CHARLOTTE – Democrats balance a smorgasbourd of special interests — labor, abortion, feminism, racial minorities, gay issues, and plenty more — but walking around Charlotte today, the dominant interest represented environmentalism. Sure, the rank and file are all into the working man and contraception subsidies judging by tee-shirts. But the official tents, booths, structures, and authorities had mostly a green tint.
Just outside the convention center is a street fair called CarolinaFest, with all sorts of DNC-related booths. Second probably to Obama-praising booths are the environmentalist and green-energy booths, or setups with a strong green theme.
Duke Energy’s booth featured Semprius solar panels and Plugless Power electric-vehicle charging devices. Clean Air Carolina had a booth, and Habitat for Humanity was building LEED-Platinum homes, with low-flow sinks and less timber in the frames.
Down the road, Google has a big tent with a self-driving Prius in front of it. The front of Google’s tent is a metal structure made from “retired shipping containers.” Even the little details had a slight greenward tilt. A big old water fountain on the sidewalk was billed not as a water fountain, but as a “water refilling station,” because it had two taps by which you could refill your reusable water bottle, which surely you carry, rather than ever buying evil bottled water. Even the trashcans here are solar-powered.
Inside the convention center, you get corrected by “environmental consultants” if you throw your trash in the wrong basket. Also, one of my favorite details, some green-minded DNC staffer confused these barricades for bike racks.
