can rectify the worlds wrongs.  We can drive the change instead of respond to it.  "It was an honor to be on a panel with passionate people who are leveraging their ability to bring people together and fuse that with a cause.  Everyone there is committed to   

They recorded audio and video and as soon as it is posted it will be posted here so check back. 

Other Panelists

Tim Pratt (Writer, DJ) Moderator

Lauren Segal-Avenna (Next Aid)

Darien Rodriguez (Craigslist Foundation)

Sloane Berrent (CauseCast.org)

Chris Wiedmann (Giveback.net)

Green Temple Float - LoveFest 2008 San Francisco

Saturday, Temple took its show on the road.  LoveFest is an electronic music parade.  Instead of watching from the side lines, spectators become participants and follow the floats dancing down the streets as they go by.  This year is the first time that Temple made a float for the fest.  It was called Green Temple and was complete with Temple Arches, Sound System, Solar Panels, Plants, bamboo.  We gave out Music that we created in our Studios at Temple Music Group.  Shirts, reusable shopping bags and seed packets.  Props to Dutch, Sen Sei, Steve, Xavi and the whole temple team for making it happen and look good.

The concept of taking the party to the streets is core to overcoming our perception that urban and nature are separate.    As of 2008, more than half of the worlds population live in cities.  Cities were only designed for people with no consideration for the natural world.  We need to rethink this or we will continue down a path that will dehabilitate our planets ability to provide the the support systems which enable us to live on Earth.  I am not saying that simply having a party in the street is going to cure us and our ways, but its a start.  We need to realize that just because we paved the ground and erected mega structures that we are still connected to the natural world.  Thank you wonderful people of San Francisco for allowing this to happen and for participating.  

Green Laces to show you are a fan of the Planet

Greenlaces.org aims to unify environmentally conscious individuals and leverage athletics to reduce our environmental impact. Think Live Strong but shoe laces and instead of for cancer it for the environment.

The laces are made from recycled bottles. Look for them on Olympic athletes for several countries. But they not just for professionals we are all athletes and we can sport the green laces while at the gym, our kids teams just about anywhere.

The other component is that all who wear the laces are encouraged to make a promise to the planet on Greenlaces.org ... something that you will do and every time you tie your laces you are reminded of that promise. There are lists of promises athletes have made if you need suggestions.

Look to see this movement spread around the globe.

Food Crisis

Situation: The world is in a food crisis. Rising cost of oil is causing rapidly increasing food prices. Increased population is resulting in more mouths to feed. The UN gathered world leaders in Rome recently and they determined that world food production would have to increase 50% in the next 40 years.

How we got here: Food used to be produced locally everywhere that a society grew. Now food is distributed is by industrial farming then shipping the food great distances. Because of economies of scale and agricultural processes local food producers could not compete with the low cost of the imported food.

Solutions: Keep producing more and more food to be given as aid -or- Educate and enable local people to plant their own local produce. In America during World War II as much as 80% of homes had "victory garden". A patriotic self sufficient solution to food shortage due to the war. Surface area vegetation - planting urban surfaces of a building, be it roof tops or vertical walls.

Actions: Our building is in the urban environment and we do not have access to dirt or space to plant so we have begun experimenting with vertical gardens. We are looking to install a geodesic dome greenhouse on our roof and produce food for our Restaurant Prana using hydroponic techniques.