Willamette Week's 2006 Summer Guide

[June 21st, 2006] IT'S A GAS!

The world is warming up. So should your summer.

My horoscope says: "Practice ecologically sound recycling routines and think green."

OK, I know I do a half-decent job when it comes to returning my empties, but how the hell do you "think green?"

This has been on my mind a lot as of late. It makes sense, sort of, because everywhere you look you'll see P-town periodicals earnestly wrestling with this verdant subject matter. For example, Portland Monthly just published "The Green Issue," and the Portland Tribune has devoted an entire section of its publication to "Sustainable Life." Trouble is, these "green thinkers" guides are as exciting to peruse as the contents of Al Gore's biodiesel Mercedes.

Kermit the Frog had it right. It isn't easy being green.

And that got me thinking (which is a dangerous thing). What's the best time to think green? Well, SUMMER, of course. I mean really, what other time of the year does one become one with nature? But rather than focus on the more mundane aspects of fossil-fuel consumption and global warming, I thought it might be...well..."fun" to pair some of our favorite summertime activities with the fact that, to paraphrase that freak in Poltergeist II, "WE ARE ALL GOING TO DIE!"

All right, maybe I went into my own private panic room for a sec there, but the fact is there is no time like the present to start enjoying what passes for summer in Portland—before it's, gulp, too late. Hopefully, over the next pages you'll discover a few nifty, thrifty and GREEN activities that are sure to enhance your season in the sun. And if you happen to end up living your life a little better than you did yesterday, the world will thank you for it. And so will I—that is, as soon as I separate my paper from my plastics. Now, where's that yellow recycling bin?

Your Summer Guide Troop Leader,

Byron Beck

Editor Byron Beck

Contributors Mark Baumgarten, Elianna Bar-El, James Bash, Kelly Clarke, Shoshanna Cohen, Sarah Dougher, Johanna Droubay, AP Kryza, Bryan Van Norden, Ivy Manning, Ian Marshall, Amy McCullough, Paige Richmond, Laura Shinn, Richard Speer, Karla Starr, Henry Stern, David Walker, Ben Waterhouse, Jonathan Weatherford

Copy Editors Ian Gillingham, Matt Buckingham, Kelly M. Bryan, Kate Brack, Katie Feuer

Design and Production Renée Bielawski, Erik Blad, Brian Brown, Thomas Cobb, Joe Davis, Maggie Gardner, Tom Humphrey, Cari Vander Yacht, Matt Wong

Photography Jenna Biggs, Thomas Cobb, Tim Gunther, Tom Humphrey, Leah Nash, Chris Ryan, Matt Wong

Illustrations Lukas Ketner

Models Lindsay and Erik Models provided by q6 model & artist management, www.q6talent.com

Hair Alex and Brianna at Wack Salon

Makeup Tera Hersel