As of September 1, 2011, ALL 1,875 retail establishments are prohibited from providing light-weight, single-use plastic carryout bags to customers at the point of sale. MORE

By Melonie Magruder
Lookout Staff

October 6, 2011 -- Think environmental stewardship is boring… something better left to city governments and bureaucrats?

Think again. The New World F.E.S.T.* (*Festival of Eco-friendly Science & Technology) is taking over the beach this weekend, with guarantees you will find something fascinating, innovative, entertaining or plain funny. But you will come away with a better understanding of the planet you live on and whose resources you consume.

From the first sand-sculpted “Sand-Made Prius” (courtesy of nine-time national sand sculpture champion Greg LeBon and Toyota Santa Monica) to live musical performances (The Luminaries, Naked Rhythm, Radius Band), there will be enough to captivate not just local eco warriors, but even casual beach bums as well.

Plenty of enviro experts will be on hand to talk about living sustainably. Andy Lipkis, founder of TreePeople will speak; as will John McKinney (leading national expert on hiking and trails), “green” celebrity Ed Begley Jr. and eco-architect Eric Lloyd Wright.

Techno geeks will enjoy exhibitions of robotics and “green” games. Foodies can participate in cooking demonstrations with all the freshest local produce. Filmmakers can take in the latest in eco-film screenings (“The Cove,” “Dirt! The Movie”). And spiritual seekers can enjoy yoga on the beach.

And some exhibits will showcase just how easy it is to live the mantra of Reduce, Reuse and Recycle. This could be as exotic as making paper from Sri Lankan elephant dung (courtesy Mr. Ellie Pooh), to something ironic as making peace sign jewelry from disarmed and recycled nuclear weapons, On the practical side, you can pick up a grow-at-home mushroom kit, using soil from discarded coffee grounds.

But some of the more salient exhibits will present eco-science of the future, including fireproof and flood-proof building systems, cooling systems that split heat molecules, and the science of pulling water out of air.

Sponsored by the Santa Monica Office of Sustainability and others, the F.E.S.T. will run Friday through Sunday in Beach Parking Lot #5 at the end of Ocean Park Blvd. Further information and tickets are available on site or online at http://www.thenewworldfest.com/santa-monica/.