Franke James at Joseph-Beth Booksellers in Cincinnati
by Franke James
Barbara Hudson, PR & Event Coordinator, Joseph-Beth Booksellers arranged the Bothered By My Green Conscience book reading, Q&A and book signing event in Cincinnati on May 18/09. Barb welcomed me with a huge poster, great displays and an enthusiastic audience! Photo: Left to right: Barbara Hudson, Franke James, and Barb’s assistant Heidi Helm. Franke is wearing her “Mondrian” jacket featured in her Eccentric Green Glamour chapter. Photograph by Shawn Tubb.
Green Conscience activist sows seeds of sustainability
The News Record, University of Cincinnati
By Taylor Dungjen
She renovated her home, sold her SUV, fought city hall, planted grass where her driveway used to be and wrote a book.
Franke James – artist, writer and environmental activist – had to fight Toronto City Hall to remove her interlock driveway so she could green up her property. Upon inquiry of the driveway’s removal, the city sent out an official to say, not only could she not remove her driveway, but she could only have one tree in her front yard.
“That’s when I had an eye-opening moment,” James said. “I thought, ‘How can that be? That doesn’t make any sense at all. [The city of Toronto] is saying they’re green, that they want people to plant trees, but I can only plant one?’ It really bothered my green conscience.”
James will present “Paradise Unpaved: How Nurturing your Inner Alice-in-Wonderland Can Win Over City Hall,” Monday, May 18, to the University of Cincinnati community as the last installment of the Climate 101 Lecture Series for the current academic year.
