San Jose's Environmental Innovation Center is Online

San Jose's long-delayed Environmental Innovation Center is now open at 1608 Las Plumas Avenue. This is a $31.4 million project that is owned by the city and leased out to several different organizations.

The nonprofit Prospect Silicon Valley has about 22,000 SQFT, which they are using to showcase innovations that lead to smart, clean, and connected cities. The technology comes from various incubators and they serve as a resource to connect companies, investors, and start-ups interested in green-tech.

Another 15,000 SQFT is taken up by Habitat for Humanity ReStore, which lets both builders and consumers buy donated construction materials. The proceeds go to supporting the mission and work of Habitat for Humanity.

It also houses a Household Hazardous Waste Facility, with will be the only permanent facility of its kind in San Jose. The only other two facilities for Household Hazardous Waste in the county are in Sunnyvale and San Martin.

Lastly, the building itself is a monument to sustainability. If you have a look at the last image below, you can get an idea of the green-tech features that are utilized throughout the project.

Source: SVBJ

Wednesday Wishlist: Vertical Gardens

As a green-tech leader, San Jose needs to up its game when it comes to building designs. Below are photos of Clearpoint Tower in Sri Lanka, which will be the world's tallest vertical garden. It has 164 apartments across 46 floors and every units is wrapped in plants which buffer sound, heat, and help clean the air. The garden is watered using an automatic drip irrigation system and other green elements such as solar panels and natural ventilation are also incorporated into the design.

A project like this would be ideal in areas that have few tall buildings in the immediate area... such as the suburbs. It would blend into areas not used to density much nicer than a steel or glass tower. I could see projects like this replacing strip malls near public transit in East/South San Jose.

Source: Inhabitat

GreenCitizen Opens New Location on 5155 Stevens Creek

GreenCitizen has opened a new eco-station at the border of San Jose and Santa Clara on Stevens Creek. They offer free recycling for your e-junk (old cables, computers, TVs, palm pilots, batteries, etc.) as well as services for destroying hard drive information and other sensitive data. Throwing away these electronics in the trash can contaminate landfills and cause serious environmental problems. E-recycling is a much better solution, and they may even give you cash for items that still have some value like old iPhones. More info below.

GreenCitizen Extends Year-Round Electronics Recycling Drop-Off to Santa Clara and San Jose

GreenCitizen is opening its new Eco-Station in Santa Clara on Monday, December 2, 2013. Located inside the SuperGreen Solutions Store at 5155 Stevens Creeks Blvd, Suite 100, Santa Clara, GreenCitizen's new Eco-Station will be open from 10 A.M. to 6 P.M., Mondays through Saturdays, all year round.

GreenCitizen is opening its new Eco-Station in Santa Clara on Monday, December 2, 2013. Located inside the SuperGreen Solutions Store at 5155 Stevens Creeks Blvd, Suite 100, Santa Clara, GreenCitizen's new Eco-Station will be open from 10 A.M. to 6 P.M., Mondays through Saturdays, all year round.

Santa Clara and San Jose residents and businesses can now drop-off, for responsible recycling, any working or non-working electronic items, including computers, monitors, TVs, printers, appliances, or portable devices that use electricity. Please refer tohttp://www.greencitizen.com for a full list of acceptable items.

The new GreenCitizen Santa Clara Eco-Station is only 10 minutes away from downtown San Jose and San Jose State University, and just a couple of blocks from the Stevens Creek Boulevard intersections with the Lawrence Express way and I-280. Simply use 87 N and/or 280 N and take the Lawrence Expressway exit. Located next to Bed Bath & Beyond, across from McDonald's, Starbucks Coffee, Safeway, and Sports Authority, the Eco-Station is also less than a mile from Santana Row, and the popular Westfield Shopping Mall at Winchester Boulevard and Stevens Creek.

Since opening its first center on Earth Day 2005, GreenCitizen has successfully helped over 15,000 businesses and 150,000 residents responsibly recycle their electronics. In this time, GreenCitizen has diverted over 10 million pounds of electronics from landfills and from global dumping on developing countries. The amount of e-waste that GreenCitizen has diverted is equivalent to reducing 12 metric tons of CO2, planting over 300,000 trees, or taking 2,500 cars off the road for a year.

"The amount of obsolete electronics piling up in our offices and homes is staggering. When these electronics are not recycled properly, this e-waste often ends up in landfills here or in developing countries, where it can cause serious social and environmental harm.” says James Kao, GreenCitizen's Founder and CEO. "In order for responsible e-waste recycling to take off, it must be more convenient for consumers and businesses and there must be full accountability to ensure that everything gets recycled safely. We are very excited to partner with SuperGreen Solutions to bring convenient and accountable electronic recycling services to Santa Clara, San Jose, and surrounding cities of Cupertino, Sunnyvale, Saratoga, and Campbell."

Belinda Vega, president of SuperGreenSolutions states that: "SuperGreen Solutions of Stevens Creek is excited about working with GreenCitizen to truly provide a complete environmental solution. We feel the missions of our companies are similar and complimentary. Together we are helping our customers make the world a better place and making every day Earth Day."

SuperGreen Solutions is a one-stop retail store for energy efficient and green products, providing a holistic approach to energy efficiency by offering a variety of products, reducing clients' energy usage and thereby maximizing their cost reduction. They provide solar panels, wind turbines, LED lighting, electric car chargers, efficient water heaters and insulation. They can arrange for installation, assist with rebates and tax incentives, and provide financing. They also provide other green products such as air purifiers, atmospheric water generators and non-toxic pest control products. SuperGreen Solutions of Stevens Creek is a minority woman-owned business.

GreenCitizen is a socially and environmentally responsible company dedicated to helping consumers and businesses reduce their environmental footprint through proper disposal of their electronics. GreenCitizen achieves this through closed loop reuse, convenient drop-off, and business pickups. All recycled items are accounted for fully all the way through dismantling and de-manufacturing within the San Francisco Bay Area. In addition to the new Santa Clara Eco-Station, GreenCitizen has four Eco-Centers in Berkeley, San Francisco, Burlingame, and Mountain View.

EV Week 2013 Kicks Off Today!

Electric vehicles are getting more mainstream everyday, and Silicon Valley is leading the charge (pun intended). Come check out the launch of EV Week 2013 today at Santana Row's Chess Plaza! All of the details are below. Also, don't forget to swing by Tesla's flagship US store while you're there. 

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San Jose Drivers Invited to Get Behind the Wheel of an Electric Vehicle  

San Jose, CA – Charge Across Town (www.chargeacrosstown.com) is driving forward the adoption of electric vehicles in the Bay Area with “EV Week 2013: San Francisco to Silicon Valley” – a three-city, five-day series of events and activities designed to engage, educate and excite Bay Area drivers about the benefits, ease and accessibility of driving all-electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles.

Driving towards California Governor Jerry Brown’s goal of getting 1.5 million zero-emission vehicles on California’s roadways by 2025, EV Week 2013 is inviting Bay Area drivers – from commuters to car sharers – to get behind the wheel of an EV and become part of the solution to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by driving greener, cleaner vehicles.

San Jose Mayor Chuck Reed, San Jose City Councilmembersand Bay Area electric vehicle, technology, civic and environmental leaders, will kick-off EV Week 2013 with a launch event at Santana Row Chess Plaza, featuring free EV test drives around Chess Plaza and an Electric Vehicle Exposition showcasing the largest selection of new plug-in and all-electric vehicles, EV charging technologies, mobile applications, and car and scooter-sharing services.  

What

San Jose Mayor Chuck Reed launches EV Week 2013 in San Jose

When

Thursday, September 26.  San Jose Mayor Chuck Reed and San Jose City Councilmembers will speak from 12pm to 12:30pm.

Where

San Jose’s Santana Row Chess Plaza

Santana Row between Olin Avenue & Olsen Drive

More at:  www.chargeacrosstown.com/ev-week-silicon-valley

Interview, Photo & Video Opportunities:

Thursday, September 26 – San Jose’s Santana Row Chess Plaza

Santana Row between Olin Avenue & Olsen Drive

12pm – 12:30pm – Launch event featuring San Jose Mayor Chuck Reed and San Jose City Councilmembers, together with Bay Area electric vehicle, technology, civic and environmental leaders

12pm – 7pm – San Jose drivers enjoy free Electric Vehicle Ride & Drives around Santana Row Chess Plaza.

12pm – 7pm – Electric Vehicle EXPO at Santana Row’s Chess Plaza featuring:

The largest selection of state-of-the art plug-in and all-electric vehicles, including the new BMW i3, Ford Fusion Energi, Ford Focus, Ford C-Max Energi, Toyota Plug-in Prius and RAV 4 EV, Honda Fit, Honda Accord, Mitusbishi MiEV and Nissan Leaf.

Demos of the first-ever ALL electric scooter and one of the nation’s first mobile solar charging stations.

Interactive exhibits from: Tesla, Honda, Toyota, Ford, Nissan, PG&E, Schneider-Electric,Pandora, Zipcar, City CarShare, Scoot Networks, Chargepoint, DriveNow, Envision Solar, SAP, SunPower and the Center for Sustainable Energy California (CCSE).

Friday, September 27 – San Jose – Santana Row Chess Plaza

12pm – 7pm – San Jose drivers enjoy free Electric Vehicle Ride & Drives around Santana Row Chess Plaza.

12pm – 4pm – Electric Vehicle EXPO at Santana Row’s Chess Plaza.

Saturday Stats: San Jose Ranks as the #2 Clean Tech City in the US

Clean Edge has put out a report that looks at clean tech leadership and has ranked all of the metros in the US. Not surprisingly, five of the top 10 were in California. What did surprise me is that San Francisco (which includes San Mateo and Oakland) outranked the San Jose metro. I really have to question this considering the tremendous concentration of clean/green-tech companies in the South Bay. However, #2 among all US Metros is nothing to be disappointed about, especially considering that the next metro on the list was not even close to San Jose.

Source: Silicon Beat

San Jose #2 for Solar "Leases" in 2012

A business model for the solar energy industry that is gaining in popularity is to lease solar to people that are interested in a photo-voltaic system for their homes, but do not want to pay upfront to buy the whole system. The buyers recognizes instant savings on their electric bill and often times does not have to pay anything out of pocket.

Well it turns out that San Jose has made it to number 2 on the list of cities in California with the largest number of leased solar roofs. I hope to see even more adoption of green technology in the future as the city strives to maintain its pole position in green-tech.

MOST SOLAR LEASES IN 2012

1.) San Diego
2.) San Jose
3.) Bakersfield
4.) Los Angeles
5.) Fresno
6.) San Francisco
7.) Corona
8.) Murrieta
9.) Clovis
10.) Temecula

Source: SVBJ

San Jose Now Has the World's Largest Recycling Plant

Republic Services has begun operations on a massive 342 acre recycling complex in Milpitas, which is actually sitting on land annexed to San Jose. The facility can process a staggering 110 tons of recyclables each hour across four different processing lines: residential single-stream materials, commercial single-stream materials, commercial dry recyclables, and commercial wet recyclables. The recovery rate is expected to be greater than 75% on the commercial lines and 95% on the residential lines.

The system is highly automated--although the video below does show people picking out specific items. There is also an area for composting and the recycling byproducts are being used to generate electricity for San Jose waste management facilities in the area. It all ties into an aggressive "Green Vision" for the city, and considering we have more greentech jobs than anywhere else, this seems entirely appropriate.

San Jose Ranked #1 Cleantech City in the Nation

This one is not much of a surprise... in the inaugural Clean Tech Index, San Jose is the top cleantech city in the country. Several metrics were taken into consideration such as the number of LEED-certified green buildings, advanced transportation options, clean electricity, clean investment, electric vehicle registrations, and clean-energy patents. This is an emerging market and one that is very important for San Jose to maintain its leadership in. The top 10 list is below:

1. San Jose
2. San Francisco
3. Portland, Ore.
4. Sacramento
5. Seattle
6. Denver
7. Los Angeles
8. Washington, D.C.
9. Boston
10. Austin

Source: The Merc

San Jose Green Energy Match

San Jose is part of a contest to be the "Coolest" California City along with 9 other cities. The contest is essentially won by being green and trying to save as much energy as possible. The prize is $10,000 and of course some bragging rights. In order to participate, all you need to do is register for the program by clicking one of the links below. In addition to helping out the city, you will also be able to take advantage of substantial local discounts as a "thank you" for participating. So it's a win for everyone: the city, you, and the environment!



Save Money on Energy Bills and Receive 70% Off Coupons

Join Green Energy Match, the City of San Jose’s free program for saving energy. This program provides online software that analyzes your home energy use and makes simple energy-saving recommendations.

• Receive 70% Coupons — you’ll get BIG discounts at local stores and restaurants by signing up

• Save Money — reduce your energy bills with helpful customized tips

• Help San Jose Win — San Jose is competing in the Cool California Challenge and the City needs you!

Go to www.greenenergymatch.org to sign up. The program is available only until the end of July.

Or call 800-314-5997. This program is sponsored by the City of San Jose, Silicon Valley Energy Watch, the Bay Area Air Quality Management District, WattzOn and Acterra.

Gen110 Connects 1,200 South Bay Homes with Local Power

The solar energy market is continuing to gain traction in San Jose. Gen110 has recently issued a press release announcing that they have completed solar installations in over 1,200 South Bay homes. What is especially interesting is that one of those 1,200 is a Ida Perracci's house in Alum Rock. She decided to have solar installed on her 100th Birthday (!) ... I guess it's never too late to go green. Check out the full release below along with a photo of Ida.

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Distributed energy leader helps 100-year-old San Jose customer save money with solar


San Jose, Calif., June 13, 2012 - Gen110, the leading distributed electricity company, today announced it has brought cost-effective distributed power to more than 1,200 households in the South Bay in the form of solar electricity. The company now powers more than 40 percent of solar installations in the San Jose metropolitan area, California’s third-biggest solar market.

Gen110’s approach helps energy-intensive households lock down higher-tier energy rates while avoiding rate hikes prevalent to South Bay power customers. By providing access to the best technologies and financing solutions available with a low upfront investment, Gen110 helps customers save approximately $50,000 over twenty years on their energy bill.

“Many South Bay residents don’t know they’re overpaying for energy, or that alternatives exist to help lower their bills. That’s where Gen110 comes in,” said Michael Abramovic, director of Gen110’s South Bay office. “Savvy South Bay customers have been quick to understand that our solution makes smart economic sense, and we’re pleased that so many have decided to replace their higher-tier energy use with distributed power.”

For many of the region’s retired residents living on fixed incomes, this spells opportunity: 100-year-old Ida Perracci of Alum Rock was one of the first to recognize its potential benefit to her wallet and the environment. Perracci signed on to install a Gen110 power plant on her home on the day of her centennial birthday party, locking into predictable energy rates starting now.

“You’re never too old to go solar,” said Perracci. “I’ve lived in Alum Rock for decades, and for the first time my electricity bill will stop going up. And while the price is right today, solar will continue to benefit my family for years to come.”

About Gen110

Gen110 is the leading distributed energy company providing a cost-effective, alternative
way for heavy energy users to purchase residential power. Gen110 has helped more
than 2,000 homeowners in California avoid utility rate hikes by producing approximately
13 gigawatt hours of electricity annually at their own homes. A private company based

in San Francisco, Gen110 was founded in 2009 to free customers from total dependence
on traditional utility companies. To learn more, visit gen110.com. You can also follow us
on Facebook (facebook.com/Gen110) and Twitter (twitter.com/gen_110).

Introducing Green Energy Match (GEM)

The City of San Jose and the Silicon Valley Energy Watch are sponsoring a new program that rewards you for saving you your energy bill. For all of the info, just read the blurb below.

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Save money.  Save energy.  Shop Local.

GEM  is a program sponsored by the City of San José that rewards residents for saving energy at home with coupons from local merchants. The program is a win-win-win as it helps residents save money, offers merchants free advertising and exposure, and strengthens local shopping districts and communities.

GEM is available in three pilot neighborhoods:  Hillview, Evergreen and Willow Glen.  The coupons, 70%-off from participating local merchants, are awarded monthly based on the energy savings shown on PG&E bills.

Go to  http://www.wattzon.com/learning/article/introducing-green-energy-match-gem to sign up.

Interested merchants should call 650-948-2004.

GEM also provides community grants of $500 to local groups.  Please call 650-948-2004to learn more.

GEM is sponsored by the city of San Jose' and Silicon Valley Energy Watch.  The program is administered by WattzOn, a Santa Clara County energy efficiency company.

Largest Solar Program in the US for a K-12 School District Comes to San Jose

The East Side Union High School District is planning a massive 7.1 Megawatt solar program across 13 sites. They are calling this the largest K-12 solar and energy efficiency program in the nation.

The program will save $43 million, offset 55% of the district's electrical user, and reduce carbon emissions by 4,900 metric tons.

For more details, click here.

Community Shred Day This Saturday

This weekend Comerica and Iron Mountain are providing free document shredding services between 9am and 3pm at Comerica's Winchester Banking Center (1245 S. Winchester Blvd). If you ever had the displeasure of having your identity stolen, then you know how important it is the shred anything that has any personal information, including mail that has your name and address printed on it. All of the details are down below:

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Comerica Bank and Iron Mountain Team Up to Offer Free, Secure Document Shredding on Saturday, June 4

Shred Day Bay Area: Protect Your Identity. Promote Recycling
Comerica Bank and Iron Mountain are teaming up to host “Shred Day Bay Area,” a free, one-day event allowing consumers and business owners to securely shred sensitive paper documents by stopping by Comerica’s Winchester Banking Center on June 4, 2011.

The “live shredding” site, where guests will be able to view documents being destroyed onsite, will be open between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. at Comerica’s Winchester Banking Center (1245 S. Winchester Blvd., in San Jose.)

Identity theft is the fastest growing crime in the U.S. with more than nine million victims each year. Shredding personal documents is one of the best ways to ensure sensitive information doesn’t make it into the hands of an identity thief or “dumpster diver.”

What should be shredded?
 
- You should shred any document that has a piece of your personal information on it. This includes your name, address, phone numbers, date of birth, Social Security number, account numbers, PINs (personal identification numbers) and/or passwords.

- Documents that you should consider shredding include: financial records, bank statements, old bills, credit card statements and even medical records – anything that may contain a piece of your personal information.

- Depending on the type of document, the timeframe to keep records may differ. You should always consult with your tax or legal advisor to determine the appropriate time to keep a document.

Consumers can watch their paper documents be shredded on the spot. All shredded materials will be recycled. Only paper documents will be allowed. Up to four boxes or bags of paper documents per vehicle will be allowed. All paper documents collected at Shred Day Bay Area will be recycled by Iron Mountain.

Susan Siravo
Vice President, Corporate Communications
Comerica Bank
333 W. Santa Clara Street
San Jose, CA
office (408) 556-5111

Today is Bike-to-Work Day!

If you see a lot of bikes on the road today, this is the reason why. Think of it as a city-wide bike party!

Also, last week there was a Clean Commute Challenge that pitted 3 transit options against one another in a friendly contest in preparation for today. Here is the press release:

                                                                                                        

IMMEDIATE RELEASE

SILICON VALLEY CLEAN COMMUTE CHALLENGE

GIVES BIKES THE EDGE ON MORNING COMMUTE

In a pre-emptive ‘race’ ahead of Bike to Work Day May 12, San Jose Councilmen and local business execs show commuting by bike is sometimes faster than…everything else

San Jose, CA (May 3, 2011) – Today’s Clean Commute Challenge, a friendly competition between three modes of commuting from downtown San Jose’s The 88 condo-highrise, surprised a lot of people but not the bike-equipped commuters as the two-wheeled team beat both a light rail team and a car team for a classic two-mile commute.  Participants included City Councilmen Sam Liccardo and Ash Kalra;  Carl Guardino, Pres. and CEO of the Silicon Valley Leadership Group; and volunteer San Jose residents who regularly commute in the area.

Starting at The 88 at roughly 7:45am, the three teams took best-recommended routes from Google Maps, 511.org or their own experience to draw attention to the ease and even the advantages of transit commuting.  At the finish – the County Administration Building at 70 W. Hedding, where Liccardo and Kalra often go to meetings – the lead bike team took only 6 minutes, the lead car team took 12 minutes and the light-rail team took 17 minutes – with a caveat that the light-rail rider would have clocked  4 minutes less if he’d been able to take the planned train at 7:38 if the Challenge had started on time.

“That’s commuting,” said Brandy Bridges of Wilson Meany Sullivan, developer of The 88, “and actually illustrates why more and more Silicon Valley residents are finding bikes and trains are more reliable than the surprise of a Monday morning back-up or stalled cars on the roadways.”

"As leaders, we have to pedal what we preach," said Guardino. "For me, today's 'Clean Commute Challenge' is part of my everyday transportation experience, as my daily 32-mile roundtrip between Los Gatos and San Jose is on two wheels rather than four.  It's healthy, fun and almost as time-efficient as the automobile during commute times." 

“Over 40% of commuters have a five-miles-or-fewer commute, and that’s perfect for bicycles,” said Corinne Winter, direct of the Silicon Valley Bike Coalition.  “With today’s friendly challenge, and the annual Bike-to-Work Day coming up May 12, we want to point out to all commuters that it’s really not that difficult, and it’s often even faster, and better for your health.”

The Bike Coalition cites national research that adults who bike to work have better weight, blood pressure, and insulin levels, and that women who bike 30 minutes a day have a lower risk of breast cancer.

“Although we live in the technology capital of the world,” says Liccardo, “the tech-savvy denizens of Silicon Valley have long recognized that the best solution to our common challenges with health, transportation costs, and the environment lies in relatively low-tech: the bicycle. I’m proud to be pushing pedals with them.”

“Whether riding a bike or riding the rails, South Bay residents should seriously consider other options besides their car,” says Downtown Association Executive Director Scott Knies. “With Silicon Valley employers back in a hiring mode, they and their employees need to use these better ways to work, and closer places to live such as downtown San Jose.”

The Commuter Challenge also highlights the progress made by San Jose, a League of American Bicyclists’ “Bike Friendly City,” as it takes advantage of its ideal climate and flat topography to promote cycling as a way to reduce traffic and pollution.

“San Jose is moving in the right direction, between its ambitious bicycle plan approval last year and the opening of close-in housing like The 88, commuters really do have many more opportunities to choose their bikes to get to work and school year-round,” said Winter.

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About cycling…more at www.bikesiliconvalley.org:

·       Almost 40 percent of Bay Area commuters live within just five miles of their workplace, a bike-able distance for even inexperienced cyclists.

·       If every person living this close to their workplace ditched their cars on Bike to Work Day alone, more than 60,000 vehicles would be off the road, reducing tailpipe emissions by more than 150,000 pounds.

·       Adults who bike to work have better weight, blood pressure, and insulin levels.

·       Women who bike 30 minutes a day have a lower risk of breast cancer.

·       Adolescents who bicycle are 48% less likely to be overweight as adults.

About Bike to Work Day….more info at www.bikesiliconvalley.org/btwd :

·       Thursday, May 12 is Bike to Work Day 2011 (BTWD) in the San Francisco Bay Area.

·       Each year, tens of thousands of commuters participate in BTWD.

·       In Santa Clara County, Silicon Valley Bicycle Coalition has organized almost 70 Energizer Stations where cyclists can stop and refresh on their way to work.

·       The large turnout each year makes such a visible presence of bicyclists that motorists actually take notice, slow down, and make room.

·       Each year, this one great bike commuting experience converts people to occasional, then frequent bike commuters

PHOTO: San Jose Councilman Sam Liccardo, flanked by rail-commuter Tom Rivell and car-commuter Sarah Ligda, won a close ‘race’ in a Clean Commute Challenge today (May 3) from The 88 condo-highrise downtown to the County Administration building, drawing attention to May 12 Bike-to-Work Day.

Adobe Gets Even Greener

LEED is a certification standard used to measure how "green" a building is, specifically measuring the environmentally sustainability of the design, construction, and operation of the building. There are 4 different obtainable rankings: LEED Bronze, LEED Silver, LEED Gold, and LEED Platinum... the last of which is essentially a tree-house powered by hugs. There are only 15 or so LEED Platinum high-rise buildings in the world, and 3 of them are in Downtown San Jose. As you might have guessed from this post's title, Adobe owns all 3. Despite already being at the very highest echelon of green, they managed to find a way to take it to the next level. 

Adobe will install 4 "Bloom Boxes" on top of each tower, which will generate 1/3 of the energy required to run the entire complex. In a nutshell, a Bloom Box is a futuristic fuel cell array that generates up to 100 kilowatts of electricity using air and natural gas while producing little to no emissions. Adobe will have a total of 12 of these to complement the 20 turbine wind farm they have already installed on site (seriously, take a good look at the towers next time you're in downtown, you can see them). For more information on Adobe's quest for LEED certifications that have yet to exist, check out this GreenBeat article.

Tomorrow is PARK(ing) Day

If you're like me, you're probably wondering what the heck PARK(ing) Day is. Turns out, it's a worldwide event that encourages city dwellers to turn metered parking spots into temporary parks for the public good. Basically, it's an event to raise awareness for the need for more urban green space. San Jose has a group created by the Greenbelt Alliance, the Silicon Valley Bicycle Coalition, and the San Jose Parks Foundation that will be PARK(ing) at the corner of 2nd & San Carlos tomorrow. Great timing with Zer01 hitting full swing tomorrow!